Pitman Arm Bushings Replacement

[TOM WRIGHT]

Will replacement of the pitman arm bushings remove the excess play in the steering? The steering feels nice and tight except in the "center" of the steering, when driving in a straight line. I have about 2" on either side of center that is free play.
Your thoughts are always welcome
Thank you
Tom Wright

[nomadbird]

Tom,

You really had me scratching my head trying to imagine where the pitman arm had bushings. I think you mean the idler arm don't you. The idler arm supports the center link, drag link, or whatever you want to call it on the passenger side of the car. The idler arm does have bushings that when worn, can result is sloppy steering and/or shimmy. It is probably the weakest link in steering systems of that era.

Back in the dark ages, they used to sell bearing kits to replace the bushings in the idler arm. It made steering a lot easier and they lasted a lot longer. I know they are still available for my '55 Chevy, but I haven't seen them for Ford products for a long time.

I hope an idler arm repair will take care of the play in the steering. I sort of doubt it is the whole problem but it is the cheapest place to start. Piecemeal repairs to the steering system can end up costing a lot of wasted dollars because a front end alignment is frequently in order.

If you don't have a shop manual; get one so you can get good info to help you evaluate the scope of the problem. My worst fear is a steering box rebuild may be in order. These guys are notorious for wear at the neutral or "straight ahead" position of the worm gears.

Here's Hoping, Tom

[TOM WRIGHT]

Tom,
You are right, I was thinking of the idler-arm. I have purchased new bushings from Kanter.
I do have a shop manual but sometimes it assumes that I know more about old T-Birds than I do.
I will post the results when done.

Thanks for response.
Tom Wright

[Joe Vandatta]

On my 66 there is a lash adjustment on the top of the steering box to take out the play you discribe---most all steering gears have this---ck. your manual.
Joe

[capt'nben]

It is pretty hard to get all of the free play out of these older frontends but the idler bushings and adjusting the stearing box should help, when you tighten the adjustment on the box be gental with it, if you over do it it can cause a binding feeling but you can always back it off a little.
back when these cars were new a little play,about 1/2 to 3/4", was pretty much normal and accepted but when you are used to the newer stuff it is uncomfortable, that is why I decided to go with rack and pinion in my 57 project. Of course that is a drastic modification and not for every one.
Ben