Pitman Arm Needed?

[93FoRdExPlOrEr]

Ok im getting ready to order a tuff country 4" lift and it says pitman arm is optional but its also recommended, but because its recomended by a store i dunno if its actually somthing worth getting or if they are just trying to get more money, and what exactly is a pitman arm and how does it help? also, anyone have any idea how much labor would cost to lift it?

 

[DeRocha]

Yes I would recommend getting a dropped pitman arm.. A pitman arm connects the Steering gear to the drag link. The Steering gear is bolted to the frame (and is never moves with a lift). As such when you lift (suspension) your X by 4" the drag link will be at a steep/angle if you re-use the stock pitman arm... This can cause driveability issues and accelerated wear on the front suspension...

The Skyjacker (and other manufact's) dropped pitman arms are very heavy duty 2-3 times the size and weight of the OEM units. So it would be very unlikely to break with larger tires and going off-road...

 

[sandrunner]

Yes I would recommend getting a dropped pitman arm.. A pitman arm connects the Steering gear to the drag link. The Steering gear is bolted to the frame (and is never moves with a lift). As such when you lift (suspension) your X by 4" the drag link will be at a steep/angle if you re-use the stock pitman arm... This can cause driveability issues and accelerated wear on the front suspension...

The Skyjacker (and other manufact's) dropped pitman arms are very heavy duty 2-3 times the size and weight of the OEM units. So it would be very unlikely to break with larger tires and going off-road...

Also driving it will be a little hairy!! driving mine with a 4" lift and no sway bar and no drop pitman arm is a challenge...exp the bump steer.. every little bump and the truck takes its own path..and this is after an alighnment.. the sway bar drop brackets and drop arm im still waighting for..

 

[ExplorerDMB]

This isn't really a factor for you - but sometimes when you have a solid front and you go to lift the front via spring over and use the stock pitman arm - your tie-rod ends actually hit up against the springs (atleast the passenger side). A bent drag link would fix this, but a drop pitman arm would cure the problem for good. Just FYI.

-Drew

 

[93FoRdExPlOrEr]

ok thx guys

 

[tgertz77]

labor will kill you... at the very minimum, find out how long it usually takes to install the lift, the cheapest place you'll find will probably charge $60 a hour.