Rebuilding steering gear

[tbm3fan]

So today was the day to put in new upper ball joints, pitman arm, idler arm, and both inner and outer tie rod ends. Should be a relatively easy job since I have all the tools from previous jobs. Should be?

First off when I pull out the socket for removing upper ball joints I see that it it too big for the old and new joints. Ok, first road block so let's move on. Pop the tie rods off the center link and knuckles. No problem and I clean up the shaft for the tie rods before putting the new ones in using the same dimensions as the old ones that came out. Put them aside .

Next pop the center link off the idler and pitman arms to clean up and put aside. The joint on the idler arm actually had 1" of vertical movement connected to the center link. Clearly it was shot. Getting the thing out went ok and see that the new one has 2 metal washers enclosed. Can see that they are supposed to go on either side of the idler arm between the mount. However, two of them are just a tad to thick to fit. Pull out a grade 8 9/16" washer which is a bit thinner and now the fit is good.

The pitman arm had me searching for anything that could remove a 1 1/2" nut. Found my giant crescent wrench and that worked. Yet once the arm was out it was very apparent that the new arm was 1" shorter than the original in there. Arm was a Raybestos professional grade arm that was made in the U.S. Now this seems to be a major problem. Can't put it in as the center link will not be horizontal under the car since the idler has the correct throw.

So the car sits in the driveway on jack stands unable to go to a car show this Saturday pending the pitman arm issue. Nothing ever goes smooth even when you have all the tools you think you need.

 

[tbm3fan]

After a hour of researching I find out that the Pitman arm for 65-73 C bodies was discontinued and I actually got a B body arm. Live and learn.

 

[1978 NYB]

After a hour of researching I find out that the Pitman arm for 65-73 C bodies was discontinued and I actually got a B body arm. Live and learn.

If you have the original part number I would check arizonaparts.com and partsvoice.com for a pitman arm. I've found a ton of NOS on those sites.

The center link is a non-wear part.... correct? Unless it's bent of course.

 

[commando1]

I'm pretty sure that.............

http://www.justsuspension.com/pitman-arm-20116.html

Let us know how you make out.

 

[tbm3fan]

I'm pretty sure that.............

http://www.justsuspension.com/pitman-arm-20116.html

Let us know how you make out.

Ordered this morning on line. Called Firm Feel, about 2 minutes before hitting the place order button for Just Suspension, but got only an answering machine. Didn't leave a message and hit send for JS. Three minutes later I get a call from Firm Feel, who thought they had the wrong number till explained by my receptionist, and I told the guy the bad news. Oh well, we did have a nice few minutes conversation.

As for partsvoice.com I use them regularly for Ford parts since I have those numbers. I don't have numbers for mechanical parts to my Dodge just only the body parts.

 

[commando1]

Bottom line; You found your part.

 

[polara71]

. I don't have numbers for mechanical parts to my Dodge just only the body parts.

You need a parts book

 

[commando1]

I can't see how one can own an old car that they work on and not have a parts book. I can't even count how many times having a parts book saved me money let alone aggravation.

< Sent from my tablet >

 

[1978 NYB]

I couldn't find any parts without my parts book unless the part was stamped with the part number.

 

[polara71]

My parts have the part number on it, but you need to know what it goes to

 

[tbm3fan]

You need a parts book

Speaking of which I happen to be expecting a 1973 Mopar CD any day now.

Nonetheless, I did locate the Mopar part number for the pitman arm. All ranged from $125 - $250 with some NOS Mopar and others NOS Moog.

So while waiting for the pitman arm and correct ball joint socket tool I loosely put in the center link and tie rod assemblies to get them safely out of the way. While doing so I noticed a couple of coolant drops on the brace from engine to bell housing. Following the line led me to a freeze plug which looks a little iffy. So now I have that to replace. Fortunately, with the pitman arm out of the way this plug is easy to get at. I believe 1 5/8" brass plug should do the trick.

 

[tbm3fan]

The pitman arm arrived today from Just Suspension when I got home at 7 pm. By 7:30 I was under the car to get it in and tighten everything up. One minor irritation was that this new pitman arm didn't have the four flat areas in the threads the old one did to help in alignment. This worried me some and my fears were justified within an hour. All set to go and take a test drive as I back out of the drive way I sense the wheel will not be level. Sure enough the new pitman arm is either 1 or 2 teeth off so the wheels have a slight right turn when the steering wheel is level. Back off tomorrow afternoon to correct.

Nonetheless, there was a noticeably solid feel to the steering. Also, having corrected a float that was 5/32" too low, the car lost it's hesitation from a standing start. There is still a tendency for the oil light to flicker when the car is warm and sitting at a stop light. Put it into neutral and the flicker stops. Oil level correct so I might tweak the idle speed a tad higher.

Had to stop and get gas and the gas station attendant, who was taking a smoke break outside, saw the car pull in and he followed it all the way to the pump. About late 40's and he asked what year the car was? He then noticed the polished finish of the car and the new vinyl roof. His comment was that was built back when cars were cars.

Through some research I learned this was a VIP special car in 1973. The option was cloth inserts in the seats with red piping and white borders, black shag carpet, vinyl roof, and only three exterior colors of white, red or black.

 

[1978 NYB]

Can you post a few pictures of your car inside and out when you get a chance. It sounds like it's a real beauty.

 

[tbm3fan]

Can you post a few pictures of your car inside and out when you get a chance. It sounds like it's a real beauty.

Just need a some up tpo date body pictures and then I'll post, in a new thread, pictures of the car top to bottom.

As for today I finally did the upper ball joints now that I got the right size tool. Popping the stud is really easy with the ball joint removal tool I have. Better than any pickle fork or whacking the top of the steering knuckle. While putting them in I cleaned up the areas, drivers more than passenger, and also put in new bumpers. The only glitch, and there is always one, is that one of the ball joints didn't fit. I had order them from Advance Auto and got two 55-1004 joints. One Raybestos Professional Grade and one Spicer. The Spicer would not seat and instead rocked in the opening while the Raybestos dropped right in. Turns out the Spicer measured 1.825" just before the 1st thread. The originals measured 1.810" in the same spot. Oh, am I pissed off as now I got to go looking at 5:00pm on Sunday. Monument Auto, open till 8:00pm, has a US made Moog which measured at 1.810". Perfect! Get home, put it in, torque, cotter pins the right way vs. what I had, and lubed with grease. Pictures below and right after posting this I am out to take her for a test drive. One ball joint was flopping around just as bad as the idler arm.