Is there different pitman arms for 1972
Maybe the wheel is on wrong. Yes there is 4 master splines, but only one correct way to have the pitman on.
Given that I can tell that the pitman arm has been changed, if there is only one right position, and ability to install in other positions that are wrong, I suspect this to be what has occurred since this car has had many wrongly assembled parts.
Why not just pull the center column out of the coupler and rotate the shaft 180 and put it back in? Problem solved.
For the same reason I didn’t do it earlier when I said to myself that it was the quickest and easiest fix… If I have to reassemble something that is already correct in a wrong way to make a wrong situation right, what was really wrong to make it wrong? And since this series of components is directly responsible for controlling the direction of travel… I really don’t think it’s a wise decision to continue a wrong when it’s clear there are no aftermarket components in this system that would make me unable to assemble it factory correct, even if it takes longer to determine what that is.
You could just file away the master spline at the wheel and put the wheel on clocked anywhere.
That would be too much work to make it wrong to correct a situation that is correct, when there is clearly a root cause elsewhere making the current condition wrong.
Now for my soap box rant, ignore if you are squeamish:
…. Not to sound like an asshole, but why can’t there be more root cause problem solving and less quick fix problem solving …. I know we aren’t building spaceships but we also aren’t starting with a horse and buggy to build a car anymore …. If we were talking about lifters and valve train geometry this would have been way more technical solutions to avoid grenading your engine and less “just put the lifter in upside down it will be fine” solutions. Why should there be less emphasis on proper rest of the car assembly than the part that makes the same car go fast? Speed isn’t the killer, it’s the loss of control followed by the sudden stop into the wall or into the woods. Ok, ending my rant, hope all understands that there’s a reason these 50 year old cars are screwed up after non mechanics solve these issues with “quick fixes”.
