Another Steering Question

I have to pretty much do a 3 pt turn to get out of my garage due to a bad turning radius. Turning left is worse than right. I centered the steering wheel and have the same amount of turns left and right. My left front of tire is 2" from spring when turning right and right tire is 3 1/2" from spring when turned left. Stops are not touching both sides by 3/4" any thought as what's wrong or is this normal





Right tire turning left



Left tire turning rt

 

The D25 and D27 both have maximum allowable steering angles that are dependant upon which axle shafts are installed.
Bendix = 23*
Rzeppa = 29*
Spicer = 27-1/2*

That being said I believe that you should be able to turn tighter that what it shows in the pictures but check your maximum angles against the info about the axle shafts.
Maybe put the front end on jack stands, attempt to turn and see how far they will go without any weight on it. Have an assistant turn the steering wheel while you observe what's happening up front.
You could also disconnect the linkage at the bell-crank and push the wheels to each side to see if that makes any difference.
Oz

 

Beyond what's mentioned above by Oz......I would jack it up and start disconnecting each link , to see why one side is steering farther than the other..........more than likely there is a link somewhere that is not extended far enough or the clocking on a splined shaft is off.

 

It looks to me that the camber needs to be set. Your wheel is on way too much angle. The FSM says to make your front and rear tires straight with a string, then turn your tie rod in 1/4 turn , or something like that. I did it and my is fine now. Good luck

 

I have just installed power steering in my CJ5 and done much too much research. The pitman arm length seems to have a lot to do with turning radius. A drop down pitman arm or a shorter one gives less radius than a straight longer one. Also a drop down is shorter and changes the parallel of the tie rod to drag link, not only should the parallel be level but also plumb to minimize bump steer. I am a novice at this so any responses will be appreciated as I also am learning steering geometry.

 

Yep Pitman arm length will affect the turning radius..............in a perfect world the pitman arm in length should be close to the spindle steering arm length to keep those ratios near 1:1 , a dropped pitman arm is used when you have included lift into your build and your trying to correct the angle of the drag link vs the tie rod................compromises are everywhere when setting up a steering system. Best to let your turning stops on your spindles do there job vs running out of travel with too short of a drag link or pitman arm.

 

Nothing hits my stops, I have a 3/4" gap on each one when wheels are turned fully

 

I assume you still have the Ross steering gear????..........I would unhook the drag link first and see if your steering will go full stop.........if so , then see if lengthening the DL will get you there........while doing that center your steering gear box L/R and mark it with crayon on the box.........watch the action & movement of the pitman arm.........and see if a better position on the spline of the box either fore or aft will help that travel.....

 

I need to get pitman arm off which means a puller which means taking out steering box. 4 hrs later I need to
1 take body off
2 remove engine
3 remove exhaust system

Help ..... ready to take a sledge to the white jeep

 

Could you use a pickle fork to remove the pitman arm?