That’s a raised arm. The stock arm is flat or down a little. How much lift do you think it has?
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Sloppy, scary steering
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Well crap. I just went out there and took some more pics, those "rubber" spaces are not rubber, they are metal, so I guess the guy who put the lift on just used what he had for spacers. He spared no expense...
I'm guessing it's 3-4 body and 4-6 block.
Here are the pics I just took.
Holy shit! Those are stock steering arms that have been cut short and stacked.
Time to yank all that garbage off and start over.
Time to yank all that garbage off and start over.
Sheesh. I can take that crap off. Questions is, if that is already a raised steering arm clearly I'll need some kind of spacer right?
Or, do I get a dropped pittman arm and remove those "spacers". If that is the case, then I'll need a pinch style dropped pittman arm. I see there are also some spacers that are made for this.
Or, do I get a dropped pittman arm and remove those "spacers". If that is the case, then I'll need a pinch style dropped pittman arm. I see there are also some spacers that are made for this.
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get a drop pitman arm. ORDhas. Bolt the raise steering arm direct to knuckle. Make dam sure your steering box is bolted flat and tight. I noticed in your pictures that you have the weld on frame stiffener/repair. Inspect that for cracks and proper welds. Since you have a body lift check this out, https://ck5.com/forums/threads/jeep-xj-steering-shaft-sweet-upgrade.286086/
You should probably investigate cross over conversion.
You should probably investigate cross over conversion.
Those tires are not doing you any favors in the steering department either...put on some newer style radials and it is a night and day difference.
This is what you would need to properly install the arm by itself to the knuckle.
Then like the other guys said you can Get a dropped pitman arm to help your draglink angle.
Then like the other guys said you can Get a dropped pitman arm to help your draglink angle.
I believe you are right plus the body lift.Looks like a 4inch block in the rear?
2" Drop Pitman Arm for '67-87 ('91) GM Trucks
2" Drop pitman arm for '73-87 GM for stock steeringwww.offroaddesign.com
I was afraid of that also
I think I'm going to tackle the dreaded steering box again as it does move every so slight up/down, literally less than a 1/4 inch when I turned the steering wheel.
Yeah shouldn't move at all.
I put nuts on the back side of mine to prevent it from loosening up as well. But yeah, whoever did that is interesting. lol
Once you remove that spacer deal (which looks super dangerous). You need to ensure that each bolt to the steering box is bolted to around 80ish ft lbs. You'll also want to loctite them. It's not easy to get in there and tighten them but it is NECESSARY. I did it by myself with a HF torque wrench and I am a string bean. You can do it. Use extensions.
Side note: If you think you wallowed out the holes to the steering box they can be fixed with a tap. I had to do this to one of mine after Redhead rebuilt it. Not there fault, that cast is soft.
Side note: If you think you wallowed out the holes to the steering box they can be fixed with a tap. I had to do this to one of mine after Redhead rebuilt it. Not there fault, that cast is soft.
Back to the basics and what was mentioned in one of the first replies..........simply go out and look at everything while somebody move the steering wheel back and forth. While I agree that the steering arm spacer is super sketch and needs corrected the first priority is finding exactly where the slop is coming from. The first obvious thing is the steering box. There should be absolutely no movement at all between the box and frame. Keep in mind that a small amount of movement at the box can be multiplied by the time it reaches the tires. The amount of lift and the tires and wheels will cause some of this, and also is the alignment (especially toe) are way off it will make it worse. Toe out can make it feel real sloppy and then combined with old bias ply Swampers and wide tires. But I will say you can make this setup run okay. I've had 38x13 and 39.5x15 Swampers on my K5 for years and can run highway speeds if needed.
Did the steering feel better before you replaced all of those parts? If it was okay before and now is sloppy then obviously something you just changed, so check your work. To be honest if you left the new steering box loose I would double-check everything else you just installed also. The brakes shouldn't cause any issues but if you had the wheel hubs off make sure they are properly torqued and not sloppy, then if you can't see anything else that is sloppy then get a tape measure and check the toe.
Way way worse before putting the new parts on. The old steering box was toast and no fluid in the power steering and no brakes. I drove it about 200 feet and it was nuts, so I parked it and started replacing parts.
with 6"? suspension lift, you are pushing the limits of the oem caster spec. You might need to turn the C's on the axle tube. An advance mod for sure.
As you lose + caster the steering will get squirrely.
Might be worth it to have an alignment, to set and check the toe, and get a caster reading.
As you lose + caster the steering will get squirrely.
Might be worth it to have an alignment, to set and check the toe, and get a caster reading.
I understand where you are coming from so don't take this wrong, but always a good idea to do some investigation and verify exactly where the problem is coming from before slapping a lot of new parts on it. If the steering is absolutely horrible and sloppy it should be pretty obvious if anything is really loose or worn out just by looking at it. The lift and tires, and simply the fact you are working on a vehicle that was originally designed 50 years ago, can all create steering slop that is not present in modern vehicles....not saying the vehicle doesn't have issues but make sure you aren't expecting too much of it either.
Too much toe-out with those over sized tires could easily cause that. I think the spec calls for a little bit of toe-in. To further tighten things up you could lose delete that rag joint and get a U-Joint Borgensen steering shaft. That's what I did.
