[WaWheeler]

Ok so my rig has about 4 inches total lift maybe a little less. It has a drop pitman arm yet for some reason the drag link is at such an angle that it causes the tie rod to rotate creating about 4 to 5 inches of slop in my steering wheel. its a pain to drive on the highway and im ready to do something about it.
Im just not sure if i have enough lift to do a high steer kit or not, and i figure its not lifted enough to require the use of one. does anyone know the maximum amount of lift you can put on a yj and still run the stock steering setup?

Thanks!

Its steered a bit to the right in this pic and you can see the tie rod is rotated down.

 

[Chris]

How are all your ball joints on the steering? Still should not be doing that. I was running the same lift with no drop pitman arm and had no issues at all.

 

[WaWheeler]

Ill have to take a closer look at them, by ball joints you mean the tie rod ends and drag link and such right? i figured they still move whether worn or not. the only way i could see fixing it without modifications is to rotate one of the tie rod ends a bit to lock it in place and keep it from rotating, but that cant be good to bind everything up..

 

[Chris]

I would start with making sure everything is tight and yes I meant tie rod ends and what not. Make sure all the bolts are tight on the adjustment clamps, if one of those were loose that would explain a lot. By checking the ball joints you need to make sure they are not way over loose, usually when they go bad they just kind of flop around in there.

 

[WaWheeler]

Everything appears to be nice and tight including the adjustment clamps the drag link is just pushing down on the tie rod when you steer causing it to rotate on the ball joints. its like the draglink is at too much of an angle. maybe my steering stabalizer is binding up or something im going to take it off next time the rain stops and see if it changes anything.

 

[Chris]

Have someone turn your wheel while you look and see if you can tell exactly where it is pivoting but it sounds like you can either replace all the stock stuff with new stock stuff in hopes for a fix or go high steer. It is just weird that it is doing that.

 

[WaWheeler]

If it changes anything ive been driving it like this since i bought it two years ago and it hasnt gotten worse and i grease everything regularly. I had someone turning the wheel for me which is how i know that the tie rod is pivoting on the tie rod end ball joints. I know its strange right?

Found this while perusing the web. read post #7
http://www.jeepforum.com/forum/f12/tie-rod-clanking-normal-bad-tie-rod-ends-829919/

 

[Chris]

I am sure the angle has something to do with it but the drop arm should have fixed that. I guess it is time for a high steer set up for you. I just find it odd I had the same or more lift with a stock pitman arm and never had an issue. Weird.

 

[RikRotorhead]

That drag link angle is more than fine. There is something else going on.
Get a pic from the center of the axle toward the passenger side hub to include the tie rod and drag link joints.
I have a 2.5 inch lift with the stock pitman arm and the drag link angle is steeper than yours. I have no problems at all.

 

[WaWheeler]

tomorrow when its light out ill snap a couple more pics for you guys. there has to be something im overlooking.

 

[WaWheeler]

Ok, so heres the pics. Sorry for the delay I've been busy these past few days. First two are looking at the passenger side knuckle, last is drivers side. Tires are pointed straight ahead.

 

[RikRotorhead]

OK here's what to do....

See the line on A?
It should line up with the line on B
Loosen nut C and rotate the drag link end that is on the pitman arm until those lines line up. Make sure the tie rod is flat.
When you turn you are exaggerating the angle of A because B is moving in an arc.

 

[WaWheeler]

Good eye! that makes sense. Ill adjust it this week and see what that does.

 

[YJMADDNESS]

I had a very similar problem, I did the hi steer kit, was going to do it anyway, so i didn't bother troubleshooting the old setup. it is my favorite mod so far. goes strait down the road at all speeds. Used the tera flex knuckle

 

[WaWheeler]

Rikrotorhead,
Good thoughts on the steering dilemma. however after inspecting everything it is all aligned as you said it should be. If you look closely at the pic you drew up for me, you can see that the tie rod is rotated down in that photo causing the misalignment in the draglink. grab it with your hand and rotate it up, and everything looks as it should. wierd.

 

[Mumblewood]

Maybe try a stock pitman arm. I have a friend with a similar setup with a stock arm and hes never complained about it

 

[WaWheeler]

ya know that would be worth trying. happen to have one laying around you would sell?? I live in covington.

 

[Mumblewood]

Nope, I have mine and my spare. I broke one once and now I keep one with me. Run down to TC's offroad in kent and talk to Phill or Bill, they might have o take off layn around

 

[WaWheeler]

Thats crazy I cant say I've seen that one before on the trail.. thanks for the advice that was going to be my next step, I'm no stranger to them lol.. used to work for bill when he managed Central 4wd. Incase they dont have anything, do you know if george the jeep is still in business?

 

[Mumblewood]

Yeah, pretty sure he's still around. I heard he got into sellin XJ stuff like windows haha.

I like the fact Bill bought TC's and didnt just hang it up. Him and Phill are great guys. I bought my first lift kit from them when they were at Central. I never liked shopping at TC's but now its much better.

I think I still have the broken pitman arm, I should take pic's of the weld job I had to do to it on the trail to just get me home. Scary ride from Evens to Renton like that and with no steering stabilizer. It drove straight just NO resistance in the steering because of the stabilizer. I wasnt even doin anything major, just cruisin off a trail in 4hi and hit a small stump ya couldent see because of the tall grass. I have a habit of bustin steering parts though so I cary a whole spare setup now.