Ax and the other posters, I do thank you for your input. I learned a long time ago that there are things that can't be, shouldn't be done and can be done with the right approach. Above all, I want my truck to be safe for not only myself, but the passenger and those of you I may meet on the road. I will let you know how things turn out.

 

I too am very safety conscious. I have never heard of anyone breaking the locking pin, it would take a hit that would destroy the front end first. The pin will also keep the arm from slipping or moving better than any splines. The only advantage to splines is the ability to adjust the arm position. Good luck!

 

Well Folks.... an update. I decided to take the route of machining out a spot on the top of sector shaft for the Ford Pitman arm pinch bolt to rub against, hoping to keep the shaft from rotating inside the pitman arm. It worked for about 2 days and then it let go. The Toyota sector shaft is case hardened and it took its toll on the Ford pitman arm and then on the 5/8" Grade 8 pinch bolt. There were no crashes thankfully, as it give up in the driveway. I tried to remove the Toyota nut and washer but crazy me had used permanent locktite. After a few choice words I decided I had 2 options left. One, cut the sector shaft off completely and start over with a power box or drill a hole through the entire pitman arm and sector shaft and place a 1/4" grade 8 bolt through it and secure. I chose to try the drill and bolt. So far it has performed well, no breaking of the bolt. A few notes: The Toyota sector shafts are case hardened. It laughed at 2 brand new tungsten carbide bits. I finally broke out the Dremel with a diamond tip cutter and go through it ok and dressed it up with a carbide drill bit. I DO NOT RECOMMEND ANYTHING THAT I HAVE DONE in regards the steering box. I will go the route of a power steering box in the future. I can honestly say now I know why others have gone that route.

 

Your new fix compromises the strength of both the pitman arm and the shaft. I wouldn't recommend driving it on the road like that. Depending what tires you have, I suspect turning it lock to lock in the driveway will shear the bolt.

 

Oke...with all respect and Ford love, brother... stop the madness! As a person who dealt with a crash because a PO tried welding a drag link and it failed shortly after I bought the truck, steering systems need to be as safe as possible. Rigging is great for sound systems and such but not for things that keep the truck safe. Throw in a power box and loop the lines if you don't want to install a pump. Just make sure to put lubricant in the box. Use a pitman arm made for the power box and Ford drag link ball. CPP has them right now for $59. If you steering fails because of a rig job and you injure/kill someone, your liability is high. I don't mean to sound like a jerk, just being honest. Maybe someone on the Forum has a lead on a good used power box. I know I just did a quick search online and they have gone way up in price but take a look around and if someone has a good box for cheap, give Oke a ring. Take care brother and do the best thing.

 

Just a quick note and question. I have personally installed 2 manual toy steering boxes and they both had the same shaft as the power boxes and the pitman arm we make fit both. After we were informed of your problem, we checked all the manual boxes in our stock and they all fit. Can you tell me what year Toyota the box you have is out of? This is something I was developing back in 1984 so it is possible some later models have smaller shafts in just the manual boxes perhaps??? Or maybe you could give me a measurement of the shaft, looking at the picture it looks like it is the same as our pitman arm, and, reading your notes it looks like the pitman arm should fit as well. Can you tell me what the problem was. I will have to do it by email as I am in Indy with my family right now but since this is my baby of sorts I would like to get to the bottom of it. Thanks so much for any help. Sy

 

did some further checking. The manual box shaft is the same as the power box shaft on all the years. Not sure why it was assumed they were not but we do make the pitman arm for the conversion of BOTH MANUAL AND POWER and so does CPP now. Note that I note in my catalog not to use the Ford pitman, Truck'n did an artical once that said you could but, NO, It will not hold and I have been trying for years to advise people not to try it.
Know this is an old thread but recently someone was using it as reference and wanted to get to bottom of it and clear up any possible misinformation. Thanks again. Sy

 

Hey Sy,
CPP tech support has told me repeatedly throughout the years that their pitman arm DOESN'T fit manual boxes even though their website states it does. Maybe something changed. It has been too long ago to remember but my shaft on the manual box was different. I believe it was out of a 85 Toy. Regardless, if someone wanted to go that route, pull the caliper out and check it. Thanks.

 

Since I'm kinda a slow, I want to make sure I understand; I can use a Toyota manual box in my '53 since the pitman arm shaft is the same for both power and manual?

I ask because I would like a little better steering, but no power steering stuff cluttering up the bay.

Thanks,
BDL

 

NO! Everything between the manual box and the power box is the same EXCEPT the spline count on the pitman shaft. The conversion pitman arm for the power box WILL NOT fit on the manual box! AFAIK no one makes a conversion pitman arm for the manual box, if you want to use the manual box you will have to custom fabricate your own pitman arm.

The Toyota power steering box works so well you may want to reconsider using it. A PS pump is small and can be mounted low and the hoses run inside the frame to make the whole install inconspicuous.

PS: looking at your build site you say you hit a curb and bent a control arm? A beam axle doesn't have control arms. If you bent a steering arm, the piece that connects the spindle to the tie rod, That would take a pretty solid impact and stress the entire steering system and possibly even the axle itself. That would possibly explain the steering issues after that. Was the front end alignment rechecked after the collision repairs? Was the drag link and tie rod checked for damage? The stock tie rod is rather flimsy and easily bent, and can dramatically change the alignment. I'd suggest replacing it with the HD version Mid Fifty sells, especially if you go to the PS box. It's inexpensive and well worth it.

It's real easy to mount a power steering pump on your CSB engine low on the driver's side under the generator where it would be nearly out of sight.

 

Thanks, Ax. I misspoke, I meant to say tie rod. Yes, the tie rod was damaged and replaced with the beefier one. Also, the drag link and other components were checked; determined it is the box that is going us the most trouble.

However, the problem existed long before the curb bump and Brian was able to make some adjustments that did improve the steering a tad.

The steering box is the next priority. Any suggestions on having it rebuilt or just buying one already rebuilt? I really don't wanna deal with the core exchange, but it is the nature of the beast.

Thanks,
BDL

 

Which box do you want rebuilt? the stock box, the Toy box?

For the stock box, I'd suggest buying a rebuilt one from Mid Fifty. After you swap the boxes, saw the shaft off the original one and ship it back to MF for core credit, or keep it. They don't want the shaft since they replace it in the rebuild, so it saves on the return shipping cost. There is info in the front of their catalog.

 

Understood, Made a note to check next 85 I run into, we have checked all in stock now and all are same and all are 48 spline. I know CPP says no but only because they have not checked the manuals I think. I had the pitman arm spline die made many, many years ago, they now make the arm cheaper than I can make it so we will go with theirs as soon as we are out of our USA ones, will probably still make some for the guys that want USA arms.

Running into things like this always helps our understanding of all things Ford truck, we now have pictures of both boxes, shafts, measurements, counts and the whole crew has had another class to add to their MFUniversity credits.

I do not know how to post picts on here but they are on our website for reference.
Thanks again, you guys are awsome with the help you do for everyone.
Sy

 

OK, BDL you can go ahead and use the manual box since Sy says her conversion pitman arm will fit the manual as well as the power box. That is great news for those who don't want to deal with mounting a PS pump to their engine but want an updated modern design steering box.
Thanks Sy for definitively clearing that up. When I wrote the conversion article I took another member's assertion that the conversion pitman arm did not fit the manual box he was using. I did not have a manual box to check, so I went ahead and included that information in the article. I will try to find out if the article can be amended/corrected.