i got my nifty roadster headers installed, but it creates a clearance issue with my steering. i think flipping my arm to put the offset towards the frame will give me enough space to clear but i dunno how to get the damn arm off! next stupid question comin up.... is there a puller i need? heat? am i just not raising the correct eyebrow as i struggle with this thing? any info is greatly appreciated as i really like my shiny new headers and dont wanna go back to cast iron exhaust manifolds!
ive had good luck with pullers on modern ones but i dunno. they did some funny stuff back in the day and im no expert
you need a pitman arm puller , O'Reilly should be able to borrow you one. what box? if it has splines it probably has a slight taper and you may not be able to flip it
Depends on the steering box. F 100 with pinch bolt slides right off and can be reversed. Most others are a tapered spline and reversing is not possible. Tapered needs a healthy puller usually.
As has been said use a pitman arm puller. If it is really stubborn then put an impact gun on it. Failing that a gentle heat with a brazing torch can deliver some precise controllable heat to help pry it free.
KD 2289 or Chinese equivalent http://www.tooltopia.com/kd-tools-2289.aspx If it's early Mustang, grind off the flats from the steering box shaft and you ccn mount the pitman arm at any angle you want Might help if you tell us WTF steering box you got so we can help you.
and i would do so if i knew WTF steerin box i have.... all i know is, before the headers, it looked like it belonged.... now, notsomuch.... its the 1 part on the whole damn car i havent identified ... yet.
OK, photos would help. If by flipping the arm, you mean reversing it on the box shaft, you can't do that with an early Mustang since the box shaft is tapered (as is the hole in the pitman arm) -- as JohnEvans said. Might be other solutions if you can attach photos.
i'll snap some shots asap.. i can use all the help i can get. but if it all bolted together without some fussin, i'd feel like i'd been cheated! or had built a checkbook car...
ok, i'm just spitballin here.... is there any reason i couldnt put a pair of bends, 1 at each end or rather 2 at each end to go inboard of the pipes? and still end up in the right place?
steering arms can be heated and bent if they are forged steel and done properly. you also have to make sure your steering geometry is correct. those pictures would be a big help
i know i know. just got home n its to dark for a decent picture. i wasnt talking about the steering arm. i meant fabbing a new drag link that goes from the pitman arm to the steering arm thats bolted to the spindle.. it just seems to me that having a dogleg around the header tubes wouldnt hurt anything as long as the start and end remained it the original positions... does that make any sense to anybody else? or am i just usin creative geometry to try and avoid the issue?
Let some PB Blaster soak on it for a while then use the pitman arm puller . That should work the best.
no friend, its YOU who cant make sense outta what i'm sayin... picture a draglink runnin parallel to the frame. now picture that same draglink with 2 bends, 1 to kick it inboard of the header tubes and a 2nd to begin the parallel run again. with me so far? ok, the new parallel run goes past the tubes on the inboard side. once it clears the tubes, 2 more bends. 1 to kick it back out in line with the steering arm on the spindle and a 2nd to regain "parallelosity" (new word) ya like it? i made it up! i'm just thinkin clearance while maintaining proper geometry...
The way you described bending the arm would be pretty complicated and would shorten it considerably. If the box was a common one you might get away with all those bends if you can swap on a longer truck arm on it, but without seeing it that's all I can say. Might be easier to modify the headers?
I have a 39 chevy straight axle, and its pitman arm got a big ol' bend on it stock, plus the drag link is crooked as a dogs hind leg, all stock. GM used a worm and roller saginaw up to 63 or so, last ones were upgraded with needle bearings on the sector shaft for the Corvette, same basic box they had from the 30,s, good steering box if its kept lubed. Ford,s gemmer box is similar. heres some info. http://www.corvettefever.com/techarticles/corp_0910_c1_steering_box_restoration/separate_issues.html
you start heating and bending the steering arm you risk seal and bearing failure. the box has numbers cast in it and usually something that tells the manufacture. pic's are gonna get you the answers to safely use your setup.
Am I stupid ,Modifing headers is way easier to me. I even couched the muffler guy when mine needed to be shortened. He still talks to me and is proud of what we did together on my 29 hiboy.
lets see.... build 1 new draglink or... modify 4 header tubes..... remember, they're exposed on this roadster and i'd like to maintain a little symmetry.
Without seeing the whole setup it's kinda hard to make a good sugestion. But that pitman arm could be bent towards the frame a fair bit if that would help. A draglink with bends could work if done right as some OEM stuff had bends in them . Box I have no clue kinda looks Corvairish but one setup that way would steer backwards.
You have an OEM Vega box. People sell flat arms for them. They are usually double tapered for the tie rod end. I have routinely rebent the arms for better positioning of the boxes. You need a good two jaw puller and a little heat on the side away from the shank. Don't burn up your seal and NEVER beat on it. Vega's are REALLY suseptible to having the worm bearing surfaces ruined. I put the splined end in a vice and heat the arm dull red and bend them exactly backwards from their original shape. I do both ends of course.
The Jalopy Journal
