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6in. lift drop pitman arm pics please?!

J

jones

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i was looking at mine today and it doesn't look to me like it's got a drop pitman arm,and/or steering arm(is it supposed to be dropped or raised)i was working on it a little bit today,and you wouldn't believe the stupid sh*t i found.wires uncovered,crossed,touching,etc.so i wouldn't be surprised if the lift was,nt done right.
 
This is what a dropped pitman arm looks like. This is a SkyJacker part # CA50

sja-da300_w.jpg
 
1-ton said:
This is what a dropped pitman arm looks like. This is a SkyJacker part # CA50

sja-da300_w.jpg
Click to expand...

One thing to point out is that is a dropped pitman arm for a 2WD box. The 4WD pitman arm will look similar but the splines are different and it has a locking bolt through the splined end.

Ira
 
One thing to point out is that is a dropped pitman arm for a 2WD box. The 4WD pitman arm will look similar but the splines are different and it has a locking bolt through the splined end.
Click to expand...

It was the only picture I could find. I would take a picture of the one on my truck (definitly a SkyJacker CA50), but is is cold and dark outside right now. Maybe tomorow.

You will need both a dropped pitman arm, and a raised steering arm (or raised steering block) with 6" of lift. I have 4" of lift with a 2 1/2" dropped pitman arm, and if I had anymore lift then that, I would need a raised steering block for my Dana 60 as well (or a cross-over steering setup).
 
if you have a raised 4" steering arm, you do not want to add a droped pitman arm. it will make any problems with bump steer/ wandering etc worse.;) bite the bullet and go crossover. Its really the only way to go no matter what your doing. hell you even get a better turning radius with it. i have never seen any ill affects of crossover (as long as its not a rigged up setup)
 
1-ton said:
You will need both a dropped pitman arm, and a raised steering arm (or raised steering block) with 6" of lift. I have 4" of lift with a 2 1/2" dropped pitman arm, and if I had anymore lift then that, I would need a raised steering block for my Dana 60 as well (or a cross-over steering setup).
Click to expand...
Maybe it's different on a D60, but on my D44 the raised steering arm alone worked real well with 7" of lift. If I had the drop pitman arm, I would have had bump steer. The draglink has to follow the arch of the spring.



02-13-05003.jpg
 
79k20350 said:
if you have a raised 4" steering arm, you do not want to add a droped pitman arm. it will make any problems with bump steer/ wandering etc worse.;) bite the bullet and go crossover. Its really the only way to go no matter what your doing. hell you even get a better turning radius with it. i have never seen any ill affects of crossover (as long as its not a rigged up setup)
Click to expand...

hehehe my funding is very slim though and i dont have any bump steer right now anyway so im not too worried about it. o and with crossover most people crack there frames because of the pressure of steering the big tires in being put on a peice of the frame that cant handle it so you have to buy the offroaddesign steering box brace. i personally will go crossover some day but for now i have other expenses that are more important (i.e. getting my blazer to pass emmisons)
 
o divorced i have a small raised steering arm and a small drop pitman that was suppose to be for a 4 inch lift so mine is at a much steeper angle than that
 
The frame crack anyways...its not the crossover, its just the way it is with chevy frames from that era, stock steering or not. if you have a 44/ 10 bolt ive only ever seen 1 size raised steering arm...hmmm you probably have a stock steering and maybe a drop pitman, or its stock...
 
The draglink has to follow the arch of the spring.
Click to expand...

This is something I did not know. I always thought a steering arm needed to stay as vertical as possible, like it did from the factory. Are there anymore thoughts on this thoery?
 
i mentioned it a few posts up. because the vechicle has alot more compression if the draglink is not angled down then when the vehicle hits a bump the arm will be pulled up creating bumpsteer. the following the springs is a rule of thumb and can vary depending on setup.
 
i mentioned it a few posts up. because the vechicle has alot more compression if the draglink is not angled down then when the vehicle hits a bump the arm will be pulled up creating bumpsteer. the following the springs is a rule of thumb and can vary depending on setup.
Click to expand...

