Pitman Arm

[EDPMEDIC]

Hi Im a new member.....I have an Oversteering problem 1988 Jeep Cherokee. Superlift 3.5" suspension/ 31X10.5X15 A/T Duelers. Tight Front End and Alignment within Specs. Except for Caster which is 6.5 Degrees on both wheels. Specs call for 7 degrees with a (+/- of .5 degrees) I was told I need a 2 or 3" dropped pitman arm. Who sells it and does that sound like my problem? My Jeep doesn't pull goes straight line. Even wth OEM Track Bar Differental measures equal.

[satan]

Oversteer is most often controllable by staggering the stiffness of sway-bars and altering spring/shock configurations (typical of a too stiff front bar)...

Are you talking aomething else (I'd probably roll an XJ before I got the tires to slide out of a turn on pavement!) -- ?

[The Man with the Plan]

Pretty much any time you lift a vehicle you will get oversteer. Simply because as you turn, the vehicle will lean toward the outside, that puts more down-force on your outside tires, causing them to bit more, and corner harder.

Really, the only way to counter that is to get a stiffer sway-bar, or try different shocks.

[EDPMEDIC]

Thanks I will check it out. When I drve I know how to compensate. My wife freaks out on wet roads it gets hairy. I thought about getting the JKS Spacers and increase the wheel base also. What you gus think.:)

[satan]

At 3.5" the control-arm geometry is playing unfairly with the rear leaf geometry (in a rolling turn - good bars would help)...

The outside (compressed) arms will Steer the alxe into the turn and the extended arms reinforce the moment -- on 16.5" arms this value can exceed 0.5" with only a few inches of roll...

The leaf packs play it a bit differently, but again increase the steering moment - compressed (outside) shifts axle rearward, and the extended leaf (inside) pulls the axle forward -- depending on lift and all this is an issue too -- making the rear end "come around" much more quickly than anticipated since it's steering outside of it's normal track --

Best bet is to drive with less suspension roll (bars or controlled speed) or look into modified suspension geometry (Re Drop Brackets for the front arms would restore the fron geometry to near-stock; the rear is consistant with highly arched leaf-springs -- maybe a flatter spring with a shackle and block combination to attain the same lift while minimizing dissimilar geometery change on roll).


Or remember that you'redriving a lifted station wagon and ... chill wit it -- they don't race these atIndy for more than one reason...