my dumb ? of the day - cant get the nut on the steering arm

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jasonmrenda

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FINALLY got the headers, starter and power steering box all in and all bolts in. no idea how to torque the poer steering box nuts to spec as i can barely get a wrench on them nevermind a tq wrench so i just whomped on em as best i could. if those things loosen and somehow manage to fall through the headers - well good for them.

anyhoo, latest idiotic dilemma:
so i have everything ready to button up but for some reason the steering arm only pokes thru the steering bar a tiny bit - so i cant get the nut on it to tq it down. beforei go undoing the tie rods and the pittman arm? on the other side, do i need to get the car off the jack stands (obv with wheels onit) in order to push that steering arm thing up higher to get the nut on?

any ideas? thanks all
 
try flipping it over they the holes are cone shaped i had the same problem and got so mad only to realise it was up side down lol
 
A pic might help so we could establish that its on correctly .
Also there are larger splines that index the arm so it has to be clocked correctly . It does help to have a bit of slack in the whole assemly .That would allow you to start the arm on the steering box.
 
thanks guys - i'll post a pic later tonight. everything was all set before i took the k member off and i never removed the steering cross bar completely so it is in the same way as it was before. the 3 other bolts/holes all line up fine.
 
The bolts in the steering gear should have locktite on them. I use a socket and 3/4 pull bar on them but I dont have headers.
Re tighten those bolts from time to time. If they ring out the holes in the steering gear they'll never stay tight.
 
i am starting to effing hate this car. seriously.
wtf is with this. i have the steering cross arm thing completely off. the only way i can get the damn thing to go thru the steering arm is if i flip it upside down but then the cross bar rubs on the oil pan. that cant be right. plus then the other holes seem to be off. if i turn it according to the manual, i cannot get the steering arm to go through the hole yet all 3 other ones line up. i just thought of something. i am using the power steering gear box from the 67 and everything else is from the 76. do i need to use the cross bar from the 67?
i really am getting frustrated.
 
fu&* - friggin steering arm from the 67 points up and the one from the 76 points down. now what do i do? can i dissasseble both and swap the steering arms? if so how do i know which spline to attach it to? son of a bit^h.
 
jasonmrenda said:
fu&* - friggin steering arm from the 67 points up and the one from the 76 points down. now what do i do? can i dissasseble both and swap the steering arms? if so how do i know which spline to attach it to? son of a bit^h.
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You should just need a piman arm from 68-72. Or if the shafts are the same diameter, use your 67 arm.
 
From the first thread I assumed you had just taken some stuff apart to install headers.
Now I'm thinking you installed either a steering gear or a different draglink.
As far as I know , there is not a bastard pitman to solve your problem.
 
i think i figured it out

the 67 pow steering gear box has a pitman arm (is this the same as a steering arm?) where the end points up and the 76 has one where the end points down. the actual gear box on the 76 was bad so i replaced it with the good one from the 67 0 including the pitman arm. i had read somewhere that the 67 used a 1 year only pitman arm that pointed up insteead of down. well when i installed the 67 gearbox to the 76 kframe, i never swapped the pittman arms.

went to autozone last night and got a pittman arm puller and got the pittman arm from the 67 off. will do the same with the 76 tonight and prey that they are the same size for the splines. if not i guess it's time for a new pow steering box for the 76. which would really suck not just cos of cost but because of the time it took me to get the damn box onto the frame and now i'd have to undo/redo it all again. keeping my fingers crossed...............
 
The earlier models used the same spline size for manual and power steering the later models used a larger spline on power steering.
The input shaft changed at some point also. You may need a different box coupling on the steering column shaft too.
 
so basically if the pitman arm from the 76 wont fit on the 67, i need a new 76 box AND possibly a new coupler ??? to mate the 76 box to the 67 column. where would i get such a coupler and how would i know what to ask for?
 
jasonmrenda said:
so basically if the pitman arm from the 76 wont fit on the 67, i need a new 76 box AND possibly a new coupler ??? to mate the 76 box to the 67 column. where would i get such a coupler and how would i know what to ask for?
Click to expand...

If your 76 shaft is different, Just get a 68-72 pitman arm. I have two 66 , one 67, and one 68 manual box. they all have the same splines.
 
We got it sorted. Using a 76 K-member with a 67 power steering gear, he needs to swap in the 67 draglink he previously removed. The only part he needs to purchase is a 68 idler arm.
 
yep just wanted to say a VERY big thanks to RedFish especially (and to all who have helped as well) as we got it sorted. part should be in tomorrow so hopefully this weekend will see lots done on the car.
i would never have figured that out myself. but i am lerning a ton with this swap.
 
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