Howdy fellas, On manual versus power steering cars - say '69-'73. Did they use a different pitman arm? It sure seems like it. I'm trying to convert over to manual steering, and I realized that the new drag link (got it from a '71 M/S car) wants to bolt down through the pitman arm with the nut on the bottom instead of up through it like the original from my '73... Thanks, John
I just put a center link in...sure you got the right one. Mine has a female end to go on the idler, other end is male that slips thru the pitman.
Hi Bob, yeah that sounds just like my centerlink. How does yours go through the pitman arm? From the top or from the bottom? The taper will only let it go one way. My old p/s link went through the pitman from the bottom and was nutted on the top.
Hmmmmm, Now I'm scared!!! Don't have the car in front of me but pretty sure the centerlink comes up from the bottom of the pitman. I got it from Kanter. One fact....it was a 73 PS car that I switched to MS. The centerlink is for MS. I know the box could have a quicker ratio, but I was going to try it anyway. Everything seemed to bolt up fine. It'll be awhile before the car is ready to test drive, so I guess I haven't really helped much. Keep the faith....old junk is fun to play with!!!!
There is a difference in the pitman arms. The manual goes in from the top with the nut on the bottom.
So would you get bump steer using the MS CL with the PS pitman? I need to put the level on the CL, but I thought it was parallel with ground. I know the pitman length is a little slower than the MS one. Some of the rod shops sell new pitmans. I guess if things don't work I'll buy one of those.
There IS a difference on pitman arms. I'll post a pic of them later today. I just got one from a '72 m/s car and they are basically flip flopped. The direction of the taper is opposite.
Hey Inliner! Looks like you saved my bacon. I pulled all the stuff out and hung it on the car....looks like I need a M/S pitman. See now the geometry isn't right on the inner TR........Crap!! Glad I saw the thread or I'd been scratching my head come next Spring. If anyone has a M/S pitman give me a yell. Thanks, Bob
Glad to hear it helped someone Bob. I have a comparison pic if anyone wants to see, but you can barely tell them apart. The biggest difference is that the taper for the centerlink stud is opposite on the two.
I saw Mustangs Plus has a piece that eliminates the PS attachment on the PS centerlink. That way you can use the PS link for MS without changing . Wish I'd seen that before I spent $100 for a new MS centerlink
Yeah, I've seen those, but this looks so much cleaner. Plus I only paid $12 for the centerlink and $25 for a M/S gearbox w/pitman (I'll rebuild the box and keep it as a spare). With my P/S gearbox in there I keep the quicker 16:1 ratio.
