steering problems after suspension lift

help ! i had a 4" suspension lift put on my 1998 jeep wrangler TJ -
had 33x12.50x15 mickey thompson tires on 15x10 american racing "
outlaw ll wheels " looks are a knockout, but i am having trouble with
the steering. we put the new pitman arm in and the steering wheel was
of center , so we ajusted the steering arm to center the wheel but now
the jeep steers all the way to the right with no problem but when you
turn to the left it only steers half way making for a very wide turn ,
anybodys help would be appreciated.

First, you should not have installed the dropped Pitman arm... at least
not unless you also installed RE's 1610 trackbar that uses a dropped
upper mount. Even once you got your existing dropped Pitman arm
installed so the steering was once again centered, the dropped Pitman
arm *will* cause bumpsteer. Bumpsteer is when the steering wheel is
forced left and right as the front suspension moves up and down over
bumps and dips in the road.

What happened is just that the dropped Pitman arm was not indexed
properly. But don't bother trying to reinstall it properly, reinstall
the factory OE non-dropped Pitman arm. Once again, a dropped Pitman arm
ON A TJ will only cause bumpsteer unless it's required to match up to an
aftermarket trackbar that has a corresponding drop on its upper end and
it should not have been installed.

Installers install them because they don't know any better. TJs don't
need them with most suspension lifts while CJs and YJs do.

Jerry

wrote:
> help ! i had a 4" suspension lift put on my 1998 jeep wrangler TJ -
> had 33x12.50x15 mickey thompson tires on 15x10 american racing "
> outlaw ll wheels " looks are a knockout, but i am having trouble with
> the steering. we put the new pitman arm in and the steering wheel was
> of center , so we ajusted the steering arm to center the wheel but now
> the jeep steers all the way to the right with no problem but when you
> turn to the left it only steers half way making for a very wide turn ,
> anybodys help would be appreciated.
>

--
Jerry Bransford
PP-ASEL N6TAY
See the Geezer Jeep at
http://members.cox.net/jerrypb/

Why did you replace the pitman arm? It's normally not necessary for TJ
lifts, and can cause bumpsteer. Is it the pitman arm you adjusted on the
steering box shaft? Normally you shouldn't be able to do that, the pitman
arm/shaft is splined one way, unless you ground down the key spline on the
arm. Steering wheel centering is a draglink adjustment, not a pitman arm
adjustment.

You also will need to adjust the track bar to recenter your axle. Does the
tire contact the control arms?

Which Mickey Thompsons did you get? I've had bad luck with their Baja Radial
MTX that were on a TJL I bought used. Poor snow and ice traction, tires had
maybe 10,000 miles on them.

> wrote in message
ups.com...
> help ! i had a 4" suspension lift put on my 1998 jeep wrangler TJ -
> had 33x12.50x15 mickey thompson tires on 15x10 american racing "
> outlaw ll wheels " looks are a knockout, but i am having trouble with
> the steering. we put the new pitman arm in and the steering wheel was
> of center , so we ajusted the steering arm to center the wheel but now
> the jeep steers all the way to the right with no problem but when you
> turn to the left it only steers half way making for a very wide turn ,
> anybodys help would be appreciated.
>

Get an old Bronco pitman arm, that retains the the arc travel of
you stock pitman.
God Bless America, Bill O|||||||O
http://www.billhughes.com/

wrote:
>
> help ! i had a 4" suspension lift put on my 1998 jeep wrangler TJ -
> had 33x12.50x15 mickey thompson tires on 15x10 american racing "
> outlaw ll wheels " looks are a knockout, but i am having trouble with
> the steering. we put the new pitman arm in and the steering wheel was
> of center , so we ajusted the steering arm to center the wheel but now
> the jeep steers all the way to the right with no problem but when you
> turn to the left it only steers half way making for a very wide turn ,
> anybodys help would be appreciated.

"Jerry Bransford" > wrote in message
news:4bc5g.174956$bm6.60593@fed1read04...
> a dropped Pitman arm ON A TJ will only cause bumpsteer unless it's
> required to match up to an aftermarket trackbar that has a corresponding
> drop on its upper end and it should not have been installed.

any theories as to why the suspension companies include them with their
lifts? i installed mine and didnt have any bumpsteer or steering issues,
but i know of many who have. as the TJ reaches its end, you would think the
suspension companies would know of this issue by now.

--
Nathan W. Collier
http://UtilityOffRoad.com
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