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I'm putting the front end of my 66 F100 back together after finding numerous issues with work done by the PO...
To the point, the pitman arm was loose and mis-keyed. I'm looking at putting it back together, but I'm not sure if the arm is upside down or not. Any help is appreciated!
The shaft the pitman arm goes onto is a tapered spline to the best of my recollection so upside down would not be possible. I also seem to remember that both the steering box shaft and the arm had a master spline. Been about three years since last time I rebuild a 66 steering system so I could be mistaken. Weather is a bitch, rust is lurking, but previous owners are the ultimate danger to old iron.
Not sure about the pitman arm, but thee drag link is going to have a taper also, so it should only fit one way? 10/4 on the PO they are the most dangerous
Pics off a my 65 I forgot this was off a 67-72 But will interchange up to 79. Sorry my bad. Had a brain fart.. Pittman is indexed and should go on one way
It seems like the pitman arm should be extending down towards the drag link, but instead mine extends upwards...
This is a picture of a 79 PS box you can see it says power str on the pitman arm. Yours should also say that. You may have a mismatch on the center link.
I don't see any markings on my pitman arm. Should I try to find one?
The PO installed an eBay power steering kit, which only came with the gearbox, pump, and brackets. Once again I'm scratching my head with this thing trying to figure out what is right...
The Pitman arm will only fit on 1 way. That's it. You can't index or change it. If you centered the steering wheel/box then installed the arm you should be done.
I don't see any markings on my pitman arm. Should I try to find one?
The PO installed an eBay power steering kit, which only came with the gearbox, pump, and brackets. Once again I'm scratching my head with this thing trying to figure out what is right...
You do not have the correct pitman arm for that PS box. The ones pictured by thrifty and me are what yours should look like. They are stamped pwr str on the bottom side. Now finding one is going to be the trick. I seriously doubt that there are any new ones out there. I don't have a parts manual but the basic part number for pitman arms is XXXX-3590-X. An advanced search for posts by Number Dummy might fill in the blanks. You may end up having to buy the whole box in order to get that part. You can try Flashback F100's - Steering Column Parts & All Associated Parts with Steering
He would be my first choice to get the correct one separate from the box. Also try these guys A & B Auto Salvage, Inc. | Griffin, GA
They are in GA. and say they have some in the 77-79 model years.
Thanks, those are good tips and resources. Especially the steering column. Some yahoo cut it when they put the the power steering gearbox and it's a mess.
Thanks, those are good tips and resources. Especially the steering column. Some yahoo cut it when they put the the power steering gearbox and it's a mess.
I went back and looked at your pictures and it appears that your steering column is worse than a mess that universal joint looks a lot like a refugee from a 4 WD truck. There are a bunch of columns that will fit and work fine without cutting them. Talk to Flashback F100's. he's a capitalist but he knows what works and what don't.
You aren't alone when it comes to having to repair work done by PO's there is someone on this forum everyday trying to sort out shoddy work and mismatched parts.
