Help...I am in the middle of the "Conversion" from power to manual steering. I have the center link and tierod ends for this, but have run into a few problems..I need to get some questions answered...1)What pitmon arms will interchange (ie Torino, Falcon, and/or Mustang) and what years for any? 2) What is the corect direction for the idler arm bushing to be pressed in from (from the top or bottom..looking at it installed) 3)And the hard one..What is the correct toe settings? (in degree's + or -) None of the frontend shops in my area seem to be able to get the front end done..I was told they do not have the spec.'s for it... Thanx in advance
You need a manual pitman arm from a 70 -77 Comet/Maverick. I dont thing there is any other one that will work.
One thing you can do is go to a local junk yard and ask if they can look it up for you ... Now a days they have all part numbers on the PC and can tell you what will work if anything ...
manual pitman arm You will need a manual pitman arm I just did this to my 72 Maverick and had to get one If you can't find one there is a place called Green Sales Company In Cincinnati Ohio 1-800-543-4959 it was $110 for one but I had a hard time trying to get one and they had it
Well OK...it is in....Manual pitman arm from junkyard, Manual centerlink from friends donner car (hit so hard in the rearend, the bumper was part of the front seat) old tierod ends..funny Auto parts house said they were the same.... After 6 hrs of labor, 2 off , 3 times back on. The only thing i need , is to get steering wheel straight. Alignmentshop said spec.'s from above were dead on, on my car. Thanks everyone for the help....
Just a thought what happend to people buying the addapter.Then you wouldnt have to change the pittman arm or any links.Again just a thought
well, the problem is for $130 I can mail order that part..+\- for shipping....I can get Manual steering parts from people doing conversion for my time to go get it, or better FREE. When weight is a factor, Bracket racing with no power adders. It just seems to make more sence (power steering center link is heavier)...
Another expensive option... ...would be the quick ratio kit that was marketed by Shelby for the aftermarket parts crowd in the mid/early sixties. It was supposed to lower the number of turns lock to lock for Mustangs. It will probably work and is reproduced and sold by Mustang suppliers. I believe it is mainly the pittman arm, there may be something else to it. I am not sure. Try Tony Branda's website. Seth
You can remove the slave cylinder, pump and hoses. However on the end of the center link, where it bolts to the pitman arm, is a ball stud that actually is a valve to move pressurized fluid to the correct side of the slave cylinder to aid in the direction of steer. This gets alot of slop in it from use. There is an adapter to remove this and make it a manual link but it costs $120 plus shipping.
So the bottom line is... To convert, all you need to do is remove the assist cylinder, pump and hoses, then replace the pitman arm and center link with ones from a manual car? Should one refurbish/reinforce the steering column? If so, how?(After all, it's 30 years old.) How about the steering box? Looking at possibilities, Atzy.
As long as there is no slop in the column, there is nothing to worry about on that end. I doubt you could find bearings anyway. You'd probably just have to find a better column if you needed one. As far as the box, keep the ps one. It has less turns lock to lock.
And steers like a dream...After getting it all together, It was worth the effort. I changed the centerlink and pitman arm . I re-used the tie rods that were on the car to begin with....was almost dead on for alignment...If you have all the parts, and remember how the manual stuff came off (ie which side the pitman arm bushing went on) it was about as hard as putting Duraspark II on a points car..Pretty easy. And again...Thanks everyone for the help..
