My 73 Grabber came with factory power steering. The number on the pitman arm is D3DA3590-B5. I'm converting the car to manual steering and so purchased a used center link, steering box and pitman arm. The used pitman arm I received is stamped D3DA-3590-AB. Oddly both pitman arms look identical to me. Is the AB part the correct one for manual steering? Couldn't find any photos on the internet that would show the difference between the two.
A manual steering pitman arm should be stamped DODA-3590-A. They will look similar, but the hole is different where it attaches to the center link/control valve. The taper of the hole is also different.
One has a ball joint, the other does not. That's the difference. A manual arm will not fit a power steering center link and vice versa.
Wow, everything really has been answered on this forum lol. Just purchased an arm stamped D3DA-3590-AB, taper is the correct orientation for manual steering.
Hi guys, First time poster here.... I just got two manual boxes (5-1/2 turns lock to lock). One had the DODA and the other the D3DA arm. The cases are also different. See pictures. So, are these different year boxes/arms? Thanks.
Position both arms so they are facing the same, compare the both holes where the center link stud attaches, are both tapers same? If one taper is opposite, then you have one manual and one power steering. You can also place one arm over the other to see if identical too, pretty sure both arms are for Mav/Comet, but you just want to confirm if they are both for manual. David
and a related question then: ... for slightly quicker steering, using or swapping to a PS box in a Manual box car would require PS Pittman, and Center link -anything else" ? . Manual Steer '74 250 W/ 76 Spindles: . . .. possible PS box swap... Have fun
For quicker steering, yes just changing manual steering box for PS box and still using same manual pitman arm, center link etc........ David manual box 5 1/2 turn to turn, power steering box 4 1/2 turn to turn.........
So, both arms facing same way (curved side in the same side) tapers are indeed different (hope it shows in the pics). Besides the taper, why is the overall shape different if they are supposed to interchange when doing a PS/manual swap? Also, to make it more confusing I double checked the internals of both boxes and they are identical (manual).
Your D0DA looks like it is a manual pitman arm, the D3DA is power steering pitman arm, the tapers are opposite. So based on the orientation of your pictures above, the top pitman arm D0DA, the top facing hole should be approx. .604" and its hole on the other side approx. .544" The pitman arm in your post #7 matches perfectly with my D0DA manual pitman arm. In the picture, if you line up both the splined holes and tapered holes, the curve should pretty well match. David
I just measured the hole and those dimensions match the DoDA arm. Seems like someone went through the trouble of mismatching a D3DA arm (PS) with an SMA-F box (manual). Thanks for the help
Now you've got me worried I have the wrong pitman arm on the car and wasted $150... I don't mean to confuse you rammsrt, it sounds like you have yours figured out. But I came back to this post and read everyone saying what part numbers are what. I'm using a D3DA-3590-AB pitman arm on a manual steering setup. Per craig, "A manual steering pitman arm should be stamped DODA-3590-A." I'm using a factory configuration 1972 Idler arm, and center link. I have no clearance issues, but if this is meant for a power steering setup, I could see geometry being off, although the center link looks level, and tires were pretty square for just swapping some suspension parts, alignment needed, but nothing off kilter. I removed my factory power steering, and the pitman arm part number on that is D0DA-3590-B. The Taper was backwards, so my manual center link would not bolt up. The later 1975-1977 manual steering years had a ball joint on the pitman arm itself, rather than the center link. So the center link is tapered, rather than the pitman arm. I've seen this as part number D5DW-3590-A. I've also seen D3DA-3590-BB Listed on ebay as a power steering pitman arm for late model, 1974-1977. So here we have many different part numbers for pitman arms: D3DA-3590-AB, - ??? (Works on my manual setup, but is it the correct one.) D0DA-3590-B - Power Steering (what I removed from my power steering setup) D3DA-3590-B - Power Steering D3DA-3590-BB - Power Steering DODA-3590-A , - Manual Steering D5DW-3590-A - Late model 1975-77 ball joint on pitman arm, Manual Steering. Still many available aftermarket old stock, but late model center links are hard to find (or at least in my case). Did they somehow switch the taper on the power steering pitman arms between years or something, because that would explain this part number discrepancy, but I don't see the ram assist bolts to the pitman arm from the underside, so the taper wouldn't allow for it to bolt up to a manual pitman arm, or vice versa. Seems a lot are stating that D3DA are power steering, and D0DA are manual, yet my factory p/s was a D0DA, and the one I have on the car in manual setup now is a D3DA. Feel like there's a lot of part numbers and there's no affirmative way to say if something is for manual or power steering without inspecting the taper. Maybe I'm wrong, and someone can inform me. I've attached pictures of my old p/s pitman arm w/ part number, and the manual pitman arm that's on the car now.
