Heat and bend pitman arm?

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Bob McMillen

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Guthrie, OK
I knew the centerlink was hitting the oil pan on hard left turns. I thought it was because the guy who swapped the engine did such a horrible job modifying the engine mount brackets. Once I got the engine out, I noticed that the centerlink at the pitman arm end was high and to the rear from being parallel to the ground and perpendicular to the centerline of the car.
Is this normal?
Should I take the pitman arm off, cherry red it at one end at a time and give it a little more bend in order to drop and bring forward?
Car 1966 Barracuda
Originally a 273 three on the tree car.
Now has a 1973 360 and a 1970/71 727 with a console floor shift.
Not sure what the pan is. It is a center sump and looks like it had not been removed since it left the factory. And the point of impact is to the rear of the factory dimple in the pan.
20210205_073851.jpg
 
That's not normal. Someone went rockcrawling in that thing at some point. Or maybe the idler arm is incorrect??? Instead of heating and bending, I'd probably just try to find another one. Is the steering box damaged at all?
 
That's not normal. Someone went rockcrawling in that thing at some point. Or maybe the idler arm is incorrect??? Instead of heating and bending, I'd probably just try to find another one. Is the steering box damaged at all?
The thing about this car is how undamaged by rust or bending the structural rails are. There is no indication of severe damage. I don't think the idler is at fault since the contact is on the pitman arm side and the contact area is rearward of the factory dimple in the pan. No one has a pitman arm locally and I don't want to spend the money if I end up with the same problem. Once I special order one, it's mine.
 
The thing about this car is how undamaged by rust or bending the structural rails are. There is no indication of severe damage. I don't think the idler is at fault since the contact is on the pitman arm side and the contact area is rearward of the factory dimple in the pan. No one has a pitman arm locally and I don't want to spend the money if I end up with the same problem. Once I special order one, it's mine.

We just put a magnum in a 65 Valiant not long ago and have plenty of clearance. The centerlink for a v8 car is different than on a slant car. The v8 one is deeper in the bend. About twice as much. Hard to tell which one you have. other than that, If you have the right pan, there shouldn't be a problem. I can measure out pitman and idler if you want. Won't be until later though.
 
That center link should be straight across, not angled like that. I would guess its a mis-match of parts. Do not heat and bend suspension parts unless you like living on the edge.
 
That center link should be straight across, not angled like that. I would guess its a mis-match of parts. Do not heat and bend suspension parts unless you like living on the edge.

Good point, maybe the idler is bent?

Oops, I mis-read. Pitman arm...
 
We just put a magnum in a 65 Valiant not long ago and have plenty of clearance. The centerlink for a v8 car is different than on a slant car. The v8 one is deeper in the bend. About twice as much. Hard to tell which one you have. other than that, If you have the right pan, there shouldn't be a problem. I can measure out pitman and idler if you want. Won't be until later though.
Measurements would be great! LMK Thanks for the offer!
 
The thing about this car is how undamaged by rust or bending the structural rails are. There is no indication of severe damage. I don't think the idler is at fault since the contact is on the pitman arm side and the contact area is rearward of the factory dimple in the pan. No one has a pitman arm locally and I don't want to spend the money if I end up with the same problem. Once I special order one, it's mine.

It's most likely a severely bent pitman arm. Show us a side view, and we'll be able to tell for sure. It's supposed to have a pretty lengthy drop in it. Looks like that drop is pushed up and back.

For it to bend that much though, I'd think it would've damaged the steering box too. You can try bending it back, but the idea of heating important steering components cherry red doesn't sit well with me. I know hotrodders have been doing it forever, but I'd try what I could to find a useable replacement. That's just me though. Keep us posted!
 
If someone put a fast ratio pitman arm on it at some point, that could be the issue, too. They are longer than stock and require a fast ratio idler arm to match so you won't run into the exact problem you have.
 
I thought the F/R idler arm was the same? would make a weird combo I guess. Heating and bending a cast iron pitman arm seems like it would break before it would bend, unless it was not cast iron.
 
If someone put a fast ratio pitman arm on it at some point, that could be the issue, too. They are longer than stock and require a fast ratio idler arm to match so you won't run into the exact problem you have.
I was wondering if that could be the case. One of my concerns about heating it and bending it is that it now seems to take a lot of turns lock to lock. Effectively shorten it will only make that worse.
BTW I have a friend who has a dropped axle business. I will get advice from him about doing it properly.
 
I thought the F/R idler arm was the same? would make a weird combo I guess. Heating and bending a cast iron pitman arm seems like it would break before it would bend, unless it was not cast iron.

Aren't they drop forged steel?
 
Kinda hard to tell from just that one picture. The center link needs to be the dropped one for use with a v8. I think at some date, they eventually standardized on all of them being dropped.
Could be mismatched idler and pitman arms. Anything is possible on a 55 year old car.
Rockauto has returnable parts if you don't want to get stuck.
 
Show a side view.
If Kendog 170 is showing a photo of a correct pitman, I am thinking mine is bent at the bottom. Like maybe someone tried to jack it up by the pitman arm?
This car is full of contradictions. Here is a photo with the dimensions as close as I could get them.
The idler is approx. 5-1/2" center to center and 6-3/16" as the crow flies.
The steering box looks fine. The shaft goes straight and true to the column and there is no binding when steering. So, while it may not be perfect, there is no way it or its mounting is causing this.
The centerlink has a 1-3/4" drop in the center which makes it a V8 link if my sources are correct.
pitmandim.jpg
 
It's pretty obvious that's it either your pitman or idler arm at this point. Is the centerlink sloping upward on the pitman side??

Your side picture is deceiving because it's not level. Once you account for the angle of the photo, it appears that the pitman arm may be bent.
 
Update. I took the pitman arm to my friend, Sid. Sid has Nostalgia Sid's Dropped Axles |. Sid is an expert at this and I am lucky he is right here in the town where I live. This has the left side of the center link down so it shouldn't hit the pan any more. But, as usually happens, it helped me identify some other issues I will need to address. But, progress.
20210311_183608.jpg
 
It's most likely a severely bent pitman arm. Show us a side view, and we'll be able to tell for sure. It's supposed to have a pretty lengthy drop in it. Looks like that drop is pushed up and back.

For it to bend that much though, I'd think it would've damaged the steering box too. You can try bending it back, but the idea of heating important steering components cherry red doesn't sit well with me. I know hotrodders have been doing it forever, but I'd try what I could to find a useable replacement. That's just me though. Keep us posted!

One of the best mech/front end men I know did it to a pick up of mine to help w/ bump steer , it all in how its done .
 
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