pitman arm & steering gear

[Mike Baker]

Logicly I would expect that the splines on the steering gear would be fairly close to flush with the bottom of the pitman arm when it is installed. But it appears that the splines are about a 1/4 inch from the bottom of the pitman arm when they are fitted together. Is this correct?

Thanks. The car is a '68 without power steering.

[Joe L.]

Re: pitman arm & steering gear

Mike-----

I'm not sure that I completely understand your question. However, keep in mind that the pitman arm will be fully "seated" on the pitman shaft after the lockwasher and nut are installed and torqued to specification. The pitman arm will not be fully "seated" until this occurs. If the pitman shaft splines are clean (don't use anything abrasive, though, as the spline section of the shaft is copper plated) and the pitman arm splines are completely clean and free of any burrs, you should not have any problem with this assembly "seating" properly.

[Mike Baker]

Re: pitman arm & steering gear

Thanks Joe,

My question was not very clear, but it looks like you figured out what I was tying to ask.

I have not torqued the nut yet. I'll make sure everything is clean and see how it looks when I tighten it up.

Thanks again.

[Joe L.]

Re: pitman arm & steering gear

Mike-----

It might be best to wait until you have the steering system assembled before you torque the nut. In any event, you need to make sure that the sector (pitman) gear and shaft is off the stops when you torque the nut. If you torque the nut against the stops at either end of the sector gear travel, you WILL damage the steering gear.