Firm feel stage III requires using your old Pitman arm. Removing bolt was the most challenging
I put the gear in a vise and turned the pitman arm counterclock wise until it hit the steering stop. Sprayed the bolt with a lot of PB removal and then beat on the end of the crescent wrench like a mad man. Took about 5 minutes of alternating between spraying
PB and beating the end of the crescent wrench with a hammer.
Once the pitman bolt came off, the arm went easy using a
pitman arm puller.
Having the right tools sure makes things easy!
Firm Feel Stage III requires using the old return valve and high pressure fitting. New o-rings and brass washer is provided.
New o-rings in place. They are orange, old rings are black.
New brash washer on the high pressure fitting.
Installed the valves and high pressure on the new stage III. Turned the stage III Pitman arm shaft counter clockwise till it hit the stop so it would be the the same position as the old steering gear, then installed the pitman arm in the same position.
Removed the motor mount bolts and starter then jacked up the engine about 2 inches.
Removed the headers. They came off clean. All gasket sealer stayed on the gasket. The headers were clean with no gasket sealer stuck on them.
After the headers were off the Firm Feel stage III went right in with no problems. 3 bolts later -
Put a thin coat of gasket sealer directly on the header flange and bolted it back in. Reconnected the motor mount bolts, pitman arm to steering linkage, power steering hoses, steering column assembly and reinstalled the starter. Refilled coolant, power steering and oil. Total time spent was about 4 hours.
The old exhaust pipe flanges do not line up with the new headers. I need to cut them shorter and have the new flanges welded on. Since I do not have a welder nor do I know how to weld I took the exhaust pipes and Challenger over to
my favorite muffler shop to do the work.
Needless to say, it was one LOUD drive!!
The Firm feel stage III is much tighter than stock. My first impression was that it feels very similar to my
Magnum SRT8. Will have a better idea as I drive it more, but I really do like the way it feels thus far!
