Last week I had the steering box on my 65 rebuilt. I took the box out myself and to free the pitman arm from the center link took a pickle fork and hammer to break it loose just like a balljoint.
Well, this weekend I tried to put the steering system back together. I am having trouble getting the pitman arm to line up and slide over the joint on the centerlink. I can get the arm to slide over the the joint, but not enough to get any threads to some out the top to get the castle nut back on. Is there a special way of doing this? Does the pitman arm have to be off of the steering box and connected to the joint before I put the steering box back in?
Need your help and experience.
Thanks,
Tim

Did you remove the pitman arm from the box or did the rebuilder? If the rebuilder did, did you get the same arm back. If it is the same arm then it should fit. Inspect the centerlink joint for damage from the "pickle fork".

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Philip Valentine
Lakeside, AZ
Member #42 GOLD
"Perseverance is not a long race; it is many short races one after another."
philip@chevelles.com

Didn't get the pitman arm on upside down did you?

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Steve

I think you may have damaged the splines using the pickle fork. Look real close to see if the splines a flatned out wider. You may be able to clean them up with a Dremmel. Lots of work.
Second thought you may not have the wide grove of the control arm aligned with its mate on the spline. If your pickle fork caused andy damage it would have started high up on the spline which should allow you to start some threads.

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Brob you can't use a pickle fork on a pitman arm.He says he used it on the centre link which means the tie rod ends.There is a special puller for the pitman arm...FRED

Fred out of Canada. Your right, I'm really upside down on this one. Did'nt read close enough. It did flash my mind about the pickle fork fitting. Still a great answer just the wrong part.

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I think 64elcamino may be on the right track with the correct Pitman Arm. There were two different centre links use on the pre 68 cars, one 7/8" and the other 13/16" diameter and they have different diameter tapered pins going into the drag link and pitman arm. If you are trying to insert a large diameter pin into a small diameter pitman arm hole you will have the problem you described. Your vendor may have just exchanged boxes on you without changing arms.

Hope this is some help.

Jim C

oops

[This message has been edited by TimG (edited 12-14-99).]

Well, it ended up that the pitman arm hole was the wrong size for the centerlink. It appears the pitman arms on my Elky and my Chevelle are different.
Thanks for all the help
Tim