Problems with replacing dropped pitman arm

toximus said:
I can't tell if you have enough caster angle from your pictures. You'd need to drive it and see how it handles.

What you're pictures show is very common when the axle is either too far forward (can be solved by using adjustable control arms and shortening them.) or the axle is rolled too far forward at the top (can be solved by rolling the pinion down giving more caster angle.). It's also possible that your steering is bent.
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Just got back from the alignment shop, here's the printout. Also, measured the pinion angle next to the diff, 10.3 degrees. And the front axle angle is 8.9 degrees. Both angles are prob .3 degrees higher because of garage floor slope. Thoughts?

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Goatman said:
Ok. Looks better in this pic, tho perhaps a degree or two high. The pinion should be a degree or so below the driveshaft. I'm pre-☕ right now, but it appears the pinion is a degree or so above driveshaft angle. Pinion will rotate up under power.
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The front pinion rotates downward under power.
 
MCT said:
Just got back from the alignment shop, here's the printout. Also, measured the pinion angle next to the diff, 10.3 degrees. And the front axle angle is 8.9 degrees. Both angles are prob .3 degrees higher because of garage floor slope. Thoughts?

View attachment 229742
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Your caster angle is way too low, though a recommended pinion angle depends on your tire size. What size tires are you running?

Also, there's too big of a disparity between the left and right side caster angles. There needs to be a slight difference but not 1.3 degrees worth.
 
Jerry Bransford said:
Your caster angle is way too low, though a recommended pinion angle depends on your tire size. What size tires are you running?

Also, there's too big of a disparity between the left and right side caster angles. There needs to be a slight difference but not 1.3 degrees worth.
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I’ve got 33s on there. Currently only my upper control arms are adjustable but that can change if it needs to $$. Can you adjust caster on each side independently? Or do you think my axle might be bent?
 
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MCT said:
I’ve got 33s on there. Currently only my upper control arms are adjustable but that can change if it needs to $$. Can you adjust caster on each side independently? Or do you think my axle is bent?
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The caster angle differential left vs. right is fixed, they are not independently adjustable. I dunno why your two sides are off that much from each other except if the guy reading the alignment machine was not attentive or perhaps, hopefully not, the axle housing is tweaked.

For 33's 5.5-6 degrees is fine, the factory is officially 7 degrees but that's for the factory size tires. The larger the tire the less caster angle that is required to obtain good steady steering with good return to center.
 
I don't fully understand how the alignment machines read the angles. But here's what happened to my brand new housing before and after alignment just from adjusting the linkages:

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Jerry Bransford said:
The caster angle differential left vs. right is fixed, they are not independently adjustable. I dunno why your two sides are off that much from each other except if the guy reading the alignment machine was not attentive or perhaps, hopefully not, the axle housing is tweaked.

For 33's 5.5-6 degrees is fine, the factory is officially 7 degrees but that's for the factory size tires. The larger the tire the less caster angle that is required to obtain good steady steering with good return to center.
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Welp, looks like I need to find a good 4x4 shop to tell me exactly what's going on with this. Thanks for the help gentlemen.
 
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I
toximus said:
Did you try putting more of a bend into your tierod?
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Not yet, I will over spring break. If nothing else to see if I can get the stock pitman on there. If it works I’ll probably upgrade the steering altogether. I’ll post after the bend attempt
 
If anyone is interested I did end up bending my tie rod a bit to get the stock pitman to work. I however didn't like the fact that the tre got so hot during the process, also it the whole rod seemed to flex when actuating the steering, so I installed curries correctlync as it seemed to have the same shape as my newly bent tie rod. Fits perfect!

A studious eye will see an offset upper ball joint that I didn't see when I bought this Jeep. Thats prob what is happening with my caster angles. I suspect a bent C but the axle shop said they couldn't tell me unless they disassemble the whole axle.

2 questions-

1- Can the ball joint be rotated slightly to at least minimize the caster angle difference?

2- If not, is the offset ball joint an acceptable long term solution? It drives decent, a little bit of wandering but not bad. Tire wear seems ok too. I would of course rather have a strait axle housing but scared of a $4k bill. Thoughts?

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