Manual Steering Pitman Arm Question

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Dukester

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How come there are different part numbers for the pitman arm on a manual steering car?

I'm rebuilding the front end on my 73 Duster right now. My steering box is loose & the pitman arm ball joint has some movement in it too. I thought maybe I'd use a box & pitman arm out of a manual steering 70 Duster because they seem to be good shape. But when I look in different catalogs I see that the pitman arm part number & prices are different for manual steering cars. 73-up is different from 72-down, what's the difference in the box & arm? Is it that the spline is different? Is it the length of the pitman arm?

I'm installing a PST polygraphite kit & 1" Just Suspension torsions. My car has 321,000 miles on it. I've had it for just about 20 years...
 
At some point (maybe 72, maybe 73) Chrysler switched the manual steering box over to a "Large sector shaft". Previous to that is was a smaller shaft. They changed the center link and perhaps some other stuff at that time so that they could unify on front end parts between power and manual.

My understanding is that if you want bolt-in manual steering for your car, you would need a "Large sector" manual box, and a pitman arm (don't know if the power one swaps over and yours is worn out anyways!).

When I converted my 71 to manual I ran into this because I inadvertently ended up buying a later large sector steering shaft manual box. I discovered that to use it I would need to swap a lot of componentry out to make it work, so I sat it on the shelf and got an earlier model one that just bolted in.

The good news is that I've still got it laying around and would be willing to make a sweet deal on it! Its really nice! (You'd still need a pitman arm though. Around here O'reillys has them).

Steve
 
..................1 attaches from the top, 1 from underneath, if i remember correctly there is 2 different spline sizes.........kim......ya like steve says.....
 
Thanks for the info. Your large box...is it new or used? What is a "Sweet Deal"? There is an O'Reilly's in town so that's good info too.
 
Well, guess I got lucky, I just picked up a manual box and put the PS pitman arm right on it, Works fine. If I remember right it was a 69 box. Oh, and the PS box was a 70.
 
The steering gear changed in '73. Prior to that, they all used the same Pitman arm whether it was power or manual. If you want to use the steering box from a '70 Duster, you can. You will need the steering box, Pitman arm, center link, and idler arm. If you have access to the Duster, that may be the way to go. The '73 up manual Pitman arms are getting hard to find and pricey.
 
Its used but awesome- $50.00 plus shipping.

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This pitman arm came with the box, but I don't think it's A-body.

IMG_2034.jpg
 
In 73 the A bodies started using the same disc brake set up as the B/E bodies...and the steering suspensed was UPGRADED with the brakes ....
 
Thanks evryone for the good info. I could swap everything from my 70...but that's the next project!

LXguy has what I need.
 
I have a 73 Duster W/ Power Steering but if i Converted And if i Used a Manual Box out of a pre 73 Car will i need a Pre 73 Center link and Pitman arm as Well?
 
limegreen70 said:
I have a 73 Duster W/ Power Steering but if i Converted And if i Used a Manual Box out of a pre 73 Car will i need a Pre 73 Center link and Pitman arm as Well?
Click to expand...
yep, 3 pieces ... pitman arm, center link, and idler arm must be matching generation/type.
 
RedFish said:
yep, 3 pieces ... pitman arm, center link, and idler arm must be matching generation/type.
Click to expand...

No need to change all that out. All you need is a small spline (manual) pitman arm that slides down through the top of the 73 & up centerlink. They do exist and FirmFeel has them. Plus you have the option of switching to a fast ratio PA in the future.
 
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