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On a lot of these conversions they used the chevy drag links as they were adjustable. off a late 70's chevy. So the taper was bigger for the joint if I remember correctly. And I forgot to mention, DON"T DRIVE!!! On my 78 we were out running logging roads in the woods. We got up on the highway to travel to another trail on winding highways. We started slowing down to turn into the woods and my truck kept going straight into the ditch. A minute earlier we were doing 45mph on the winding roads. My pitman arm shaft snapped off flush with the bottom of the steering box. We were looked after that day for sure.
Thanks Moose. I feel like I am getting close. I'm guessing it's a Saginaw design? The box has 3 mounting bolts. Here is a pic. Also included dimensions on the arm. The Ball Joint end is a unique shape though. Found something close on this site.
From my understanding this conversion does not look it was done correctly
there is a good write up on the fordification site for this conversion.
You may need to do some modifications to prevent this from happening again.
Thanks Matthew, from the photo's it looks similar. Interesting he mounted the ball joint connecting the Pitman Arm to the Draglink with the nut on the top. I'll play around with this for sure to see what give the best clearance.
I ordered a bunch of Moog Pitman arms on Amazon. With Q&A saying they are the same dimensions and splines. Mostly later model F250's. Hopefully one of those will work. Prime FTW.
Thanks Matthew, from the photo's it looks similar. Interesting he mounted the ball joint connecting the Pitman Arm to the Draglink with the nut on the top. I'll play around with this for sure to see what give the best clearance.
I ordered a bunch of Moog Pitman arms on Amazon. With Q&A saying they are the same dimensions and splines. Mostly later model F250's. Hopefully one of those will work. Prime FTW.
Ya the one thing it did notice different in the link is it appears the steering box is mounted higher on the frame than yours. It may may just be a photo angle optical illusion, but your steering box seems to hanging below the bottom of the frame and the one in the link the only thing below the bottom frame was the sector shaft.
It may be worth while moving your box up a bit higher if it is in fact hanging below the bottom of the frame.
That's a steering box from a 2wd, I believe somebody was actually selling cheap conversion kits to run the 2wd gear on Highboy chassis because they were easier to source.
Id hunt for a steering gear from a "lo-boy" 4x4 f250, or supercab 4x4 f150 and install that. They mount inside the frame but don't have the ridiculously long sector shaft the 2wd gear has. From the pics it looks like somebody actually may have bent that pitman arm for clearance. Likely what caused it to crack in the first place. Looks like a botched conversion
I was doing some searching and came across this site. Looks like the exact system and Pitman arm I have. I spoke to Pat at Benchmark Steering who was super helpful. These guys seem top notch.
Yeah no kidding. While the box has proven to be super robust at least for us (early broncos, but with 42" and even larger tires) with a very good reliability record, that arm is like a steering "fuse" just waiting to blow! Too many weak points.
I saw your other pics of at least one of the arms and if it's the right dimension, that Moog piece is the beef you need for a big truck.
A draglink with an "S" shape would be called for too, if a dropped arm is not in the cards.
Luckily, as you found most all Fords, and many other brands use that same sized 36 spline sector shaft for the arms to mount to. So finding one with the beef isn't hard. Just finding one with the right angles and lengths. The holes can be modified, if needed.
Good luck. Hopefully you end up with the perfect geometry. We know your setup will be stronger now, that's for sure!
My truck had an "interesting" steering mod when I got it. It was intended to be a crossover but poorly executed. Pics in my profile, but I put in a Bronco box and it's been good, no leaks no cracks running 36's.
If you think the pitman arm on my original might work I'll look for it. (pack rat, it's around here still probably)
Probably the better route would be a kit like this to go full crossover. But it's mo' money!
Yeah the worst part is I paid RPM motors in Rohnert Park, CA to do a in depth safety and inspection when I first bought the truck and they missed this. I'm know going through all of the steering components making sure everything else looks ok. Speaking of which. Does anyone know the technical name for this part. It attaches to the drag link connected to the Pitman arm and the driver side wheel.
Trying to find the proper torque specs for the 3 bolts used to mount it.
It's usually just called a steering arm. That was the typical modded piece on the GM front axles back in the day. All the trucks, including the half-tons and Blazers used the flat-top knuckles with the three studs to hold that arm on. So the aftermarket companies made raised arms (as opposed to, or in addition to, a dropped pitman arm) for any lift over 2" or so.
The S-shaped draglinks were used as well, and could be used on Fords of this design. Guys with the big monster lifts on their Chevy's would use a raised arm, a dropped pitman arm (sometimes) and often an S-shaped draglink in combination. Superlift used to make at least two sizes of S-link for the GM trucks.
I've got one for my F350 in a box somewhere when I bought my lift back in the nineties but never installed it. Gonna get 'round-to-it one of these days!
Sorry, forgot to add the torque value. But is yours using bolts or the studs with tapered sleeves?
I also meant to say that I can't remember ever seeing that particular design on a Ford front axle. It's very possible that during the steering swap they used a Dana knuckle from a GM application.
Of course, I could be wrong too, and they used them on Fords and I just don't remember. Been a very long time since I was dealing with that kind of stuff.
But after lifts, a loose steering arm was a huge problem when installed by the owners and not torqued properly if I remember.
If you don't find the spec in a Ford book, check some GM tech, or perhaps even Superlift or Skyjacker websites to see if it's listed there.
Sorry I don't have the exact spec for you. It's one of those places I don't want to guess and get it wrong.
Knowhatimean?
Thanks Paul, Yeah I get it. The ball joints that fit this are the Moog 2026 which they call out for GM application so what you say makes sense. I am slowly unraveling this puzzle. This steering arm used the 3 studs and sleeves.
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