track bar doesnt correct your steering geometry, but it does locate your axle side to side. (when you lift your jeep, your axle gets pulled to the drivers side slightly, a longer tracbar fixes this).
the drop pitman arm does fix your steering geometry, which is also needed. if you put on a drop pitman arm, the factory steering geometry is kept.
but it is ALWAYS best to do both at the same time. if your trac-bar and draglink are not parallel, you WILL get bumpsteer to some extent .... how bad it will be depends on the difference in angle
do both
you can skimp on seats, paint, mirrors, fuzzy dice, etc. but NEVER skinp on steering, suspension, brakes, and rollcages ... among other things that could save / endanger you or someone else
What Jerry said. I always went by the 6" rule too. If less than 6", the drop pitman causes more problems than it solves. The trackbar will be most noticeable/effective in lifts 3" or over. For under 3" the drop pitman is not needed and the adj trackbar is not a necessary, but a nice to have.
Over 3", the adj trackbar becomes more necessary as the axle shift to the side becomes greater. The drop pitman is not needed until 6".
For a 4" lift use a drop pitman off of a Cherokee. It drops it enough to correct steering geometry but the often included drop pitman for a 4" lift is too much.
As for causing problems....??? That makes no sense. When all of the componenets are lined up properly the gearbox and powersteering pump does not have to fight poor alignment/binding in the steering geometry.
The other reason for NOT leaving a stock pitman all the way up to a six inch lift is the bind that happens at the pitman arm when articulated.
Question:
My 4" lift came with a dropped pitman arm and a track bar relocation bracket. The bracket mounts in the original location on the axel housing. Would this still cause geometry problems?
I have 4" of lift and a DPA... I re drilled my tracbar 3/4" over on the axle end..
1) where exactly am I supposed to have bump steer? on the freeway @65mph ? or on the trail at minus 10mph?
2) how am I supposed to know I'm having bump steer caused by my DPA ?
keep in mind the lift has been on my DD for 16 months and If I've had bump steer all this time I must be living with it.. or not know what it feels like, or the DPA has not caused it with my 4'' lift.
PS> this lift is on my 2001 TJ sport with 44K on the ticker
Vector i'm still stock but bump steer is preatty much you are driving on road or whatever with 30 some mph or above and you hit a bump and your truck steers.. i'm guessing if you put a lift on and dont put the DPA it will steer one way usually but if you dont put lift on and still install a DPA it will steer the other way. As easy as it sounds its all geometry. Preatty much everything has to be parallel.
On trail i dont think it will be any different from the next big rock you come up to.
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