Need help sorting the correct pitman arm for 3.5 inch lift

[Kaptainkid1]

I bought a used modded 2002 Jeep TJ with a 3.5 in lift and going over issues which don't seem correct to me.
I will include a picture of the Pitman Arm but it seems stock to me. Will I need a different pitman arm for 3.5 in lift?

 

[Steel City 06]

That's a stock pitman arm. Keep it. There is no need for a drop pitman at 3.5" of lift.

The reason is that the drag link and panhard bar must maintain the same geometry. If you drop one, you MUST drop the other. Failure to do so will result in bump steer. At low lift heights (4.5" and less), adjusting the geometry is unnecessary and usually causes more issues than it solves.

 

[il buono]

As mentioned already, keep the stock pitman arm. The previous owner of my LJ installed a dropped pitman arm. It came with a 4" lift. After 6 months of delay, I finally got rid of the dropped one this past weekend and replaced it with a stock arm. I quickly noticed the improvement this change did. Old pitman arm below.

 

[Chris]

The only pitman arm you should be using is the stock pitman arm, period.

 

[Kaptainkid1]

In the near future I will be adding 4inch lift and SYE. At what point does the Pitarm needs to be changed and why?

 

[Steel City 06]

If you were to be running 6-8 inches of suspension lift, then you might consider a drop pitman arm and drop trackbar bracket. But that lift height requires a lot of additional modifications that really don't gain very much.

You won't need it for 4 inches of lift. Even 5 inches would likely be okay on the stock geometry. At 5 inches, you're looking at a long arm kit though. (Long arm kits in general aren't very well liked in the more advanced crowds.)

 

[Kaptainkid1]

If you were to be running 6-8 inches of suspension lift, then you might consider a drop pitman arm and drop trackbar bracket. But that lift height requires a lot of additional modifications that really don't gain very much.

You won't need it for 4 inches of lift. Even 5 inches would likely be okay on the stock geometry. At 5 inches, you're looking at a long arm kit though. (Long arm kits in general aren't very well liked in the more advanced crowds.)

Thanks for the info. Makes life easier when not making mistakes.

 

[jjvw]

...

You won't need it for 4 inches of lift. Even 5 inches would likely be okay on the stock geometry. At 5 inches, you're looking at a long arm kit though. (Long arm kits in general aren't very well liked in the more advanced crowds.)

At 5"+ of lift and assuming you want things to be built well, you are likely looking at bigger wider axles. At the point, the stock geometry is irrelevant. The pitman arm is the least of your concerns.

 

[BuildBreakRepeat]

At 5"+ of lift and assuming you want things to be built well, you are likely looking at bigger wider axles. At the point, the stock geometry is irrelevant. The pitman arm is the least of your concerns.

How much spring lift do you have in the rear

 

[AndyG]

Change it only if you want bumpsteer and crappy handling.

What you need to consider in lifting and bigger tires is a ZJ tie rod upgrade and some track bar mods, I run 3/4 ton Dodge track bar bushings.

Through the forum , I have been able to make a 4" lifted Rubicon on 33" tires drive pretty good, @Hog has a lifted one that drives extremely good as well.

The key isn't in getting it right , it's not messing it up. Dropped pitman arms are included in lift kits with the intent of fitting a wide variety of set ups, a one size fits all approach ...a universal solution isn't always the best when it starts to conflict with the factory geometry.

Those arms matter on extremely high lifts , but lower the track bar too much for a 4". Shops install them thinking they should .

If you have a dropped mount for the track bar, they work fine, but it's redundant to do that.

 

[Kaptainkid1]

Here is video for Trailrecon TJ and they changed the Pitman arm on a 4in lift kit. Did these get it wrong too?
It seems it's a common mistake when doing lift?

 

[jjvw]

Here is video for Trailrecon TJ and they changed the Pitman arm on a 4in lift kit. Did these get it wrong too?
It seems it's a common mistake when doing lift?

Yes. He got it wrong, too. He isn't listening to us either.

 

[AndyG]

The idea of a dropped pitman is to prevent pulling the drag link upward, but it just doesn't work to an advantage for lifts of 4" or less.

There's more going on when the drag link goes up than drag link/ track bar alignment, but the changes get corrected post lift without the bumpsteer issue added to the mix .

Think of a coat hanger being pulled upward and it becomes narrower.
That type dynamic is part if the drag links' elevation when lifting a TJ .

 

[Kaptainkid1]

Yes. He got it wrong, too. He isn't listening to us either.

If you watch the video they cut off the stock Pitman arm because it wouldn't come off. Now they will need to buy a stock one and put that one back on. Ha ha

 

[jjvw]

If you watch the video they cut off the stock Pitman arm because it wouldn't come off. Now they will need to buy a stock one and put that one back on. Ha ha

We explained all of this to him a short while ago.

 

[BuildBreakRepeat]

He asked, we told him not to do it, he did it. Mistake. But hey he’s gonna find that out himself.

 

[jjvw]

The idea of a dropped pitman is to prevent pulling the drag link upward, but it just doesn't work to an advantage for lifts of 4" or less.

There's more going on when the drag link goes up than drag link/ track bar alignment, but the changes get corrected post lift without the bumpsteer issue added to the mix .

Think of a coat hanger being pulled upward and it becomes narrower.
That type dynamic is part if the drag links' elevation when lifting a TJ .

The only rational is to restore the range of motion to the tie rod ends. But you do so at the expense of up travel. Currie/RockJock steering negates any possible reason for dropping anything.

 

[jjvw]

He asked, we told him not to do it, he did it. Mistake. But hey he’s gonna find that out himself.

No. He'll tell us and the internet world that it is awesome.

 

[BuildBreakRepeat]

No. He'll tell us and the internet world that it is awesome.

Didn’t see a single comment on the video mentioning the dropped pitman. The confusion online is really bad.

 

[AndyG]

We explained all of this to him a short while ago.

I missed it , where'd they ask? How dare someone modify a TJ without our supervision.