i just got my front axle bolted in soa and have a couple questoins.

i was under the impression that w/ the amount of lift i gained (around 4 inches) i could run it w/ the stock pitman arm and it might have bad bumpsteer and might not. but i dont' even see how i will be able to get the tre into the knuckle cuz it seems way to steep, and this is w/ the axle jacked up to where the springs will ride after the weight of th ejeep is on it.

so i was considering options and remembered a post about moving the steering box but i can't find the post and was looking for a write up on it.

also whats the main reasons u don't wanna weld on teh pitman arm. my friend is convinced that we should just cut the arm and weld in a new angled piece to make a drop pitman arm. i'm sure its not a good idea but am having trouble convincing him that he is wrong.

one last thing, my steering stablizer in its stock position gets smashed under the the spring so i need to make a new bracket to raise it aboive the spring. has anyoen done this?

don't move the box, go high steer, it puts all yo sh!t above the springs. And while you're at it (if you haven't already) swap a rev 44 or 60 to go with the high steer. Any questions, PM me.

i'm pooooo

You don't want to weld the pitman arm because there's so much stress placed on it when turning that it will break. I did a temporary fix on mine until I get the 44 outers on it. I used it this weekend and I was pretty nervous waiting for the bracket to crack, but it didn't. What I did was replace the tie rod ends with 5/8" Heim joints. Drilled the knuckle out to a 5/8" hole. Put a 5/8"X6-1/2" grade 8 bolt up through the tie rod Heim joint, through the knuckle, through a 1-1/4" spacer that I welded to the knuckle, through an angular bracket for additional support that was welded to the knuckle, then through the drag link Heim joint. Then tighten the crap out of it. Again, it's only temporary. I've got the 44 knuckles going to the machine shop next week and they will be getting high steer arms.

y would it be any weaker when you weld it. if you do it right a weld can be stronger then the original metal. am i wrong here. i wouldn't do it, i would have my friend who is a welder do it

If there is any place to be a cheap ass, its not with your steering. How much is your life worth?? the couple hundred bucks you tried to save?? Look into getting some high steer knuckles and arms. If its on a dana 30, I think more makes a bolt on kit to help you out.

As for the weld being stronger than the metal, I'm guessing youve maybe seen some metal break right next to a weld bead, happens all the time. The reason the metal breaks right there is whats called the heat affected zone of the weld. The structural make up of the base metal has been slightly altered by the heat of the welding process. Splice in a drop in your pitman arm? Lets see, thats at least 2 welds (one each end of the drop), that makes for 4 weakened spots (heat affected zone on both sides of each weld) on the one piece of gear that tells your tires which way to point. Sounds like a great idea to me:rasta: . Hell, a drop pitman arm is only about $50, come awn.

hmmmmm, maybe if I just stretch these brake lines out a bit I can make em work.

hey man, i understand that this isn't the place to be cheap.thats y i am planning on getting the drop down arm. but i don't know much about welding and my friend who does keeps telling me that if you do it right, the welded arm could be just as strong. I am just wondering y it is that he would be wrong, he says if u heat it first you won't weaken it at all

um i got anotherquestoin though now. can i put a slight bend in the draglink?

Just how is your welding friend going to weld this dropped pitman arm?? Figuring that the pitman arm is approximatly .75" thick, it should take about 20 passes to achieve complete fusion (just welding around the outside of it in a couple passes isnt going to cut it). Is he going to preheat it in an oven? Or just blast it with a torch? Is he going to use some kind of backing strip? (the first 1/8"-5/16" of any weld is going to have porosity in it, I've seen a ton of x-rays). Is he going to check the temprature between passes? Any thoughts to gussets? Is he going to take the time to completely clean each pass (chipping hammer and wire brush isnt going to cut it, need to get all slag out of there, clean it till ya think its clean, then clean it some more). I'm thinking he was probably thinking about hitting it with a torch for a couple minutes, then arcin and sparkin, then calling it a done deal. What about post heating? Sure you dont need to take this much precaution with all welding, hell, I dont, but this is a high stress steering item. Why risk it?

As for bending the stock drag link, I wouldnt recommend it. When you put the bends in it, you are shortening the length of the link. Is there enough adjustment in yout tie rod ends to make up the difference? Even if there is, the stock drag link is marginal in the strength dept anyway, bending it intentionally is only going to lead to more bending, like the first time your tire encounters an obstacle. I've seen it happen. Step up to the plate and spend the cash to do it right.

alright thanks guys, like i said i dont' know about welding, so i'll go ahead and tell my friend that i'm not gonna let him do it even if eh thinks he can do it perfect.