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Tie rod doesn’t seem to fit in pitman arm

txhawkeye

Jr. Member
Joined
Jul 8, 2017
Messages
66
I have the wild horses adjustable tie rod and the stock 66 drag link, I was buttoning it up to get it aligned tomorrow and I stripped the castle nut trying to attach the tie rod to the pitman arm. I thought it should draw up with the nut..
a09850d879ba44357858d049e537bbcf.jpg
1964fbd75c7f93c191e4b22ad4cd041b.jpg
does it need to be pressed in or am I doing something wrong? It seems like a real tight fit almost too big.


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SteveL

Huge chevy guy
Joined
Jun 24, 2001
Messages
11,721
Loc.
Hawthorne ca
Sure if you have the correct reamer. The 66 and the 76-77 inverted y steering use a pitman with a smaller hole. Alot of guys convert the inverted y to the earlier tie rod set up. For that reason most the aftermarket tie rod stuff comes to fit the more common pitman with the bigger hole. You will probably run in to the same issue with the steering knuckles and tie rods if you go disc brake. They sell adapter bushings for that.
 

DirtDonk

Contributor
Bronco Guru
Joined
Nov 3, 2003
Messages
48,229
Not all '66's had the small taper. There was a running change during '66 as far as I know.
But did they by any chance powder coat inside the tapered hole? That might do it too.

That is not a stock '66 draglink in the picture, unless unless you cut and threaded it yourself?

And txhawkeye, before you take it in to have it aligned, orient the tie-rod differently.
Do you still have your original tie rod handy? You want to mimic the same angle that Ford used for the mounting pad for the draglink's lower mount.

If you don't have it to compare to, basically you loosen all three adjusting sleeves, rotate your tie-rod back so that the Zerk fitting on the lower draglink end points upward at roughly a 60° angle.
Tighten it back down and you're good to go.
When they adjust the toe-in, make sure they return it to the same angle you set it at. Most alignment techs (even the good ones as I just found out recently) don't know about this relationship.

Paul
 
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T

txhawkeye

Jr. Member
Joined
Jul 8, 2017
Messages
66
Not all '66's had the small taper. There was a running change during '66 as far as I know.
But did they by any chance powder coat inside the tapered hole? That might do it too.

That is not a stock '66 draglink in the picture, unless unless you cut and threaded it yourself?

And txhawkeye, before you take it in to have it aligned, orient the tie-rod differently.
Do you still have your original tie rod handy? You want to mimic the same angle that Ford used for the mounting pad for the draglink's lower mount.

If you don't have it to compare to, basically you loosen all three adjusting sleeves, rotate your tie-rod back so that the Zerk fitting on the lower draglink end points upward at roughly a 60° angle.
Tighten it back down and you're good to go.
When they adjust the toe-in, make sure they return it to the same angle you set it at. Most alignment techs (even the good ones as I just found out recently) don't know about this relationship.

Paul


Thank you for the information I will check the powder coating hopefully that could be the issue. Below is the tie rod and drag link I am installing, l will make the adjustments before they align it I appreciate you catching that for me.

0397a143ed2f174e336f71d1315822f1.jpg



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68Broncoz

Contributor
Sr. Member
Joined
Dec 12, 2017
Messages
405
Paul good to know on the angle of the tie rod. I would have installed the mounting face perpendicular to the ground not tilted back, This is good info to know when I have my Bronco aligned.

Many Thanks,

Chris
 

DirtDonk

Contributor
Bronco Guru
Joined
Nov 3, 2003
Messages
48,229
Great, glad to help.
It's very common to do that, because it does seem intuitive to put it parallel to the ground. But if you look at the original one you're replacing you can see the angle you want to match. Basically with the grease fitting pointing up more towards the bottom of the radiator.
Those with '76 and '77 Broncos don't have that to look at though, as they're converting from a completely different style. So it would be even more important in those cases for us to point it out.

The funny thing is we actually changed the pictures a couple of years ago to better reflect this, but I see from the image above that the #2351 did not benefit much from that change! Luckily the #2390 actually shows more of an angle.
The web pics are just the first line of defense though. However not everyone is going to consult the web pic when doing an install I'm thinking.

Pretty sure we were also going to put a sheet of paper in the box highlighting the angle, but that may not have happened it sounds like.

FYI, the angle is important for two reasons.
One basic reason is that raising the lower end of the draglink actually helps to better put it more closely parallel to the trackbar on most Broncos. At least when the steering linkage is using stock mounting points.
But stock angles or not, the second and just as important reason is that this angle helps to impart less rotational movement to the tie-rod.
If you aim it straight ahead, the initial tendency is to "roll" the tie rod upward when steering left, and downward when steering right. This additional movement before the tie-rod starts moving left or right gives the steering a slightly more vague feel. Keeping that rolling to a minimum is very conducive to a more linear feel.

Ford figured that out. We're just adding more rigidity and adjustability to the mix.

Paul
 
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txhawkeye

Jr. Member
Joined
Jul 8, 2017
Messages
66
Don't forget your lower trac bar washer and nut.;D



Jim



Thank you one of the things I can’t find... Does anyone know what size and thread that but needs to be? Also does anyone know what the taper is on the tie rod I need to buy a reamer but not sure what size I need? Almost there though!


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