[Eric_H_E]

MY 95 YJ with a 4 inch? Black diamond lift on 33x12.5 ko2s turns tighter to the left than the right. I got the jeep with the lift that's why I'm not sure of the lift. I'm thinking all I need to do is lengthen the drag link. Does that sound correct. And if so, how much adjustment is there in the drag link.

 

[MudMagnetYJ]

Check for play in your tie rod and drag link. You have the same steering I do, which is one tie rod end that goes all the way across to an adjusting sleeve that the other end is in. Then you have the drag link going into the tie rod from the pitman arm, and a steering stabilizer.

Is your steering wheel straight? If so, it's possible that someone did a bad job on a DIY alignment and was off by an entire revolution of the wheel.

When you say tighter, do you mean that you can turn the wheel further? YJs have a fixed rate gear box, meaning that the rate at which the pitman arm rotates is constant. A progressive gear ratio means that the more you turn the wheel, the faster the pitman arm rotates.

If someone installed a progressive gear box and did it incorrectly, then the box could be off center.

 

[Eric_H_E]

It makes a tighter circle to the left than the right. The steering wheels is cocked 1/4 turn to one side, I don't remember which side, and the pitman arm seem to be straight when the wheels are straight. Had not thought about the pitman being clocked wrong to the steering box. I'll have to see if it goes equal distances left and right.

There is what I consider very little play in the wheel for a vehicle this age.

 

[MudMagnetYJ]

My pitman arm is just off-center, but my wheel is only one degree off from being straight. Find the center point on your steering box. This means center of box, regardless of wheel orientation and regardless of pitman arm location/tire orientation. Count the number of turns lock-to-lock, starting from the left or right. Cut that in half and turn the wheel that many times from a lock. Turn off your Jeep and lock the key in place.

Now, look at wheels and pitman arm. If they're not straight, then you need to center the pitman arm on the box.

 

[reno92]

Unless someone has changed the pitman arm to a non stock it should not be possible to have it on wrong. There is a "key" in the splines so it should only go on one way. Have you checked the steering stops to see if one is out furthur than the other?

 

[Eric_H_E]

My pitman arm is just off-center, but my wheel is only one degree off from being straight. Find the center point on your steering box. This means center of box, regardless of wheel orientation and regardless of pitman arm location/tire orientation. Count the number of turns lock-to-lock, starting from the left or right. Cut that in half and turn the wheel that many times from a lock. Turn off your Jeep and lock the key in place.

Now, look at wheels and pitman arm. If they're not straight, then you need to center the pitman arm on the box.

Your drag link looks beafer than mine. I'll try the lock to lock, then center when I get home.

 

[MudMagnetYJ]

I have an aftermarket HD drag link, but the principal is still the same. You should have an adjusting sleeve. My whole drag link is DOM tubing that rotates and is held into the drag link ends with a jam nuts.

Also try the bump stops. There should be a screw on each steering knuckle. Make sure they are the same length. If you need, I can take a picture of mine so you can count the threads.

 

[Luckymac]

The simplest thing to do is spend the money and take the Jeep to an alignment shop.
They will center the steering wheel and set the toe.
They should make sure the front and rear wheels are tracking true. They should also check for any worn components.

If there is any difference in turning radius, take it back to the alignment shop.

Good Luck, L.M.

 

[Eric_H_E]

Ok checked ties lock to lock about 3 rotations. 1.5 to center and the Picts are the result. Wheels turning to the left. I'm guessing the pit min is clocked wrong. The steering wheel is way off. My guess would be to take the pitman loose with the gearbox centered. Lift the front end so the wheels are easer to turn and straighten them out and re install the pitman. Then remove and reinstall tie steering wheel. That sound right to you all?

 

[reno92]

With all do respect you are going about this backwards. Get the wheels pointing straight, loosen the clamps on the drag link and rotate it till the steering wheel is straight. This should allow you to have the full steering you want. As I said earlier the pitman arm is made to only go on one way, it is not adjustable unless you file a new "key" into the spline.
The problem you have is it looks like a lift was put on without adjusting the drag link, the drag link needed to be lengthened since the pitman arm was now furthur away from the tie rod. Fix the drag link problem and straighten the steering wheel first, if there is still a problem go from there.
P.S. Your drag link appears to be bent so check this out too, it may just be the photo.

