power steering question 3/4 to 1/2 ton swap

[68jimmy]

I'm in the process of converting my 3/4 ton gmc to a 1/2 ton. So far I have completed the rear and now I'm starting on the front. One item I'd like to get installed sooner is power steering. I have the pump and gearbox w/ pitman arm from a '70 1/2 ton ready. Will I have any issues with swapping the original manual box in terms of the center link? Do I need to reuse the pitman arm from the manual gearbox and install it on the p/s box?

thanks

[68jimmy]

ttt

[Solver]

I took a 3/4 ton pump and it bolted right up no mods on my 1/2 ton. 1/2 ton was manual steering but I used the pitman from the 3/4 ton and if I remember right it bolted up . Someone will have to jump in and tell me if I am mistaken

[longhorn71]

i used the power box,pitman arm and pump from a 1/2 in my 1 ton .It was a bolt on deal.tookabout 1/2 hour to install!!

[Longhorn Man]

the gear box has the same p/n 1/2 ton through one ton.
Not sure about the pitman arm stuff...but the box will work. If y9ou don't have much $$ into that gear box, you might want to look at a 73 - 80 box, it'll bolt right on, and it'll have a variable rate steering ratio.

[krazy_texan]

i am pretty sure they are all the same and the only problem you would run into is if you where trying to put it on a 67 or early 68 frame

[68jimmy]

My truck is a 68, but fortunately it does have the frame dimple... i will let you all know how it works out as the weekend weather is looking good.

thanks for all the info.

[68jimmy]

Well after working in and out of the drizzle and running the mandatory weekend errands I got it installed! And what a difference, I can't believe I didn't do this earlier... Here is a pic of the finished product...

Thanks for all of the tips.

[68jimmy]

after I installed and was testing the p/s setup I noticed that the pitman arm that was installed on the power gear box was quite different from others I've seen. See first pic. I have noticed that it has quite a bit of excessive play in it whenever I turn the wheel either way. In the second pic I have tried to highlight in yellow the upper and lower portions and it's the portion of the arm in between that has the excess play. Should I try to remove the old arm from my manual gear box and swap arms?

[Bob Moore]

I don't think I have ever seen a pitman arm with a through bolt on our trucks. The first picture looks like it has a through bolt. The second pic on the bench looks more normal to me.

I obviously have not seen all the trucks out there but just don't recall one like that. Anyone seen this before?

[Tx Firefighter]

The pitman arms won't interchange between your manual box and power box. They are definitely different.

[Randy70C-10]

Originally Posted by Bob Moore

I obviously have not seen all the trucks out there but just don't recall one like that. Anyone seen this before?

That's crazy, it looks almost like someone "rigged" it because of a broken part or something but I could be wrong, I've definately never seen a through-bolt on any pitman arms (on any vehicle). Also, I have a "new" pitman arm if you need one, $25 to the front door.