1st Gen Camaro Pitman Arm

[CarlC]

It's time to put a new pitman arm in the Camaro. Normally I would not be irritated by this, but it will be the fourth one that I've put in the car in in nine years. The other steering components wear nowhere near as quickly.

The replacements have all been Moog. They do not have a zerk fitting for lubricant. I believe the insert that acts as the stationary wear surface is a hard plastic material. I also believe that this is the weak point, creating excessive clearance/movement due to hard use.

I've talked to Rare Parts and their response is to use the Moog part. There must be a better way.

So, what do the vintage racing guys use? Is there a better pitman arm available? Is there anyone else who rebuilds/modifies them?

[a67]

What I did on the '67 (Firebird) was to modify a new arm.

I too found that they wore quickly. Please note that it has been a while since I did this. So it may not be exact. On that note...

Get a new pitman arm. Grind the rolled lip off that holds the top cover in place. Remove top cover and pull the pin out of the top of the arm. The one I did was a GM arm, and had some plastic and rubber to bush the pin (lousy).

Removed those pieces. Then turned a phosphorus-bronze bushing to take their place. Added grease grooves and such.

Installed that bushing into the arm and fit the pin. Then welded (TIG) the top cover back on. Cleaned, painted, and installed.

Much better feel and steering input. And haven't worn it out yet.

BTW, from your site I did the adjustable front spring spacers. Good stuff, thanks.

Bob.

[CarlC]

I'm liking that Bob.

Is a new arm necessary? Are the chances of pin wear pretty high?

[MonzaRacer]

Have you tried looking at NAPA Chassis parts, they are usually much higher quality.

[a67]

I'm liking that Bob.

Is a new arm necessary? Are the chances of pin wear pretty high?

The pin does wear a little. If you have some used arms around definitely disassemble one. It may not have much if any wear, and no loss if it does as it can't really be used in stock form.

The other part of this is that the top cover sets the amount of end play in the pin. End play ends up being lost motion once on the car. The pin moves up & down instead of moving the center link.

Bob.

[CarlC]

I'll try NAPA again, but previously the longer arm version was only available in the standard Moog. There's a pretty limited market for these.

As for the top cover, would a cover with a preload/clearance adjustment be worthwhile?