Custom Pitman Arm?

[hewittca]

Hi All. I was wondering if anyone has ever built their own pitman arm, or found one from a different vehicle that works on our trucks. Here's why I'm asking. I am swapping my truck from manual to power steering and I have discovered that the pitman arm shaft is about 3/4" longer on the power box. Normally, this probably isn't an issue but on my truck I have a sectioned crossmember that causes significant interference between the tierods and crossmember. If I could find (or build) a pitman arm that had 3/4" less drop then my centerlink would be back in the same position it was with the manual steering and everything would clear again. Any thoughts or input would be greatly appreciated!

Here's my original manual box. Measurement from the mounting hole to the pitman arm is about 1.19"



Power steering box measures about 1.93"



Interference with the power box. I have no issues with the manual box.

[kwmech]

For some reason the bolt face of the new box doesn't look right to me

[hewittca]

Originally Posted by kwmech

For some reason the bolt face of the new box doesn't look right to me

I forgot to mention that this box is from an '87. I went with a later box because I needed the metric fittings to match up with the pump on my LS. I had a friend measure two of his 67-72 boxes in the same way I did above and they measured almost identical to what I measured.

[LS short box]

Just a thought.
The street rod folks and dirt track folks have many different pitman arms.
No clue who to go for to but worth search.

[HotWheelsFan]

I have seen straight pitman arms. I used to have a few different styles as extra parts, can't say what years or model vehicle to look out for but I would think you might have luck finding something.

Bob

[hewittca]

Thank you for the input so far. LS Short Box, that is a good idea. I do recall seeing custom arms and steering linkages on the stock cars I've been around. HotWheelsFan, also a good idea. I actually found a pitman arm from a G10 that I tried. Although it was flatter, it was also longer, so my interference was the same magnitude but in a different spot. I have searched all the parts stores' online catalogues and it's really hard to find dimensions on these components. I've wondered if it's possible to shorten this G10 arm because then it would be perfect, but that gets into the sketchy realm of cutting/welding critical suspension components!

[KQQL IT]

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/b...hoCR3QQAvD_BwE

[hewittca]

Originally Posted by KQQL IT

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/b...hoCR3QQAvD_BwE

The problem with those is they have the taper for the centerlink in the pitman arm. Our trucks have the taper in the centerlink and the stud on the pitman arm. That has really narrowed down my possibilities for swapping arms from another vehicle.

[SCOTI]

Well, the arms are forged so you could probably heat it up w/a torch & use a press to take out some of the height between the two ends (if you don't find an easy alternative arm).

[hewittca]

Shoutout to kwmech for noticing the mounting flange didn't look right. After messing with this box for several days and looking back over other boxes online I realized this box is NOT a truck box. It is apparently a Saginaw 800 series box. The weird thing is it's stamped with the correct part number that I ordered, but it is not the same box pictured. I don't exactly know what this box fits in:





A friend of mine recently purchased a '78 so I got underneath and measured his steering box. It is within 1/4" of my manual box which makes it about 1/2" shorter than the mystery box. This will help greatly in my clearance issues. I have since purchased what should be the correct box and will report back with the final results for the sake of completeness.

[hewittca]

So I thought the box I received was a Saginaw 800, but now I'm not sure. Do any of you know what the box is that I posted above? It's 4 1/2 turn lock to lock, 13/16 sector shaft, and some undetermined steering shaft spline. I tried four different couplers on it and none fit.

I also ended up buying another box from a different parts warehouse and this time I actually received the correct box. This one yields the same measurement on the sector shaft as my manual box. This resulted in perfect fitment with the correct pitman arm. All is good now!