Pitman arm replacement help (1 Viewer)

[the donkey]

Got a 61 with wonky steering and i, along with a couple local mechanics have determined that I need a new pitman arm. However, I cannot for the life of me find a replacement.

I have found that fjparts and cruiserparts offer a used one, but I'm a little weary about dropping 160 bucks on something that may or may not solve the issue.

I have searched all the pitman arm related forums I can find and called every yota parts vender I can think of for a stock or aftermarket replacement with no luck.

Anyone got any ideas. Can a custom pitman arm be fabbed? Would saginaw steering conversion be a reasonable alternative.

Also, I'm assuming that rhd and lhd pitman arms are interchangable, but I am not sure about that either...

Thank you.

 

[Randy88FJ62]

Wonky steering doesn't allow us to help you diagnose the potential problem. A pitman arm is not something you can fab easily. The tapered splines that allow it to mate to the steering box would make fabbing one a mess. Not to mention you're talking about steering here. This is a safety issue for anything you put on.

The pitman arm is a solid piece of steel. The only way it could go bad would be if someone took it on and off and screwed up the tapered splines or the tapered hole that bolts up to the tie rod end.

Old tie rod ends are normally the issue if your steering is sloppy. Then we would look at your steering knuckles and the trunnion or wheel bearings could be bad too.

Show us some pictures.

 

[OSS]

Any used pitman arm for your model of cruiser will be fine. They don't wear out

 

[2mountainfish]

Unless bent ,or as stated above, tapered groves a messed up, pitman arms are really tough. I would really look at the TREs (tie rod ends) first. Get someone to turn the steering wheel slightly back and forth while you watch the ends. There should be no up and down or side to side movement at the joint. also while your at it, check the u-joints on the steering shaft for looseness.Good luck , hope this helps.

 

[the donkey]

Wonky steering doesn't allow us to help you diagnose the potential problem. A pitman arm is not something you can fab easily. The tapered splines that allow it to mate to the steering box would make fabbing one a mess. Not to mention you're talking about steering here. This is a safety issue for anything you put on.

The pitman arm is a solid piece of steel. The only way it could go bad would be if someone took it on and off and screwed up the tapered splines or the tapered hole that bolts up to the tie rod end.

Old tie rod ends are normally the issue if your steering is sloppy. Then we would look at your steering knuckles and the trunnion or wheel bearings could be bad too.

Show us some pictures.

By wonky steering, I ment steering play. I have tried adjusting the steering box in small increments without success. I also did a full knuckle rebuild with new knuckle bearings and replaced the tie rod ends and drag links.
The old knuckle bearings looked fine to me but I replaced them anyway. This made no noticable difference either.

After that I replaced my 33x12.50s with 255 tires and 7" wide, 0 offset rims. I dont know the exact offset of the old rims, but they were ridiculously negative. This has been the only mod that has made a difference.

Ill post pics as soon as I can.

Thank you for your response.

 

[JMJA]

Have you called these two: Yoda Jim's Toyota Parts-303 506-5119 or Classic Cruisers-888 376-2420.

 

[Randy88FJ62]

Steering box is worn or your steering linkage from wheel to box is worn (steering ujoints).

Sounds like you are on the right direction with the list of maintenance you have completed.

 

[FJ60Seth]

I have a spare pitman arm from a US spec FJ60 I’ll sell, but honestly, that’s the last thing I’d suspect. It is a big solid piece of steel with no moving parts. Ask your mechanic how he determined that the pitman arm is defective. If he doesn’t say “ I can see that the splines are stripped”, find another mechanic. PM me if you want buy mine.

If your sure that the steering box & tie rod ends are good, I’d look for worn shackle bushing, cracked leaf spring, or worn components in the steering column.

 

[OSS]

Also the FJ60 doesn't have tight steering anyway compared to new cars. The steering wheel normally has quite a bit of play in it when everything is working properly. A lot of it has to do with perception.

I drove my 60 for 32 years and was totally used to it. Steering seemed "normal". Didn't bother me at all. It had a fair amount of slop in the steering and I kept it that way for off road use to be easier on the steering gearbox.

Then it was down for 7 months as I restored it and I was driving a Subaru (with very precise tight rack & pinion steering) for that time.

Then (7 months later) when my cruiser was ready to roll- I took it out on its maiden voyage... and holy crap I couldn't believe how crappy the steering was - and I hadn't touched anything related to steering. It was steering exactly the same as it always did, but what had changed was my perception of how steering should feel (after getting used to the Subaru).

 

[NeverGiveUpYota]

I totally agree w/ @OSS. I go back and forth beyeeen a little twenty year old Nissan Sentra and my 60. The steering is worlds different.

 

[emac]

I recently sent my 62 steering box off to West texas off road to be rebuilt. They did a great job and it made a big difference in how it drives. Tires and alignment also make a big difference. Have you checked the toe after changing tires?

 

[cruisermatt]

Have you strapped a front wheel to a big tree and watched all your linkages while someone else tries to cycle the steering back and forth? This is the first and best thing to do to diagnose a worn out component.