Track Bar Angle

For anyone that is newer to a TJ.....and you bought one with a lift, easy to look and see. This is a drop Pitman Arm
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If the PO put a lift with this....4" or less (about....before anyone gets fired up about EXACTLY the rule, or "Rule of Thumb" I've learned on here. Take a pic of your steering linkage from the front like I did in my earlier post. If you draw a line from Track Bar mount points and a line down the Drag Link like I did. If they intersect like mine in the before picture, it doesn't seem to be good. I took it for "drives like a jeep" and frankly I had a 78 CJ5 with a V8 and 35's for 4 years in college, steered all over the road, so I didn't really notice this TJ being bad, ha.

I changed it to the stock, the lines look like what are in the after pic in my earlier post....whatever you want to call those lines on the operating planes.....is has the "optical illusion" of being parallel although I didn't plot the lines in Autocad to confirm, but apparently it's NOT parallel exactly, ha....and Bump Steer is gone. When I hit a bump now in the road, anything at all, my steering wheel doesn't jerk around anymore....really at all. Before, you come across some pavement seams and the wheel would jerk right for me usually, and you better be holding on good, ha.

So.....it's a worth while look, and a MAJOR change to drive-ability from my personal experience, for like a $50 Factory Pitman arm and a free loaner tool at O'Reillys to remove that Drop Pitman and replace......Plus got to hit the Pitman with a sledge to help it off......any time you get to hit something hard with a mini sledge is fun.
 
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jjvw said:
They don't need to be the same length to be parallel. And they aren't really parallel either. The bars and links do not need to be straight sticks either. What matters is that the factory figured out the relationships between the mounts and we are better off not disrupting that by moving the mounting points around.
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To build on this - the critical feature is not the track bar and drag link being identical in length and truly parallel. The critical feature is as that the travel arc of the knuckle end of the drag link follows the travel arc of the axle (as dictated by the track bar). A clear way to achieve this would be with parallel bars of identical length, but the factory did a good enough job as to make any deviation in displacement imperceptible to the driver. We look at the relationships of the bars because that's easier to see than the travel arc.

Jacking around with stuff like OTK steering, track bar relocation brackets, and drop pitman arms separates those travel arcs and makes the bars non-parallel enough to clearly see it.

I'm sure blaine probably has a way to check the actual travel arc and bump steer effect, but I suppose if I was going to do it I would mark the inner and outer C's at a ball joint at ride height, cycle the suspension and see if the marks moved off of each other.
 
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cpwolf said:
...
If the PO put a lift with this....4" or less (about....before anyone gets fired up about EXACTLY the rule, or "Rule of Thumb" I've learned on here. ...
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The "rule of thumb" is that stock axles should use the stock mounting locations. It's as easy as that. If you find yourself lifted more than about 4", chances are good that the build would benefit from wider axles and a longer wheelbase. At that point, whatever the factory did is less relevant.
 
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I just bougth a 4 inch lift rc for my tj. The kit was incomplete. So i use my drop pit arm i use to have ( Rc 6605 model 2” to 6” high) and my regulable trackbar (RC for 1.5’ to 4.5 ) let me you if the angels are ok. Thanks.

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Iviscus, take a piece of paper and line the edge up with the mounts of the track bar in your pics. You'll see the line you create crosses the drag link. That's not good.

Using a stock pitman arm would lift the top end of the drag link up a bit and get the two fairly close to parallel. It's not necessary to get them perfect, not possible either, but the way yours is now they cross in the middle and that's how you get bump steer.
 
WallyWest said:
Iviscus, take a piece of paper and line the edge up with the mounts of the track bar in your pics. You'll see the line you create crosses the drag link. That's not good.

Using a stock pitman arm would lift the top end of the drag link up a bit and get the two fairly close to parallel. It's not necessary to get them perfect, not possible either, but the way yours is now they cross in the middle and that's how you get bump steer.
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Thanks. Should i put a stock pitman or buy a front forge adjustable track bar RC thats comes with a drop case track bar.
 
iviscus said:
Thanks. Should i put a stock pitman or buy a front forge adjustable track bar RC thats comes with a drop case track bar.
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As mentioned earlier, if you are running stock axles then use the factory mounting points for the steering and track bar. Your best options for steering and track bars that fit correctly is Currie/RockJock.
 
jjvw said:
As mentioned earlier, if you are running stock axles then use the factory mounting points for the steering and track bar. Your best options for steering and track bars that fit correctly is Currie/RockJock.
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Sorry I don’t understand. I bought the 4 “ x series rc lift kit. Unfortunately the track bar that comes with the kit is lost. So i use regulable rc 1.5 4.5 inch i use to have in my all kit. Also use the dropitarm that comes with the kit. My question is should i change only the pitman factory one that I already have in my garage or spend 150 us on a new trackbar with dropcase
 
iviscus said:
Sorry I don’t understand. I bought the 4 “ x series rc lift kit. Unfortunately the track bar that comes with the kit is lost. So i use regulable rc 1.5 4.5 inch i use to have in my all kit. Also use the dropitarm that comes with the kit. My question is should i change only the pitman factory one that I already have in my garage or spend 150 us on a new trackbar with dropcase
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Use a standard factory pitman arm. Put the track bar onto the factory mounting points.
 
jjvw said:
Use a standard factory pitman arm. Put the track bar onto the factory mounting points.
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Ok. The 1.5 - 4.5 regulable track bar that im using now. Change the droppiman with the factory on will be the solution. No more bump steer,? Thanks.
 
strike regulable for adjustable, this is the term used.
the track bar appears to be in the factory location, yes?

put the stock pitman back on.
 
someguysjeep said:
strike regulable for adjustable, this is the term used.
the track bar appears to be in the factory location, yes?

put the stock pitman back on.
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Yes is on factory location. the adjustable track bar 1.5-4.5 the factory will be the solution. No more bump steer?
 
Thank you very much i will do that. 4” lift with stock pitman is not a problem. When a fix it i send you a new picture.
 
I have another question. The steeling wheel have a play left and rigth all the time and in the highway at 60 mph feel like the jeep is trying to go left right feeling. Is the same problem coming from the angles or is something more. I never felt the steerling wheel kind of stiff. Help
 
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