Steering Gear Box

[Bigblock514]

Anyone know if a '79 steering gear box is the same as my '72 both are power ? I'm changing to disc on my '72 and the donor truck was a '74. Got everything out from under it
but the steering gear. What I really need is a pitman arm off of a '73 up that'll save me the trouble of changing mind out. Any feed back will be greatly appreciated thanks guys.

[fordman]

this was done to get ready for the use of disc brakes and other reasons too maybe.

i added a caveat to that sentence. i didnt imply that it was only for disc brakes. i couldn't remember at the time i wrote this that is was because of the thicker spindles on the 73 and up trucks. that is why i stated this statement the way i wrote it.

here is some info also that tells about that change.

Here's a view of the differences between the stock '67-'72 vs. '73-'79 tie rod ends, where they connect to the spindle's steering arm. This is due to the later spindle's steering arm being thicker. Therefore, early steering linkage cannot be used with later disc-brake spindles without some grinding on the spindle's steering arm to allow the tie rod end to protrude through enough to install the castle nut and cotter pin.

The '73-up spindle's steering arm is thicker than the '67-'72 versions. Here's a view of the later spindle, this one from a '79 F150.

from this page. http://www.fordification.com/tech/str-s ... ations.htm

and there are these



now none of these actually say that it was because of disc brakes. that is why i stated for other reasons too. some times design changes for other upgrades take time. however i can not see any reasons why they bend in the steering linkage was made. to need a new pitman arm myself. i also couldn't find another place where the site said it was made due to the upcoming disc brakes. maybe that has been edited since i last read it. but i know the only reason for change to the spindles was made in in 73 and up trucks and not in our trucks. and i see no need for them to have made a change in the steerign linkage to require a new pitman arm design either.

i have to leave. i will be back to this. please give me time to finish this before repling.

[Bigblock514]

Boy your on the ball thanks. I just sent you a pm

[Hawkrod]

2wd F100 and F250 69-79 use the saginaw power steering gear. there are two pitman arms that can be used. the C9ta. and the D2ta. the trucks from 65 to mid 1971 with serial number M00,000 use the C9TA pitma arm. after serial number M00,001 the trucks use pitman arm D2TA. this was done to get ready for the use of disc brakes and other reasons too maybe. use the pitman arm that match the steering linkage you are using. if you are using the 74 discs then use the 74 steering linkage and the D2TA pitma arm. if you are using the 73 discs steering linkage then you still use the D2TA pitman arm. if you use the 79 stuff you still use the D2TA pitman arm. the steerign linkage in your 72 should be the updated steerign linkage. so you can use the 79 73 or 74 pitman arm.

I am sorry but that is both confusing and not entirely correct. It does not matter which linkage you use as long as its a "set". If you have later power steering then you use later linkage. The spindles you are using does not matter just the linkage/pitman arm/steering arm combo and the pitman arm was not changed "to get ready for the use of disc brakes", it was changed because the rest of the parts were changed and it needed to match. The change was not in preperation for disc brakes since the F250 already had disc brakes and did not use the new parts until mid 71 and from 68 to early 71the old parts work fine. You may not need the new parts and the D2 pitman arm for F100 disc brakes as the 73 F100 disc brakes may work just fine with the C9TA pitman arm as long as you are using the appropriate tie rods/drag link/steering arms but I have not verified if the earlier steering arm will actually bolt to the disc brake spindle for an F100 (it does fit the F250 disc brakes for 73 for sure!). Also note that 65-68 did not originally come with a C9TA pitman arm, that is just the number of the service part used in the field after 69, prior to 69 they had a different number. It does not matter what year brakes you are using, it matters which pitman arm and linkage you are using. The bottom line is if you have 72 and later steering arms on the spindle you use the 72 linkage and pitman arm but if you have 71 and older steering srms you use the earlier linkage and pitman arm. Hawkrod

[fordman]

yes i should have edited it. it is confusing. it was changed for the newer style linkages that were made for the different thickness of spindles coming for the 73 F100. so the pitman arm was changed. and you have to use them as a matched set. as i said.

the story goes that supposedly the later linkage will work with the earlier pitman arm. someone on here has done it and said they didnt have any trouble with it binding up. which is what has always been why everyone is told to use them as a set with the matching pitman arm.

i am not sure what part of that you say is not correct. it is a reflection of what the site says.

[Hawkrod]

snip
it was changed for the newer style linkages that were made for the different thickness of spindles coming for the 73 F100.
snip.

Unfortunately that is not true and the steering linkage design change had nothing to do with the coming disc brakes. Ford just does not work that way. The change was made in 71 because the design was improved not because they knew they would need to change for the disc brakes. The reality is if they needed to change for the 73 brakes they would have intro'ed it with the new brakes. The two changes are entirely independent of each other. Hawkrod