Pitman arm angle (1 Viewer)

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If you read my words again you'll see I said align with the steering box casting line. I have rebuilt several 40 and 60 series boxes, so a think I can speak with some authority on this subject.
My mistake. I thought the casting line in the figure was the black line, just above the pitman arm, shown below:

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It seems to be somewhat counterclockwise from the white line in the illustration. Sorry, no offense intended..
 
My mistake. I thought the casting line in the figure was the black line, just above the pitman arm, shown below:

View attachment 1936701

It seems to be somewhat counterclockwise from the white line in the illustration. Sorry, no offense intended..
None taken. The interweb makes it hard to discern snark from legit conversation sometimes.
Setting up steering on a 40 is time consuming and sometimes painful because of the push-pull, the linkages and transition from fore-aft to lateral movement.
 
Not necessarily. That alignment line indicates the center of the sector shaft sweep. It should align with the casting lines on the steering box. You should disconnect the draglink from the pitman arm, aling the sector shaft, then take note of the pitman arm orientation. Then turn the steering wheel from lock to lock while counting turns, then 1/2 that, the check where the sector shaft alignment line and pitman arm are.

View attachment 1936649

I guess I had misread that as well, I was thinking the match lines on the sector shaft and pitman arm needed to line up based on Fig. 2-123.

Could you give some more details on "align the sector shaft, then take note of the pitman arm orientation. Then turn the steering wheel from lock to lock while counting turns, then 1/2 that, the check where the sector shaft alignment line and pitman arm are"?

Am I leaving the pitman arm on the sector shaft the whole time and just taking note of its orientation, but being most concerned about the match line on the sector shaft aligning with the casting line on the box? Then adjust drag link length to connect drag link end to meet pitman arm at 90*?
 
Could you give some more details on "align the sector shaft, then take note of the pitman arm orientation. Then turn the steering wheel from lock to lock while counting turns, then 1/2 that, the check where the sector shaft alignment line and pitman arm are"?

When the match mark on the sector shaft is lined up wit hthe casting line on the steering box, you should be at the center of your steering range (1/2 way between full lock-Left and full lock-Right).
At this point you should take note of your steering wheel orientation... is it close to center or way off? If it is off, then someone may have removed and reoriented the steering wheel at some point. It is easy to start chasing your tail when adjusting FJ40 steering, especially if you are not the original owner and you don't know what has been done previously.

My advice above was intended to get the truck back to a known baseline, based on the factory specifications, so you have a measurable starting point.

Am I leaving the pitman arm on the sector shaft the whole time and just taking note of its orientation, but being most concerned about the match line on the sector shaft aligning with the casting line on the box? Then adjust drag link length to connect drag link end to meet pitman arm at 90*?

If you don't want to take the pitman arm off, and you may not have too, but I wouldn't exclude that possibility outright, if someone pulled it off previously and didn't put it back on correctly.
The idea of checking the swing arc of the pitman arm is to check to ensure it isn't swinging too far one way and not the other. If it is, then you would need to pull it and reorient it, as no amount of drag link adjustment is going to make up for that.
 
When the match mark on the sector shaft is lined up wit hthe casting line on the steering box, you should be at the center of your steering range (1/2 way between full lock-Left and full lock-Right).
At this point you should take note of your steering wheel orientation... is it close to center or way off? If it is off, then someone may have removed and reoriented the steering wheel at some point. It is easy to start chasing your tail when adjusting FJ40 steering, especially if you are not the original owner and you don't know what has been done previously.

My advice above was intended to get the truck back to a known baseline, based on the factory specifications, so you have a measurable starting point.

My steering wheel will definitely be off, but that is the least of my concerns at the moment, as I know it's fairly easy to pop it off and recenter it. I was going to do that last, and put priority on making sure the box was centered, pitman arm was installed correctly, then making sure my drag link and relay rod were at FSM lengths to start. Sound right?

If you don't want to take the pitman arm off, and you may not have too, but I wouldn't exclude that possibility outright, if someone pulled it off previously and didn't put it back on correctly.
The idea of checking the swing arc of the pitman arm is to check to ensure it isn't swinging too far one way and not the other. If it is, then you would need to pull it and reorient it, as no amount of drag link adjustment is going to make up for that.

Idk about my PO, but I almost certainly didn't reinstall the pitman arm perfectly a few days ago.

If my box is centered, should the pitman arm be oriented straight down? I guess if the sector shaft check mark is aligned with the box casting mark, and the pitman arm check line is aligned with the sector shaft line, the pitman arm should be oriented just about vertical when the box is centered, right? I might be off on my angles and if it's vertical, I will have to study the match lines tonight.

Does the drag link need to meet the pitman arm at 90* when the box is centered?

Thanks a lot for all this info.
 
My steering wheel will definitely be off, but that is the least of my concerns at the moment, as I know it's fairly easy to pop it off and recenter it. I was going to do that last, and put priority on making sure the box was centered, pitman arm was installed correctly, then making sure my drag link and relay rod were at FSM lengths to start. Sound right?
Agree, the steering wheel is one of the last steps and I have certainly done exactly what you describe.
Your process sounds correct.


Idk about my PO, but I almost certainly didn't reinstall the pitman arm perfectly a few days ago.

If my box is centered, should the pitman arm be oriented straight down? I guess if the sector shaft check mark is aligned with the box casting mark, and the pitman arm check line is aligned with the sector shaft line, the pitman arm should be oriented just about vertical when the box is centered, right? I might be off on my angles and if it's vertical, I will have to study the match lines tonight.

Does the drag link need to meet the pitman arm at 90* when the box is centered?

Thanks a lot for all this info.

I don't think the pitman arm will necessarily be vertical, nor the draglink 90* to the arm at center.
You could approach this a couple ways.
With your tires pointing straight, the sector shaft centered, you could measure the distance from the center arm to the pitman arm ball and reorient the pitman arm on the sectorshaft accordingly.

Alternatively, with your tires pointing straight, the sector shaft centered, and your draglink at the specified length with the pitman arm attached to the draglink end, you can mount the pitman arm on the sector shaft.
 
I popped the pitman arm off the sector shaft, centered the sector shaft, checked the drag link length, and reinstalled the pitman arm last night. The pitman arm angle seemed a little more vertical, but not by much. The match line on the sector shaft does not line up with the casting line in the box with the sector shaft centered. Does that indicate steering box wear? And the pitman arm match line does not line up with the sector shaft match line with the drag link at the FSM length. It's very close, but not perfect. But I seem to have full steering range and everything is working just fine. I guess I was making a big deal out of nothing?

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Sector shaft centered.

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Pitman arm installed with drag link at FSM length.

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Full turn left.

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Full turn right.

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Also popped the steering wheel off and recentered it after a test drive.
 
Thread revival. Seems to address what I’m trying to do very well. Installation of @65swb45 rebuilt manual steering box today.

@Stumpalama @reddog90 im a bit confused on what the casting lines on the manual steering box are. I’m working on a 78’ 55 if that makes a difference. Is the red arrow in the picture pointing to the “casting lines” of my manual steering box? I’m following everything else in this thread and my FSM just can’t decipher the casting lines bit.

Thanks in advance.
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