New pitman arm too loose
 

Hello Ford Barn,
I just bought a new pitman arm from one of our good venders and it’s too loose on the gear box. I tightened the pinch bolt pretty tight and it still won’t tighten up. I will call the vender tomorrow but was wondering if anybody else has run into this? The old pitman arm tightens up very good when reinstalled.
Thanks
Chris

Re: New pitman arm too loose
 

Chris- That's an odd one.

I replaced my late-1930 pitman arm a few years ago with the shortened version to make steering easier. If anything, the arm was ever so slightly too tight. I had to spread the arm a little bit to slip it onto the gear box sector shaft.

Are you using the early 7-Tooth steering box, or a 2-Tooth? I'm not sure it will make a difference, but its good to know where you're coming from.

Re: New pitman arm too loose
 

Stick in the vise & squeeze it up , then you can tighten the bolt easier , OR its faulty ,

Re: New pitman arm too loose
 

Yeah, that would do it, maybe.

I know that I'm way too anal-retentive. With my personality, I would find the root cause of a problem before squeezing the daylights out of it. But hey, that's why I don't have many followers :D

Re: New pitman arm too loose
 

It’s a 2 tooth gearbox but that shouldn’t matter

Re: New pitman arm too loose
 

There were some issues years ago, the 2 tooth sectors were a bit undersized. That may be your issue.

Re: New pitman arm too loose
 

Check your "Private Messages" in the top right corner of this webpage.
Marshall

Re: New pitman arm too loose
 

Re: New pitman arm too loose
 

I am having a similar issue with my new Pitman arm. Do you have info on that? I have tried the vise method, but I was afraid of cracking it because I was afraid it was cast, which I now see is not the case.

Re: New pitman arm too loose
 

I'm curious myself. Whats so 'private' about helping this member with a tech issue? The only thing that comes to mind is the age old motivator...money.

Re: New pitman arm too loose
 

I'm pretty sure they're forged. I was wrong once before though, maybe.

Re: New pitman arm too loose
 

Marshall answered one of my questions using private message and no money was involved!:)

Re: New pitman arm too loose
 

Marshall never shares his knowledge on the forum. But I guess that is his right to not participate in the discussion so everyone may learn. Like someone mentioned it kind of defeats the purpose of a "Forum".

forum | ˈfôrəm |
noun (plural forums)
1 a place, meeting, or medium where ideas and views on a particular issue can be exchanged.

Re: New pitman arm too loose
 

I guess he doesn't like us Model A guys. I have seen him post on the 'T' and V-8 forums and the Swap Meet.

Chris, Let us know what you find out from the vendor. It would be nice to know and perhaps help someone else with a similar problem.

Re: New pitman arm too loose
 

This is a tough one.

I don't know about Marshall, but I have seen many people answer a question on this forum in the past and then get jumped all over by others about how they are wrong, they are ruining their car, etc. It makes a person not want to jump right up and answer, and be subjected to all that.

So maybe in the future people can post what they found as the SOLUTION to their problem, once it is fixed. I have seen a few of that sort of post here lately, which is good. Then others will have something to read that they know worked (at least for that person).

:cool:

Re: New pitman arm too loose
 

It's probably because they don't want someone like you jumping all over their a** with theoretical information.

Re: New pitman arm too loose
 

This is something that needs to be verified to see if it is forged. I read somewhere that the model A has over 150 forgings. If it is forged lay into it with the vice, it won't break.
John

Re: New pitman arm too loose
 

Not likely that the arm would be made out of cast iron, that would be a major safety issue.

Re: New pitman arm too loose
 

Called the vender who could check the blue prints and give me the actual spec. Of the pitman arm and the new arm was inspect. I had to crank the pinch bolt a bit tighter and the pitman arm is now nice and tight to the shaft.

Re: New pitman arm too loose
 

So, did the vender say it was forged? If so that would give peace of mind that really torqueing the bolt won't hurt the arm.

John