Loose pitman arm
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Laughing Gas
Joined: Jan 2017
Posts: 1,216
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Loose pitman arm
This is the 3rd loose 4 inch drop pitman arm on my truck. Every time i torque it to 200ft lbs as specified with red locktite. Is it possible to retorque on the truck? Has about 1/8 inch of play. I have a spare pitman arm but am far from home and was going to install that when I went with a blue top steering gear.
Thanks
Thanks
Lead Driver
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 6,129
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From: Ponca City, OK
Are you sure it's the pitman? Pretty sure for it to have play on the shaft the splines in the arm or on the shaft would have to be damaged. Could also be the bearings in the box worn out giving you end play. All that said I probably still give re-torque a try, might get lucky. May need to pull the nut to clean up the red loctite, so you get a good torque.
FTE Leadership Emeritus
Joined: May 2014
Posts: 27,346
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From: Lake Hartwell, GA
Follow along with what Udsuth78 said. I have only removed and installed a pitman arm 4 times, but each time I noticed that the shaft on the gear was beveled and widened toward the gear.
The arm and gear splines need to be clean of debris and well formed splines.
The arm and gear splines need to be clean of debris and well formed splines.
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Laughing Gas
Joined: Jan 2017
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Likes: 94
The truck has 35’s but I don’t drive it crazy nor turn the wheel when not in motion to keep additional stress low. I confirmed it’s the pitman arm when adjusting the gear box. My plan to resolve the issues is a blue top steering gear and icon drop pitman arm. When installing the pitman arm I always check it’s level and gently tap it with a brass hammer.With the new tires, leaf springs on rear, now on front, this project all within a month the thought of going to a 2015 steering gear is on hold. However, will be keeping my eyes open for the supplementary parts.
Lead Driver
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 6,129
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From: Ponca City, OK
A 15 box swap huh? I've been digging around for info on swap options myself, what brought you top the 15+ if you don't mind me asking. I've been circling a few options myself, but lately the 05 aftermarket Cardone unit has my eye. mainly because of the 22mm input and 45mm output, plus the 6 bolt sector shaft bearing cap. I've seen a couple of the rebuilders are offering the 6 bolt as an upgrade, but they want a premium for them as well as your old box.
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Laughing Gas
Joined: Jan 2017
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because I saw someone here installed that gear box on the forum and felt it is a good update for the truck after having the motorcraft gear wear out sooner than later. I have faith in the blue top however the new boxes seem more robust/the sector shaft is significantly larger. Below is a link with some information. Can you tell me what’s involved in converting to a 05-07 gear? That could be an option considering I already have the pitman arm for that gear box. Thanks
https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...onversion.html
https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...onversion.html
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Lead Driver
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 6,129
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From: Ponca City, OK
From the very limited info turning up in Google searches the 05-07 swap involves drilling out the mounting holes in the frame 1 bolt size. I believe the draglink mounting hole in the pitman arm may have to be reamed but I'm not 100%. Personally I wasn't stressing that part because I've converted to spherical rod ends, and I'll have to modify any arm I use for double sheer anyway. Lastly is the lower steering shaft, this I'm unsure of also simply because of some conflicting information on Rockautos parts listings. The 99+ and the 05+ both list the same lower shaft, but the spline counts and shaft diameters don't match the listing for the gearbox so ???. Personally I'm just ready to ditch my sloppy box for about anything that will track even halfway straight. Tired of sweating a DUI while stone sober.
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Lead Driver
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 6,129
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From: Ponca City, OK
I did find this video of the changes Cardone made to the 05-07 steering gear. Interesting if you're into that kind of stuff. Has me leaning hard that way for my "forever steering gear".
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