I am going to lift my truck up higher in a couple of moths (7" lift front, 8" rear), and I may have to rethink the steering corrections on the lift. I was going to go with my 2-1/2" drop pitman arm, I already have on the truck (to correct the current 4" lift it now has), and a 3" raised block for my Dana-60. If I add the two together, it comes to 5-1/2" of steering corection, which may be correct for 7" of lift. Cross-over would be nice, but my truck is mostly a Mall cruiser, and light trail rig used to go camping, fishing, or shooting, and it would be hard to justify the cost.
 
The theory is that if the drag link runs parallel to the spring, not the ground, that it should follow the spring through it's cycle. As the spring compresses, the axle is moving up and towards the rear of the vehicle at the same time. Since the axle is moving toward the rear of the truck, the drag link needs to "become" longer also. As the axle moves up into the fender, the drag link will start to become "flat", which effectively makes it longer. Since all of this happens at the same time, the tires will stay going straight. If the draglink is parallel to the ground, and the axle moves back as the spring compresses, the drag link can not become longer, therfore causing the tires to be "jerked" one direction or another. It doesn't seem to be as critical when using 4" springs because they are close to flat anyway, but the 6"+ springs tend to get picky on drag link angle/bump steer.


I'm not claiming this to be 100% factual, it's just my opinion as I see things.





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1-ton said:
I am going to lift my truck up higher in a couple of moths (7" lift front, 8" rear), and I may have to rethink the steering corrections on the lift. I was going to go with my 2-1/2" drop pitman arm, I already have on the truck (to correct the current 4" lift it now has), and a 3" raised block for my Dana-60. If I add the two together, it comes to 5-1/2" of steering corection, which may be correct for 7" of lift. Cross-over would be nice, but my truck is mostly a Mall cruiser, and light trail rig used to go camping, fishing, or shooting, and it would be hard to justify the cost.
Click to expand...
for crossover whether its a mall cruser or not is one of the best upgrades you can do. For a d60 its so easy its stupid not to. 468 dollars for everything from ord, then a 2wd box. for around 550-575 at the most you can have really good steering. its a alot better on teh road, wanders ALOT less, and it actually give you a tighter turning radius. sell the steering block, t and the 4x4 box and recoup about a 120 bucks, save the money from not buying the pitman arm and throw it into crossover. you wont regret it. (especially when trying to fit into tight spots at te mall!)
 
79k20350 said:
for crossover whether its a mall cruser or not is one of the best upgrades you can do. For a d60 its so easy its stupid not to. 468 dollars for everything from ord, then a 2wd box. for around 550-575 at the most you can have really good steering. its a alot better on teh road, wanders ALOT less, and it actually give you a tighter turning radius. sell the steering block, t and the 4x4 box and recoup about a 120 bucks, save the money from not buying the pitman arm and throw it into crossover. you wont regret it. (especially when trying to fit into tight spots at te mall!)
Click to expand...
$550-575!!?that's all?i was thinking that would be more $$$ than i would ever put into a single mod(other than trans.t-case,engine rebuilds)i'll look inti it more seriously then.i need to get the truck drivable first to see what the steering is like.i was only looking at the pitman/steering arm and it didn't look like any correction had been done afterv the lift.thanks guys.
 
I will probably go for a cross-over steering set up one day too, even though my truck is just a fire-road and mall cruiser. Currently the ORD set up is $400, but one thing I am going to do to save some money is get a 2WD box from a junkyard ($75 to $100), and rebuild it myself. I think I can do a better job myself anyway. Another thing I want to do is drill out the cast iron threads in the steering gear box, and run the steering box bolts all the way through it with nuts on the backside of it. I think those cast iron threads are a weak point in the Chevy steering gear. Cast iron is a soft steel, and the thread in those steering gear boxes strip and pull out too easy under very little torque.
 
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