Tightening Pitman arm onto steering box "in situ"

[arctictraveller]

I just did this job, and removing the box was my only option. The nut was a bear to remove. I pounded the socket on with a BFH and then used an impact to no avail. Next was a breaker bar with a four foot Cheeter pipe but the vice was ready to rip off the bench. Once the nut was off I applied a two jaw puller bu all I managed to do was bust the puller. I tried heat and Kroil, but I didn't get it off till I rented a proper pitman arm puller....

[arctictraveller]

I'd say you should remove the box. It's nearly out and a pan will catch the fluid, besides when did you last change the oil? Trying to torque the nut back on May be an issue, but I've never done it in place. .....

[k2orbust]

Sounds like quite a saga! In my case the Pitman arm is loose already, so I'm hopeful it can be extracted once I get a wrench that fits the nut. Your nut was oversized for the socket too, huh...

Action Van says they re-use the nut (as opposed to replacing it), and they tighten to 200 ft-lb.

[k2orbust]

BajaSportsmobile called it: the sector shaft has 32 teeth and the Pitman arm has 36! Or rather had; I don't think this particular specimen will fetch very much on eBay. Because the arm was, you know, the wrong one, it came off with just a little encouragement from a prybar. Whoever installed this...was not paying attention.

The splines on the sector shaft seem to be in decent shape, which is fine by me. Now just order up an FD400 Pitman arm and get back on the road! Straight to the alignment shop.

[E350]

You're the man! Nuts crumble before you. Although it might be worth looking into the cost of a Redheaded Steering gear box:

http://www.redheadsteeringgears.com/

I am sure you will be inspecting all the work that has been done on your suspension at this point... Keep posting!

BTW what set up are you using to get those clear close-up photos?

[k2orbust]

I'm ready to be done fixing things. It's been six weeks and I haven't even gotten it smogged yet. (Wonder what delightful surprises may await me there.....)

All photos are just with my Nexus 5 phone, which apparently has pretty good macro capabilities. It helps that the little flash LED is super close to the lens.

[BajaSportsmobile]

Wow, someone really screwed up.

The correct wrench is a 1 5/16" and the best to use use a combination wrench. Tighten up the nut with the box all bolted up tight. Use Loctite Thread Locker and get it as tight as you can - DON'T USE A TORQUE WRENCH - use a cheater and get it AS TIGHT AS YOU CAN. We often heat the pitman arm up first with a torch before installing it. After driving it around for a day or two - TIGHTEN IT AGAIN, it will be loose.

One small problem you will run into is that the thick double splines that act as an index are clocked different on the two pitman arms. The 36 spline FD500 are inline with the pitman arm and at 90* to it. The 32 spline FD400 is 45* rotated from being inline - so steering wheel alignment will be off.

Are you having fun yet?

[E350]

BTW, it is the seller's responsibility in California to smog the vehicle before you buy it.

[k2orbust]

It's been so educational I can't stand it ;-) Aha, I thought it might be a 1 5/16" nut. I ground my 32 mm crowfoot wrench out to 32.7 mm and it came off just fine.

You like a wrench like this? http://www.summitracing.com/parts/sxt-942/overview/ You go for ? foot pounds? Using the 12 point side or the open side? As I happen to have a 32.7 mm crowfoot wrench and torque wrench in my possession, I am tempted to use them...

You are correct that the thick splines are clocked differently on the FD400 and FD500 arms. The FD500 was installed with the thick splines exactly 45° off of where they should be, so the FD400 will line up perfect.

To E350, I think we've seen how responsible this seller is. He's also 300 miles away and not returning my calls, go figure.

[JackTuppVan]

The spline looks damaged to me. But it could just be an "Optical Conclusion".