flint54 Posted March 25, 2011 Share Posted March 25, 2011 From the steering box thread: "The Pitman arms are not the same. The ZJ arm drops about an inch lower than the XJ/MJ arm, so you'll have to use you're existing MJ Pitman arm on the new ZJ box." So, I have to ask the dumb question, will that one inch difference really matter? Seems the linkage has enough vertical freedom to tolerate the ZJ arm? I have 2 inches of lift in front, and just maybe, I can avoid fighting that pitman beast? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geonovast Posted March 25, 2011 Share Posted March 25, 2011 The problem isn't the drop itself, it's dropping the steering without dropping the trackbar the same amount, causing bumpsteer. If you get a 1" trackbar drop bracket, then the ZJ pitman is fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flint54 Posted March 25, 2011 Author Share Posted March 25, 2011 Hmmm, no free lunch here I suppose. I was hopeful the lift and the lower pitman arm might just cancel each other out. I may just try it out and see how bad this bumpsteer is. I can always swap the arms once the box is installed. Probably easier to change it after the box is in anyways. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HOrnbrod Posted March 25, 2011 Share Posted March 25, 2011 So, I have to ask the dumb question, will that one inch difference really matter? Seems the linkage has enough vertical freedom to tolerate the ZJ arm? I have 2 inches of lift in front, and just maybe, I can avoid fighting that pitman beast? Fight the Pitman beast. A 2" lift is not enough to warrant the use of the 1" dropped ZJ arm. It will knock your track bar and drag link out of parallel and as Correy says, you'll probably have tons of fun with bumpsteer. Mine came off pretty easy w. my 8" vice and 6' cheater bar. :yes: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flint54 Posted March 25, 2011 Author Share Posted March 25, 2011 Arrrghhh dag-nabbit! Why do you have to give me the right answer, instead of the answer I want??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HOrnbrod Posted March 25, 2011 Share Posted March 25, 2011 What the heck - give it a try. Like you say, you can always swap it out later. When I put in the ZJ box it was easy to see that the 1" drop would upset the parallel geometry w. my 3" lift, so I didn't try. Would be interested in the results. :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eagle Posted March 25, 2011 Share Posted March 25, 2011 Anyone contemplating trying it to see what bump steer is like ... I virtually guarantee you that you will not enjoy it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
echdaviem Posted March 25, 2011 Share Posted March 25, 2011 i put my zj box in two days ago and i couldn't get the mj pitman arm off so i said what the heck i'll try it with the zj arm. so far it hasn't bothered me yet. seems to steer fine and all. i'll eventually put the mj arm on...once i get it off :hmm: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eagle Posted March 25, 2011 Share Posted March 25, 2011 Where you will feel/notice bump steer is, as the name implies, when you go over bumps. A speed bump will do it, but you're traveling slow enough that you won't be bothered by it. Get on a faster piece of road that has undulations that alternately load and unload the front suspension, and that's when it appears. When the suspension compresses, the vehicle will dart to one side, and when the suspension unloads it'll dart to the opposite side -- all without your moving the steering wheel. It's very unsettling, and IMHO unsafe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cody4359 Posted March 26, 2011 Share Posted March 26, 2011 x2 :agree: broke the rustys trackbar mount on my zj that had no drop. for a quick fix i put my IRO 2" dropped trackbar mount on. in the city is fine, its a white knuckle drive on the fwy and i pretty much refuse to take in on there now. results and testicle size may vary Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Comanche County Posted March 27, 2011 Share Posted March 27, 2011 Yup, :agree: keep the stock pitman arm if your track bar is in the stock mounting points. I had a 6" lift on my MJ and an adjustable track on the original mounting points. I tried a ZJ pitman because the pass tie rod was almost maxed out. I did get bumpsteer and it didn't seem too bad until I replaced it with the stock pitman arm. Then I realized just how bad it was. Lift isn't the critical factor, the track bar and drag link must be parallel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flint54 Posted March 29, 2011 Author Share Posted March 29, 2011 Not wanting to beat this horse too much longer, but my forum reading seems to indicate that the track bar and the steering bar should ideally be closest to parallel. Here's an image of what I have now, showing some divergence. My MJ pitman arm drop is 3 inches. The ZJ pitman arm drop is 3.5 inches. Could it be that the ZJ arm will actualy bring these bars closer to parallel? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1tonMJ Posted March 29, 2011 Share Posted March 29, 2011 I would think it would. :yes: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HOrnbrod Posted March 29, 2011 Share Posted March 29, 2011 Not wanting to beat this horse too much longer, but my forum reading seems to indicate that the track bar and the steering bar should ideally be closest to parallel. Here's an image of what I have now, showing some divergence. My MJ pitman arm drop is3 inches. The ZJ pitman arm drop is 3.5 inches. Could it be that the ZJ arm will actualy bring these bars closer to parallel? Draw a straight line between the two track bar mounting points. It's nearly parallel to the drag link in your rig. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flint54 Posted March 30, 2011 Author Share Posted March 30, 2011 Thanks for that line. Wasn't sure which parallel to look for. Now I can much better assess the geometry change before making a physical change. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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