TJ jolts left and right very easily

JAM

JAM

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Oct 7, 2019
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Location
Anderson, SC
Hello All, new to the Jeep world. We picked up a 1998 TJ and looking forward to some fun in the near future. I'm not looking for the extreme off road use, more around the hunting camp and weekend fun. It does jolt left and right very easy and currently riding wiht a 4" lift / 35" tires on 15" rims. What should I look for and change to eliminate the right / left movement. i hope i am explaining the issue correctly. I dont mind spending money to add better ball joints, better shocks, struts, and stabilizers. Looking for any and all recommendations to fix it and what are some good components to add. Thanks for the add. John
 
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Post some photos of your front end. I suspect the 4" lift you have included a dropped pitman arm.
 
best one i have at the moment...will take more detailed later today after work.
IMG_8825.JPG
 
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Dougj169 said:
In addition to the above a front end alignment would be where I started. Toe in being way out of spec can make it drive twitchy
Click to expand...
Twitchy is a good word....we are getting new tires and an alignment very soon.
 
Get a pic of this area of your Jeep. If you have the wrong combination of Pitman arm type (dropped vs. not dropped) and track bar mount it will cause the steering to be 'bumped' left/right as your front axle moves up/down over bumps/dips.

PitmanTrackbarCloseup.jpg


The below pic shows the difference between a dropped Pitman arm and the factory Pitman arm...

Pitman arms.jpg
 
Jerry Bransford said:
Get a pic of this area of your Jeep. If you have the wrong combination of Pitman arm type (dropped vs. not dropped) and track bar mount it will cause the steering to be 'bumped' left/right as your front axle moves up/down over bumps/dips.

View attachment 118948

The below pic shows the difference between a dropped Pitman arm and the factory Pitman arm...

View attachment 118949
Click to expand...
So i need a dropped pitman arm if i don't have one?
 
JAM said:
So i need a dropped pitman arm if i don't have one?
Click to expand...

No, the issue is typically that someone (or the kit) added a dropped pitman arm but not also a trackbar drop. You either need both or neither (generally speaking I think most folks have neither).
 
JAM said:
So i need a dropped pitman arm if i don't have one?
Click to expand...

Not necessarily. Bump steer happens if the angle of your Track bar and the angle of your Drag link ar not the same. Ideally, you would want the end-to end angles (Track bars often have a bend in the middle) to be parallel. A drop pitman arm is sometimes used to bring the drag link closer to parallel with the track bar. If they are already parallel, then a drop pitman arm will make things worse.
 
You have a dropped Pitman arm with a non-dropped track bar mount which is a bad combination, that dropped Pitman arm is causing bump steer. Replace it with the factory Pitman arm.
 
Jerry Bransford said:
You have a dropped Pitman arm with a non-dropped track bar mount which is a bad combination, that dropped Pitman arm is causing bump steer. Replace it with the factory Pitman arm.
Click to expand...
WOW, I hope this works, any suggestion on some modifications in shocks / struts or a steering stabilizer
 
It make me wonder why so many lift kits come with those dropped pitman arms. Makes you question the manufacturer if they don't know you shouldn't use one with a stock track bar mount.
 
Jerry Bransford said:
You have a dropped Pitman arm with a non-dropped track bar mount which is a bad combination, that dropped Pitman arm is causing bump steer. Replace it with the factory Pitman arm.
Click to expand...
Are you sure that’s not a dropped track bar mount? I know double shear doesn’t have to be a dropped one but it looks a lot lower than stock.
 
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