HELP!!! Pitman Arm Problem: PS conversion on '71

[71f250]

I am 90% through a conversion from manual to power steering on my '71 F250 2wd and have realized that I probably should have pulled the pitman arm off of the donor truck (also a '71). I took the entire power steering setup from column to box to pump, brackets, etc. but disconnected at the pitman arm and left that on the donor truck.

Here is what I'm finding:

The power steering box (Saginaw, I think) has spline teeth with the four indented grooves rather than four raised bumps... like the spline my manual box had. The OLD pitman arm that is still on my truck (since I didn't take the one from the donor) also has indented grooves, rather than raised bumps... so they don't line up and the pitman arm will not index onto the spline coming off of the box.

I've read that they switched pitman arm styles midway through 1971. Since my truck is a '71 and the donor truck was a '71, I'm assuming that I am the unlucky owner of a newer box/spline and my truck had the older pitman arm.

Can anyone confirm that this is the problem? And... tell me where to find the correct one and how to tell that it's the right one without pulling pitman arms off of all the early '70's junkyard trucks in my area?

Frustrated,

Matt

[kaptnkaos]

Hey 71f250

I did the PS upgrade on my '68 CS with parts from a '71... the '71 had the newer type pitman arm wereas the truck of course needed the old style. I was able to get one from one of the guys here on the forum for a reasonable price.
The style your truck needs depends on which month your truck was built... and the donor truck too.
Here's what you'll to find out on yer truck.

TOP (BOTH VIEWS): Late style, casting #D2TA-3590-BA
Used on F100 thru F250 with serial numbers M00000 (late '71) and higher

BOTTOM (BOTH VIEWS): Early style, casting #C9TA-3590-E
Used on F100 thru F250 with serial numbers prior to M00000

http://www.fordification.com/str-susp_variations.htm

The pitman arm has to match your truck's steering components...

KaptnKA S

[71f250]

p.s. here's a pic of the end of the power steering box... http://yfrog.com/0kpssplinej

[kaptnkaos]

The steering box is going to be a constant.. it will be the same...

The pitman arm only fits one way... then there should be a 1 5/8's nut that holds it to the box.
Any possibility of getting the pitman arm and nut from the donor truck?

KaptnKA S

[fordman]

the manual pitman arm wont fit any year of sagianw power steering box. as kapt noted the serial numbers are where the change was made. if both trucks are above or below that serial number the pitman arm will work . if they are different then you have to match the pitman arm for that box to the steering linkage you use. here is some about the serial numbers. http://www.fordification.com/images/FAQ/71tsb.jpg and more. http://www.fordification.com/images/FAQ ... t-axle.jpg to see the whole deal check kapts link to the main page. if you need the D2ta pitman arm and cant get get it pm me. i have only one. i don't have the c9ta. i am using it on my truck.

[71f250]

Thanks, guys. I appreciate the help.

The funny thing is, the steering box is NOT the constant. The old one has the opposite of the pic I posted of the newer PS box, it has bumps instead of grooves on the four sides of the spline. In looking at the page about the newer vs. older pitman arm, both look to have bumps instead of grooves (sorry for the lack of technical terms!) and would both work on my setup.

I guess I'll hit the junkyards with my breaker bar tomorrow and try to find one

Thanks again,

Matt

[fordman]

i think thats because of the two different style pitman arms from two different boxes you may be comparing. if i am reading you right.

[kaptnkaos]

Sorry to confuse the issue 71f250, I was talking specifically about ''71's .
The Bendix ps box had been completely phased out by '71
In '71, the early style and the later style power steering box are exactly the same, only the pitman arm is different.
You need to get the pitman arm that matches your truck's steering componets. (early or later style).

KaptnKA S

[71f250]

Captain Chaos,

I was just looking at the pics of your pulley system from another post. Does your crank pulley have 4 grooves?? It looks like the PS pump runs from the 3rd groove moving forward from the engine but that there's also a 4th groove in front of that.

I just finished my PS conversion and it looks like I need a different crank pulley. My current one only has 2 grooves.

BTW, I ended up finding the pitman arm at a wrecking yard, got it home put it on, it fit... except that the spline grooves were the wrong orientation. I went back and found the right one (again!).

Matt

[fordman]

the pic you may be looking at. is a add on groove for the two groove pulley setup. this was a dealer installed item. it had a offset to it. since it was removeable from the 2 groove pulley setup. that mightbe why you think you are seeing 4 grooves.

[kaptnkaos]

Hey 71f250,

Glad you were able to find the correct pitman arm... makes all the difference in the world.
Upgrading to PS was the single best upgrade I ever did for my truck.
Yes, there are 4 grooves total.
The inside one is the stock one that was on the '68CS when I got it 22 years ago.
When I upgraded to PS I needed another groove.
The '71 CS w/a 390, I parted out last summer had the triple groove one.
I understand that it was a dealer add on, that Ford never used one configured like that.
The alt has a double groove pulley, the PS has a single pulley and I have a dealer add on A/C that uses one.

KaptnKA S

[fordman]

wow i guess i wasnt seeing that right. oops.

[71f250]

Thanks, guys. I saw a couple on ebay and will try to pick one up. It looks like there are a few different configurations, as you said... but as long as it's a groove that sits further forward that the two existing grooves, hopefully it will line up!

Another snag I ran into was trying to get that rubber/plastic grommet at the top side of the shifter linkage to go back into the hole of the arm coming off of the steering column. I tried everything, invented a few new cuss words, and couldn't get it in there. So, I ended up putting a threaded I-bolt on with some nylon washers to secure it to the arm. I'll post a pic since I'm sure everyone will get a laugh out of it. Not pretty, but it works

Matt