steering problems after suspension lift

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

snipped-for-privacy@mchsi.com wrote:

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.

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.