Pitman Arm, bolt & nut spinning

[brrian]

See the video below. There's a lot of play in the end of my pitman arm . I'm trying to remove it but the nut and stud are turning together. They spin pretty freely That's not normal, is it? The stud should be stationary, locked onto the center link & the nut should thread off of it?

 

[88AZSS]

If youre going to replace the center link anyways, Id say wedge something between the pitman arm and the center linkage to get some tension on the bolt then try removing the bolt that way. You may mess up the threads on the bottom of the stud on the center linkage but if its going to be replaced it wont matter. You just need tension to hold the stud in place as you turn the nut off. Perhaps a pickle fork or something will work once you get a big enough gap? Are the threads on the open side of the stud good enough for the nut to come off without issue? PB Blaster is your friend.

 

[ELCAM]

The stud should be wedged into the taper on the pitman arm. Try prying between the nut and the pitman arm to get it tight.

It looks like it was never tightened when replaced the taper in the pitman arm may be damaged.

 

[ELCAM]

Worst case drill thru the drag/center link and the ball and taper of the stud and put a punch or something to act like a pin to hold the taper/stud. Going to need good drill bits and lots of oil that's some respectable strength steel.

 

[brrian]

Okay - this makes sense. Normally the taper on the pitman arm would hold the stud, allowing the nut to be unthreaded. Since this is all worn, there's no 'grab' and the stud & nut spin together. prying between the arm and center link presses against the nut & doesn't help. Clamping the arm against the center link should help, but it's too worn to grab. I could try grinding a groove in the top of the stud to hold with a screwdriver, or I could replace the whole center link along with the pitman arm (which I'd need to do anyway if I drilled through the center link).

I needed to do this one simple thing to get the car to pass inspection. Cripes!

Thanks...

 

[brrian]

Worst case drill thru the drag/center link and the ball and taper of the stud and put a punch or something to act like a pin to hold the taper/stud. Going to need good drill bits and lots of oil that's some respectable strength steel.

Got it! I drilled through the pitman arm into the stud so i could pin the stud to the arm, and the nut came right off! I have a shallow hole in my stud now but I'm replacing all of this anyways, soon.

But the plot thickens. I have a new Allstar Performance #ALL56357 Pitman Arm, for 78-88 G-Bodies with the 800 box, which I have (right? see pic below). The arm I just took off is about 3/4" shorter center to center, and is part number 7826612, which is showing up as for a 77-96 Cadillac Deville. Putting this shorter Cadillac arm on a G-body isn't a thing, right.. it was just the wrong arm?

 

[ELCAM]

That's a Saginaw 800 box. Never heard of the Deville pitman arm being used on G bodies.

 

[69hurstolds]

The new pitman arm should be the correct one for you. Since you drilled a hole in the Caddy arm, toss it. It's probably wallowed out in that hole that goes to the center link anyway.

Put all your new sh*t back on and get that sucker aligned and you'll have a nice driving G-body again.

 

[brrian]

Put all your new sh*t back on and get that sucker aligned and you'll have a nice driving G-body again.

It hasn't driven nice yet 🙂

I've owned it for a month. I drove it twice before today - once home, once to get inspected & it failed because of the pitman arm & a few other minor things (who puts lugnuts on backwards?). But I did drive it today after putting the new arm on & it's still a yacht but the steering improvement is evident. After I get the inspection sticker, next up is the motor - probably needs a carb tune, and I think the pan is leaking oil, so I'll get it made right enough to drive reliably. Then all new suspension stuff, then it's get to work on the Buick 350 I hope to put in it.

 

[CopperNick]

And this is why we call them "Projects" ODTAA.



Nick