pitman arm for cross over steering

[F-ingrob]

will the stock pitman arm on my 87 blazer work for a cross over steering set up or do i have to get a dropped arm and if so how much drop 1.5"or 3"
any help would be great

 

[nvrenuf]

You'll need to swap to a 2wd steering box which uses a different arm.

 

[F-ingrob]

damn i thought just the pitman arm
ok thanks does it matter if i get a 1/2 ton or 1 ton box or are they the same
now to find a 2WD box

 

[sw99]

Just get the same year 2wd box 1/2, 3/4 and 1 ton were all the same when I bought mine.

 

[K85 Octane]

and a stock 2wd pitman arm WONT work fyi. You need a pitman arm FOR crossover steering. Depending on your lift, something from a vendor will work with over 4" of lift, but I found modifying a Ford pitman arm works better with my 4" lift.

 

[F-ingrob]

i have a 4"inch lift and 35 toyo tires
how did you modify your arm do you have any pics

 

[K85 Octane]

Get the proper Ford arm and send it in to WFO. They will ream the draglink hole to fit a Chevy draglink. The Ford arm is from some van, do a quick search for it and you'll find the member I bought mine from. If you have good junkyards and know what you're looking for, you can find it there too.

Wish I actually knew where the arm came from. Thinking late 70s van.
If you don't want to deal with all that, get a crossover pitman arm from ORD. Most people do that, I just wasn't pleased with the uptravel clearance near the leaf spring.

 

[F-ingrob]

thanks i guess ill do some more home work and see what ford one works
thanks again for you help and advice

 

[Deuling]

, get a crossover pitman arm from ORD. Most people do that, I just wasn't pleased with the uptravel clearance near the leaf spring.

Did you get the drop arm, or the high clearance one like I got? You could maybe fit a fingernail between the tre end threads and my frame when the pitman arm goes under it. Lots of leaf spring clearance

 

[ktmoutfront]

Built my own pitman arm for the 4wd box. When I did this, I did not know about CK5 and the 2wd box conversion. Had to build a new one this weekend. Old one died after 10 years. The splines were gone and the bolt broke. Should have not gone up that last ledge.

 

[K85 Octane]

Did you get the drop arm, or the high clearance one like I got? You could maybe fit a fingernail between the tre end threads and my frame when the pitman arm goes under it. Lots of leaf spring clearance

This is what the Ford arm is like. The one I got from ORD had a lot more room and thus only gave me about 4" from the leaf spring. Whichever one Deuling got, I would go that route for a 4" lift.

 

[Deuling]

If you call ord, it's the high clearance pitman arm.

I don't think it's listed online. Maybe though. That's just what Chris recommended for the custom springs I bought.


You will most definitely need a new crossmember.


And ord, or tna here have them.


Not gonna lie I think my tna crossmber is pretty wicked awesome

 

[thatK30guy]

Superlift #1104 pitman arm is the '76-'79 F-150 drop arm.

 

[pblaze725]

I used a Chevy 2wd box and a XJ pitman arm.


I reamed it out for the TRE myself. It works great for my set up and was on the cheap.

 

[Blue85]

Isn't anybody doing crossover with the stock crossmember? What does it take? And why doesn't anybody sell a pitman arm that attaches to a 4x4 gear and works for crossover? Is there a problem with having the keyway 90* from where the pinch bolt is?

 

[ktmoutfront]

Mine had a stock cross member. Until it cracked. 2wd box and arm is cheaper than a company manufacturing an arm for 4wd.

 

[Blue85]

So I can get a 2WD box, XJ or Ford van steering arm and reamer for less than the $70 ORD arm?

 

[ktmoutfront]

Used at the wrecking yard. And a buddy has the reamer. I built my own arm for the 4wd box. Ripped the splines out and broke the bolt. On my second arm now. That would be $140 in ORD arms. But I work mine harder than most people do.

 

[sweetk30]

Isn't anybody doing crossover with the stock crossmember? What does it take? And why doesn't anybody sell a pitman arm that attaches to a 4x4 gear and works for crossover? Is there a problem with having the keyway 90* from where the pinch bolt is?

stock crossmember is fine if you got the right parts .

and 2wd box turns left / right and full spline on sector shaft .

and 4wd box turns front / back and only about 1/4 spline on sector shaft .

 

[Blue85]

See, where I disagree here is kind of my point. A steering gear doesn't turn left, right, etc. It just rotates. How that translates into steering is based on which direction the pitman arm attaches. So perhaps cutting another key into the 4WD arm would just about eliminate the splines. Still, if you were making an arm from scratch, you should be able to get one just as strong as the stock 4x4 arm, but clocked 90* to allow crossover.

It sounds like the 2wD spline is a stronger design, with is one reason to go to it. I doubt ORD is getting their arm manufactured. It's probably stock for one of the vehicles already mentioned in this thread (actually 2, since they sell 2 different drops).

From pictures floating around, it looks like the high clearance crossmember is only needed for short lifts, straight drag link, etc. It seems like with 4"+ and the bent link it can be made to work.