 

[MudMagnetYJ]

Yeah it does look like the drag link is way too short. After removing the bolts, take a hammer and whack the adjusting sleeve at the little rings around it. It's probably seized up. My tie rod adjusting sleeve was, and I actually would not have been able to get it out without putting the tie rod in a vise and using vise grips to turn the ends around.

It may be time to replace your drag link anyway. Do you ever see a car on the side of the road with one tire straight and the other turned outward? Well that's a snapped tie rod or ball joint. Same thing can happen to a drag link.

I got mine from Rusty's for $120 including shipping. It was well worth it, but I wish I did a full over the knuckle swap, as my tie rod ends got bad about two months later. Or just replaced the entire unit with one from Rusty's or Rugged Ridge (each product is the same and is about $300).

Tie rod and drag link ends usually have to be removed with a pickle fork, which destroys the rubber boot 90% of the time.

 

[Luckymac]

That must be a hoot to drive.
In pic one, the drivers side tire appears to be toed way out and the passenger side tire appears to be straight.
Reno92 is correct in that the pitman arm is keyed and goes on only one way, but I disagree with him as far as the procedure to straighten everything out.
I say to center the steering shaft by counting the turns lock to lock and dividing by half. You already have done this. You may have to remove your steering wheel and reinstall it to make the cross bar level. Then adjust the tie rod ends until both tires are pointing in the same direction, and then aim both tires straight ahead with the drag link. Be careful not to run the threads on any component to where they don't have enough meat to hold.
You may need a dropped pitman arm to make everything level.
Reno also points out that your drag link appears bent. It's really hard to tell from a pic. Can you borrow a known undamaged one to compare to?

Keep us posted on what works. Good Luck, L.M.

 

[scorro]

the simplest thing to do is spend the money and take the jeep to an alignment shop.
They will center the steering wheel and set the toe.
They should make sure the front and rear wheels are tracking true. They should also check for any worn components.

If there is any difference in turning radius, take it back to the alignment shop.

Good luck, l.m.

This^^^.

 

[MudMagnetYJ]

That must be a hoot to drive.
In pic one, the drivers side tire appears to be toed way out and the passenger side tire appears to be straight.

Yeah I noticed that too but I assumed that it was just the photo. If it weren't just the photo, that thing couldn't drive anywhere except onto a flatbed...

 

[reno92]

The problem with trying to correct the steering wheel by removing it and putting it on straight is that the steering wheel is keyed too. It's only supposed to go on one way as the horn wiring runs up the side, not the center. If you don't care about the horn, go ahead and attach the wheel where you want. The drag link is where this problem starts and trying to correct it with out addressing it first is backwards.
Another way you can do this is have the jeep tires pointing straight, remove one end of the drag link, turn your key and move your steering wheel to center, remove the key locking the steering wheel straight, now turn the drag link so both ends extend the same amount and you are able to reattach the end you removed. You now have a straight steering wheel, the drag link centered end to end, and should have the same turning amount side to side.

P.S. I didn't bring it up because it looks like you already have a drop pitman arm, but if you have a lift and do not have a drop arm you will not, and cannot have the same turning radius to both sides. A lift with no drop pitman arm will give you a tighter turning radius to the left.

 

[MudMagnetYJ]

The problem with trying to correct the steering wheel by removing it and putting it on straight is that the steering wheel is keyed too. It's only supposed to go on one way as the horn wiring runs up the side, not the center.

Is it possible that the steering shaft was replaced and installed wrong? I've never looked too closely there, but I'm sure it has to meet the steering box somewhere. Is that keyed as well? Somebody could have installed it while the wheels and/or steering wheel were not straight.

 

[Eric_H_E]

I'll soak the threaded ends of the drag link in a rust buster some more and try that.

Drives fine goes down the middle of the road and doesn't pull

 

[saddlemine2]

With all do respect you are going about this backwards. Get the wheels pointing straight, loosen the clamps on the drag link and rotate it till the steering wheel is straight. This should allow you to have the full steering you want. As I said earlier the pitman arm is made to only go on one way, it is not adjustable unless you file a new "key" into the spline.
The problem you have is it looks like a lift was put on without adjusting the drag link, the drag link needed to be lengthened since the pitman arm was now furthur away from the tie rod. Fix the drag link problem and straighten the steering wheel first, if there is still a problem go from there.
P.S. Your drag link appears to be bent so check this out too, it may just be the photo.

This is how I corrected mine after a 4" suspension lift and again after I had to replace 1 front leaf pack that I bent on a ride.