OK, I need help picking out which one of these gearboxes and pitman arms is correct for my application. I did not have time to go look at the trucks these came off of. My friend pulled them both over the weekend and had them there for me to choose from. He said the rusty looking one came off a '69 and the black one off a '73 (he thought).

The obvious difference we both saw was the pitman arms (one straight and one dog legged). He claims they were both 2wd 1/2 ton pickups that they came off of. The rusty looking one with the straight pitman arm was full of fluid and works smooth and will probably work fine. The black one was full of water and is frozen (core only).

Now which pitman arm do I need for my '71 F100 2wd and drum/drum setup (if that even matters)?

Thanks!

 

If you have the stock drum front suspension, you'll need the pitman arm that's basically flat.

The offset one is for a disc brake front suspension in a Dentside (or could be used in your truck if you swapped in a Dentside F100/F150 disc brake front assembly).

 

Thank you! I will just get both and keep it in case I decide to swap to discs later.

Mike

 

It is curious that the boxes have 79 engineering numbers, but the steering arms have an 82 and 87 engineering number. Will they still fit a bump or dent system?

 

All I know is that he had to pull these off of 2 trucks that were still intact. They must have been working fine. I know he said one of the trucks they drove into the yard not too long ago. Now I did not see the trucks and Would have liked to. I hope someone who knows 100% that these part numbers are ok for my apication will chime in. Need to know before I buy.

 

Calling Number Dummy.
This one is for you.

 

E2TA3590GA crosses to E2TZ3590C.
80-96 f150 4x4.
80-86 f250 4x4.
80-96 Big BRONCO.
********************
E7TZ3590DA crosses to E7TZ3590B.
87/96 f150/250 4x2.
87/97 F350 4X2


80 and newer steering boxes have shorter sector shafts because they are mounted in different spot the Dent and Bumps.

 

So, neither one of these boxes or pitman arms is right for my '71 F100 correct? Geeezzz! I thought this was gonna be the easy part. What exactly is the sector shaft? I thought the boxes were all the same up to '79 and someone pointed out they were '79. If that is true then I just need the correct pitman arm. Can someone please post the number range and a picture of the correct pitman arm I will need for a drum setup? Sorry for all the questions but guys I am lost without your expertise. I cannot even rely on the guys with small yards pulling the correct part.

 

I think it determines the swing or arc of the pitman.
The part numbers show that the gears came from 80's era trucks
No go for your truck.

 

Ok, I will go back to the big yard that has a few of these trucks and find the right model to pull one from. The only reason I went to this guy is he was right up road from my house and is cheap. He only wanted 75 for a gearbox and the pencil neck pump. It was correct. The big yard where I got the column only had a couple trucks with the gearbox and they were both f250's. There was two '71-'72's I believe. They will be cores with water in them and that guy is high on old parts. Oh well, I will take pics. and get the numbers tomorrow.
Thanks guys!

Now I know why Grandpa never did this, what a pain!

 

IIRC, the 80+ boxes swing the opposite way. They mount in front of the axle, with the pitman arm pointing forward, while the 79 and older trucks sit behind the axle with the pitman arm also pointing forward.
The 80s Pitman arms are also keyed differently so they do not line up properly on the earlier boxes.

 

OK, after looking in the junk yard today, the two I posted at the beginning of this thread are clearly not right and as pointed out were from '80's trucks.

I did a little research today on my truck. It is an early '71 with serial # L24508. It has the early style steering linkage with very little curve on the drag link. According to the fordification site where they show the 2 styles and differences, mine would take the more straight C9TA-3590-E pitman arm. The late style linkage takes the bent D2TA-3590-BA arm.

I found 1 truck out of about 10 in the yard with the C9TA-3590 arm. It was on the '71 F250 that I got the steering column from. Now it has disc brakes, does that matter at all? Is this C9TA-3590 pitman arm the same regardless of discs or drums up front? The bad thing is that this gearbox has water in it since the hoses were taken off and no hood on it. The owner of the yard wants $150 for a box and arm (water in it or not). Seems high to me for a core?

Here is another possibility in the same yard but I am not sure the pitman arm will work? This is on a '71-'72 F350 wrecker and the box looks nice, nobody has stripped any of the PS stuff yet. It has drums up front and looks like the early style linkage as well. But, it has the C7TA-3590-L pitman arm. Now over on the fordification site that explains all these differences they talk about this pitman arm. They state that this arm was used on '67-'69 F100's with Bendix PS and wil NOT work on a Ford/Saginaw box. Well, here you see it on a Saginaw box.

Let me know what you guys think.

 

This is why in my article on the swap I recommend swapping everything from the donor truck, that way you know you have the right bits.
You should be able to get a complete linkage and pitman arm new for a 73 and have it work, just make sure to get one for the same GVW range as yours, IE don't get one for a 250 for an F100.

 

I can see your point if I was swapping to discs. In my situation, all I want to do is add PS. I just need someone to confirm that the C9TA-3590-E is indeed the pitman arm I need for early style '71 linkage and drum front brakes.

I could get that box off the F-350 and get the C9TA arm off the other box. But, the fact that someone said the C7TA-3590-L will not fit a Saginaw box throws a little confusion. Was that just bad information or did someone modify that gearbox or arm to work together? If I get one of the other boxes here, they will be cores. The one on this f-350 looks good and one of the guys working at the yard said they drove that truck in there and the PS worked good.

 

how big of a hurry are you in?.. i have several 67-72 f100 that have p/s i could get the complete system for you.. have some with v/8 and one with 300-6