More steering box and alignment queries

[UKcuda]

Now I have my power steering box (chuck) assembled correctly and my wheels re-tracked I still have an element of pulling slightly to the left.

The control valve is set up correctly and the steering wheel and column are lined up correctly with the box.  Also the steering wheel is straight when the car is going straight ahead.  I am wondering if the pitman arm has been wrongly installed (I've never taken it off).

I am fortified in this speculation by the fact that the track-rods on the right wheel are screwed into the sleeve much further than the ones on the left.  In fact on the right hand ones there are hardly any threads left showing on the track-rod ends, whereas there is a lot showing on the left.  This doesn't seem right to me at all.

Looking around the net some sources say the pitman arm can only go in one position and others say there are four index splines so it can go in four positions.  I'm wondering if that's right and it has been put on the wrong spline.  I won't have chance to get under there until the weekend but in the meantime:

Does anyone know how many positions the pitman arm can go ?

By the way, when I go from full lock-to-lock the steering wheel is lined up correctly exactly in the center of the travel, although I guess the wheel stops will see to that even if the pitman arm is on wrong.

Thanks in advance for any help/ideas.

[brads70]

By "track rods" do you mean strut rods? or tie rod assembly?
Maybe the LCA is bent? Or the bushing  in the LCA is worn? Stut rod bushings worn?
Does both the Idler arm and pitman arm point straight when attached to the center link?

[UKcuda]

By "track rods" do you mean strut rods? or tie rod assembly?
Maybe the LCA is bent? Or the bushing  in the LCA is worn? Stut rod bushings worn?
Does both the Idler arm and pitman arm point straight when attached to the center link?

Sorry, track rod is Brit speak for tie rod.  I'm pretty sure there's no damage or excessive wear.  Last time I was under there the pitman arm looked to be lined up OK but I wasn't really focusing on that aspect of it.

[brads70]

Hummm you got me thinking? I had heard there was only one way you could install it too ( master spline?) I have never taken one off? I remembered the Firm Feel fast ratio arm I had yet to install so I went and dug it out. It DOESN'T have a master spline! So it looks to me that you COULD install it out of position? Here are a couple of pictures I just took! I would check if the idler and pitman are running parallel to each other? and the center link is in the middle of the car?
I don't know if that would make the car pull to one side though? What about the simple stuff like equal air pressure in the front tires?

[UKcuda]

Thanks, that's interesting.  I guess there could still be a double spline on the stock arm and FF's fast ratio arm just puts two splines into it.   

But I'm sure the pitman arm position will make a difference to where the steering wants to center because of way the Ackermann steering geometry works.

If the arm is centered correctly and with a small amount of toe-in when the wheels are straight ahead, then turning the wheels either way takes them into a toe-out alignment that they need to take corners correctly (because the wheel on the inside of the corner is tracking around a smaller circle). 

If the arm is not centered correctly then turning one way takes the wheels into toe-out whilst turning the other way takes them momentarily into a deeper toe-in before they go toe-out.  The wheels try to go relatively parallel with each other and it causes them to pull to one side to neutralise the imbalance.

I'm not sure whether the pitman and idler arms are supposed to be exactly parallel, but if they are then they will still be parallel with the arm fitted wrong because the distance between either end of them can't change.  If they are not supposed to be parallel then the straight ahead relationship will be different with the arm fitted wrongly, but it might not be enough to see.

My tyre pressures are equal; in fact everything else seems to be equal.  I think I'd better start finding a puller for the arm.

[dodj]

I just changed the steering box on my car last winter and the gear arm could only go on one way.

Hey UK, I was watching a car show the other day and it was covering a british car that I forget the name of and the commentator used the phase "Give it some pillick!" (or at least that is what it sounded like to me) I assume that means give it some gas? Can't figure out where the word pillick came from...

[brads70]

dodj,
So can you foresee any problems installing the firm feel arm I posted pictures of?  I'm wondering how I'm gonna get this on in the right position?

[dodj]

I can definitely see you could have a problem.  You should be able to note the orientation of the existing arm and duplicate it with the new arm? When you remove the old arm note where the master spline is and with a sharpie or something, mark the same location on the new arm. Kind of lay them on top of each other and sight through the openings and mark the outside where the master is?

[brads70]

I can definitely see you could have a problem.  You should be able to note the orientation of the existing arm and duplicate it with the new arm? When you remove the old arm note where the master spline is and with a sharpie or something, mark the same location on the new arm. Kind of lay them on top of each other and sight through the openings and mark the outside where the master is?

Good idea! 

[UKcuda]

I just changed the steering box on my car last winter and the gear arm could only go on one way.

Hey UK, I was watching a car show the other day and it was covering a british car that I forget the name of and the commentator used the phase "Give it some pillick!" (or at least that is what it sounded like to me) I assume that means give it some gas? Can't figure out where the word pillick came from...

Well I didn't get much time at the weekend (wife had me clearing out the barn    ) but I think this pitman arm is fitted somehow wrong.  Didn't have time to get if off yet.

I don't recognise "pillick", the closest I can think of is "pillock" which means kind of an idiot, as in: "he tried to remove his pitman arm using a can opener, what a pillock".

[dodj]

Mine was VERY difficult to remove. Using a puller, a big vise, and a hammer to tap it while tightening the puller. Took several tries to convince it to move. Lots of  thrown in for good measure.

[UKcuda]

Mine was VERY difficult to remove. Using a puller, a big vise, and a hammer to tap it while tightening the puller. Took several tries to convince it to move. Lots of  thrown in for good measure.

Yeah my mate Mike (known as "Mustang Mike") was telling me he did one on a '71 Challenger our mutual friend had a while back.  Mike works at a military base and has access to all their tools etc. so he wound it up with a massive puller and eventually it went off like a grenade he said. 

I basically need to sort out some spare time to get properly into it.   And as if I didn't have enough demands on my time, I'm now looking at buying a pick up   

[ShelbyDogg]

Has the valve plate been adjusted on the top of your steering box?  Sliding it slightly forward or backwards has lots to do with your steering wheel pulling to center itself. Try adjusting it.

 If your steering wheel goes lock to lock and is straight up when halfway through the count, leave the pitman arm alone.

[UKcuda]

Has the valve plate been adjusted on the top of your steering box?  Sliding it slightly forward or backwards has lots to do with your steering wheel pulling to center itself. Try adjusting it.

 If your steering wheel goes lock to lock and is straight up when halfway through the count, leave the pitman arm alone.

Hi ShelbyDogg, as I already said in my post the control valve is adjusted correctly.  And I have confirmed it is not a problem with the valve because I even tried adjusting it slightly wrong the other way (so the steering box tried slightly to steer to the right when I started the engine) but when I was driving along the steering still pulled slightly to the left.

Also the tie rods don't seem right the way they are wound so short at one side and long at the other, surely that can't be right ??

[Bullitt-]

Also the tie rods don't seem right the way they are wound so short at one side and long at the other, surely that can't be right ??

The thought occurred to me, I don't even know if it's possible or what this would cause, but what would happen if the center link were flipped/installed with the idler arm side on the pitman arm side.  ..It angles back on the pitman end.