power steering conversion question
Thread Starter
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Elder User
Joined: Aug 2003
Posts: 727
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From: Texas, just south of NY c
power steering conversion question
My 77 f250, hiboy is sitting in my garage with the left front corner completely disassembled. I've made the "Cut" into the crossmember with my torch ;trimmed the "hog back" on the frame rail and i've got the ps box mounted to the frame in it's tenative position with a c-clamp. I'm going to order the 14 inch connecting link next week then I'll be able to locate the ps box in its correct position. Question .....How much clearance should i have between the pitman arm and the bottom of the frame rail??? Currently , i've got about 1\64 of an inch. Is this a common measurment for some of the other folks who have already completed this conversion??????Do(can or should) I need to grind off maybe an 1\8th of an inch off the top of the Pitman arm to give it alittle more clearance?????thanks , sk
Thread Starter
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Elder User
Joined: Aug 2003
Posts: 727
Likes: 0
From: Texas, just south of NY c
power steering conversion question
Thanks, that is the advise I was looking for. Just looking at the pitman arm it doesn't seem like it would make much difference as the arm is so thick (strong) that removing a small amount of metal would make any difference. sk
Senior User
Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 435
Likes: 1
From: Central Oregon
power steering conversion question
Listen to our moderator on this one, as your steering is not something to take ANY chances with.
I did the conversion on my '74, and had to do some extra "relieving" to the top of the frame in order to get the box mounted low enough for sufficient clearance for the Pitman arm. Heat and Beat was the way I did it! I also found that the crossmember would have had to be notched excessively in order to make a stock drag-link work with the steering box centered properly, so I wound up with the box something over 1" forward from ideal. I ran it that way for about a year, and finally put together a pair of tie-rod ends and adjusting sleeve to create a drag-link with the right length. The steering is noticeably tighter going down the road now. Do a search for a few months back in this forum to find the parts that I used, or if you are patient enough I can probably dig out the list somewhere. The price for the parts wasn't a lot more than the drag-link was to buy.
Good Luck, Steve
I did the conversion on my '74, and had to do some extra "relieving" to the top of the frame in order to get the box mounted low enough for sufficient clearance for the Pitman arm. Heat and Beat was the way I did it! I also found that the crossmember would have had to be notched excessively in order to make a stock drag-link work with the steering box centered properly, so I wound up with the box something over 1" forward from ideal. I ran it that way for about a year, and finally put together a pair of tie-rod ends and adjusting sleeve to create a drag-link with the right length. The steering is noticeably tighter going down the road now. Do a search for a few months back in this forum to find the parts that I used, or if you are patient enough I can probably dig out the list somewhere. The price for the parts wasn't a lot more than the drag-link was to buy.
Good Luck, Steve
