steering issues

[jake72ss]

My father and I are in the process of restoring a 64 gto that he purchased as an unfinished project. The car was originally a manual steering car and we are in the process of converting to power steering. I have run into some snags that I really hadn't anticipated.


1st: I had to source all of the steering linkage from different places.
The tie rods and idler arm are moog(Oreily auto parts), The steering box is a rebuilt Monte SS box, supposedly(also from Oreily), The pitman arm is from Ground Up, and centerlink is form Speedway motors.

2nd: The pitman arm will not go far enough onto the shaft, I am puzzled why, I reused the nut and lock washer from the manual box and ran it down with an impact wrench. when using the old steering box/pitman arm as a reference the new pitman arm is @ 1/2" further away from the center of the imput shaft(where the rag joint is).

3rd: This difference is apparently enough to keep the centerlink from working, it will not clear the tow hook/ skid on the front of the crossmember. I reassembled all the original parts and everything fit great.



I assume that the problem is with the steering box, but I've never heard of this problem.
Could it be that the pitman arm from ground up is at fault by not having the correct taper?
I am fairly certain that the Monte SS box can be used on the 64-67 A body cars.

If I am wrong in my assumptions please fill me in, because this is making me look like an idiot to my Dad(ie: the money behind this project).

I have experience on the 68-72 A bodies, I have a 72 SS which I completely rebuilt the front end with no problems.

[David Pozzi]

Not trying to insult you, but I have no idea what you know and don't know about PS systems, so I'll start from the top.

Manual boxes have a smaller shaft OD.
PS boxes have a larger OD
There are only 4 positions the arm will go on, this is to keep the arm from being put on with a slightly wrong clocking.

The pitman arm should go on aprox 3/4 of the way. There will be 5/16" or so clearance from end of shaft spline to flat of the pitman when fully on. The torque specification for the nut is 140 ft lbs. On a manual box this is difficult to see, but on a power box, you have more room between threaded shaft and splines to see the arm engagement.

The power box shaft is slightly longer/lower by 5/16" but the PS arm is slightly higher on the small end to compensate. make sure your pitman is the same shape as the manual arm or perhaps 5/16" higher on the small end.

The pitman small end taper should be on top, wide on the bottom. The large splined end should be the reverse, large OD facing up.

Take a good close look at your splines, there may be some damage that is preventing full engagement.
David

[jake72ss]

Thanks David,
I know you're not trying to insult me, Ive never done a ps conversion before. Also with all of the parts being from different manufacturers its hard to tell. Add that to my little experience on anything other than my 72 chevelle, well you can see why I'm a little more than frustrated. I'll check the ID of the new "power" pitman against the old manual pitman. I installed the pitman pointing rearward in the middle of the travel. It is my thought that the repro "power" pitman has the same ID as the old manual pitman.
The ID of the small holes is correct though.
Thanks,
Jake