steering geometry question

[scotty]

ok,im about to make steering arms for the front axle in my scout.for those of ya not familiar with them,a scout ii has a reaaaaaallly long pitman arm. my instincts tell me that the arm on the knuckle prolly has to be about the same length in order to not screw up some sort of geometry that i dont completely understand ;)

this means that the approximate length from the ball joint to the tie rod needs to be about 9 1/4 inches long. not really a big deal to make it that long,but it has got me to thinking smile.gif

kind of seems like maybe the steering would be quicker with a shorter arm,at the expense of leverage and not be able to turn the tires as easily.

and seems like a longer arm might give the steering box more leverage on the knuckle,at the possible expense of slower steering,and possibly less turning radious,since the swing at the box stays the same.

your thots? smile.gif

[Elliott]

This ain't much help, but the only arms I can think of that long are the poison spider. I'm not sure the match in length is gonna hafta be exact. Both the FSJ and baby have Dana 44s up front and the baby has 1" shorter pitman arm, box ratios may be different.

[robselina]

Yea, I think you've pretty much got it right Scotty.

In your shoes, I'd do a couple of things:

1 - move axle forward 2"
2 - shorten pitman arm 1"
3 - shorten your new hi-steer arm plans by 1".

everything should line up right, turning radius and effort should be the same but no more goofy long arms :D