The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area General Truck Talk Pitman arm tierod end help

I want to change the tierod ends on my 41 chevy 1/2 ton. Attached is a picture of the pitman arm, am I correct, is this the right area to grind off before driving the ball joint out of the pitman arm. What are the thoughts, should I just replaace all of them with the modern ends??

http://pets.webshots.com/photo/2301550040101947398WydvKR

That is the back side of the pitman arm ball which you would have to grind off to drive the ball out.
I would replace the old tie rod ends and the old pitman rod end with the newer style, if you are trying to make the front end of your truck drive better and steer better. It did wonders for my 37 pickup, but it is not the correct thing to do if you are trying to restore the truck back to it's original state.
If you are trying to improve "drive-ability", the fouth spot to change to a modern tie rod end would be where the drag link attaches to the steering arm on the back of the left wheel backing plate. That way, you have new, tight joints at all spots. The thing you might run into is the ability to center the steering wheel correctly. This will necesitate the use of a short "tie rod" as a drag link, so you can adust the straightness of the front wheels with the position of the steering wheel. I believe some of the vendors sell a drag link of this nature. I made mine by cutting down a regular long tie rod I got at a wrecking yard and making one the length I needed. I was very successful with this venture and my truck really, honestly drives like a dream and straight as an arrow with no problems. Radial tires help, too!
Good luck!

thanks Joe, are the drag link and the tierod threaded one end left one end right to make adjustments? Dave

That is correct.
I cut a long tie rod and welded it back together to make my short tie rod (drag link) after having some difficulty locating the correct die to thread a tie rod. They are not a "normal" size.

my steering arms were modified by Sid at http://www.droppedaxles.com/
to accept modern ford tie rod ends. made a huge difference in handling. he reams out the tie rod hole in the steering arms, i think it was 7 degrees, to accept the modern tie rod ends.

leonard

The best way to get the balls out are to take a 1/2" drill bit and drill out the center then grind the back side swedge off. Sometimes you have to weld the hole up in the pitman arm and drill back out to make a smaller hole to fit the 37-64 tie rod end. I sell a complete 2 piece set for the drag link (pitman arm to left steering arm) and tie rod ( left steering arm to right steering arm) for $120. If you have any questions you can contact me www.droppedaxles.com

I had a draglink made. My uncle made it for me since he knows how to cut left hand threads. 3/4"-16 left and right threads, 8 1/2" total length, 2" thread length. Then I used replacement, straight shank tie-rod ends. The truck is really smooth driving now, still hard to turn at very slow speeds, but once rolling its like power steering.

please boys
there are simpler ways to get a better result w/o cutting welding tie rod to find a modern end that works


READ the tech tips
http://www.stovebolt.com/techtips/draglink_adjustable.html

http://www.stovebolt.com/techtips/tie_rod_replacement.html

Two questions.

My original front end is tight and steering seems fine. Will new tie-rod ends make that much of a difference?

Once the ball has been punched through is the holeed? I have seen new tie-rod ends with what looks like a tapered post. My imagination or is that right?

If your tie-rods are tight and it drive OK, you may not see much gain in swapping over. The problem with the old style
ball & socket joints is the balls get egg shaped over the years and the shafts get worn where the sockets (cups) ride on them. The springs keep everything tight, but as you turn the springs are working harded on the egg portion of the ball then easy up in the straight ahead portion.

The new style are smoother operating since they hold grease better (longer)on the pressure points. As far as safer, who knows, but Chevrolet changed them for some reason.

You can buy a replacement end for the ball and socket joints you have now, its a direct bolt in. They have a straight shank with a collor so no taper reamer is needed. If you go to really later model, then, yes they are tapered and you would need a reamer to match the hole to the tie-rod shaft.

Shop around for the replacement joints, the prices vary quite abit from vender to vender. You can find NOS joints on E-bay for good price as well.


Joe

Joe

I put the old stile replacements in mine and it steers just fine. There is no slop or play, and there are no positions where the steering requires more force as you turn the steering wheel. You can get replacement balls with shanks like shoulder bolts which are held in place with a nut and cotter pin. Or you can get balls with smooth shanks that are designed to be welded in.

I used the threaded shanks. One problem with these threaded shanks is on the left side where the front of the drag link passes over the axle. I realize they move up & down together, but there is very little clearance between the axle and the nut. I welded this joint.

joe h, i ordered all the tie rod ends,loved them until finding they all fit except the hole in the pitman arm is to small for the new tie rod end, can this just be drilled out a little. this is on a 51, thank you guyyoung

Should be no problem drill it a little.