I'm new to the site so this one may have been covered before. If it has let me know where to look. Anyway, I have a 1970 Maverick Grabber with manual steering and I am putting in power steering. I have all ready mounted the pump bracket, pump, pulley on the harmonic balancer and lines (they were from a 1971 Maverick). The rest of the system is off a 1975 Maverick. I all ready know I will need to weld nuts into the lower frame on the drivers side as the predrlled holes for the bracket do not have the nuts. Here is where I have a couple of questions. First off, will the tie rod end from the 75 mount up correctly into the steering arm on my 70? According to the parts houses the tie rods are different between the 70 and 75 (I don't know if it is just the length or diameter of the threaded portion or the ball joint where it mounts to the arm). Secondly, will the Idler arm from the 75 mount into the 70 correctly. Finally, is there any modifications or other problems I should look out for when completing this swap? Thanks. Terry 1969 Mustang Mach 1 428CJ 1964 Pontiac GTO
Elk Hunter: You may not have to weld nuts to the frame. You can get power steering cylinder bracket to frame nuts from any Mustang catalog For example, Virginia Classis Mustang part number SU-169, $3.65 each. They tap into the holes already in the frame. I bought a set for my 70 Mav a while back and plan to see if they fit tonight. Stay tuned. Tom
I think you will need the power steering pitman arm too. Mavaholic would know for sure or you can do a search and it is probably mentioned somewhere in a previous post
The nuts that push in the hex holes in the bottom of the frame rail are called "crush nuts." They're about 3/4" of an inch high and when you tighten the bolt it draws the nut down so it stays in the hole. Kinda like a pop rivet. I found an extra set, so send me a personal message if you're interested. Tom
Thanks to everyone for the information. I should have mentioned that I have the complete 75 steering setup including the box, pitman arm, idler arm etc.. My main concern is with the 75 idler arm mounting to the frame correctly and the ball joints working correctly. Since my initial information I have checked and the ball joints have the same taper but are approx. .020 larger at the top and bottom than the 70's. I think they will torque correctly but just won't be as far up in the steering arm as the original. If this is a problem, please let me know. Again, Thanks for the responses. Terry
