TwinDuro
Well-known member
This gathering of the GGTC (Golden Girls Truck Club) finally fixed my long-ailing steering situation on Edgar-Rose, which upon jacking the truck up, was even more dire then I originally thought (there was about 3” of play in the idler arm and tie rods combined)!
Thankfully , I had a pile of new Moog parts and a great deal of help from @Skinny06 and buddy Nick to make a bad situation better. Out with the old….
In with the new!
The old “swing-set” came out pretty quickly with a small sledge hammer and a pickle fork (for the pitman arm to center link connection), and the steering box removal went pretty quickly as well, but the removing the old pitman arm from the box was a challenge.
The big nut on the sector shaft was larger then the largest socket we had (32mm) so a trip to the auto parts store to rent a big impact socket set was in order. The kit had a 33mm socket in it which did the trick. I forgot to to take pictures of all of this, but @Skinny06 ‘s big honkin’ battery-powered Dewalt impact gun removed the nut slick as snot and a standard cheapy pitman arm puller with that same impact did the rest. Installation of the new pitman arm was much easier but involved lots of shenanigans ? What happens in the garage, stays in the garage….
Compared to the whimpy original, the new Moog HD idler arm is massive! Also, here are the aforementioned billet steel Cunningham Machine tie rod adjusters as well. I’m not a fan of split sleeves and these add a bit of beef to the equation along with easier adjustment:
I got a new center-link (relay rod) as well so we didn’t have to mess with the old one. The steering box seemed tight with no leaks, so no reason to replace it.
Idler Arm installed:
Pitman Arm:
Centerlink:
After everything was buttoned up, my buddy used his well-calibrated, laser-aligned eyeballs and a tape measure and he got the tie rods adjust to a “not just good, but good enough” level of alignment and we called it good for now.
Once the front suspension is refreshed, i’ll get a “proper” alignment. She drives like a Ferrari on 33” tires now! So much better!
Teamwork makes the dream work!
Thankfully , I had a pile of new Moog parts and a great deal of help from @Skinny06 and buddy Nick to make a bad situation better. Out with the old….
In with the new!
The old “swing-set” came out pretty quickly with a small sledge hammer and a pickle fork (for the pitman arm to center link connection), and the steering box removal went pretty quickly as well, but the removing the old pitman arm from the box was a challenge.
The big nut on the sector shaft was larger then the largest socket we had (32mm) so a trip to the auto parts store to rent a big impact socket set was in order. The kit had a 33mm socket in it which did the trick. I forgot to to take pictures of all of this, but @Skinny06 ‘s big honkin’ battery-powered Dewalt impact gun removed the nut slick as snot and a standard cheapy pitman arm puller with that same impact did the rest. Installation of the new pitman arm was much easier but involved lots of shenanigans ? What happens in the garage, stays in the garage….
Compared to the whimpy original, the new Moog HD idler arm is massive! Also, here are the aforementioned billet steel Cunningham Machine tie rod adjusters as well. I’m not a fan of split sleeves and these add a bit of beef to the equation along with easier adjustment:
I got a new center-link (relay rod) as well so we didn’t have to mess with the old one. The steering box seemed tight with no leaks, so no reason to replace it.
Idler Arm installed:
Pitman Arm:
Centerlink:
After everything was buttoned up, my buddy used his well-calibrated, laser-aligned eyeballs and a tape measure and he got the tie rods adjust to a “not just good, but good enough” level of alignment and we called it good for now.
Once the front suspension is refreshed, i’ll get a “proper” alignment. She drives like a Ferrari on 33” tires now! So much better!
Teamwork makes the dream work!
Last edited:
