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Armstrong Begone.....

RichM882

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Leeds, England
The box and pump came from a W300 airbase fire tender, 1977 vintage. It only had about 6000 miles on it. It had a big block engine in it so I had to make a bracket myself. It picks up two of the front timing case bolts both of which are into the water jacket and one on the cylinder head. It seems to work well.
 

Bdaman

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Location
Illinois
With your setup does the steering seem normal? The m880 I bought last week has retro fit PS of some fashion. A oversized load semi has a shorter turn radius. Turning into my driveway is a 3 point turn..

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RichM882

Member
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Location
Leeds, England
With your setup does the steering seem normal? The m880 I bought last week has retro fit PS of some fashion. A oversized load semi has a shorter turn radius. Turning into my driveway is a 3 point turn..

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Hi Bdaman.
The steering is fine and light. The gearing is the same as the original unassisted box so I am looking for a period mopar steering wheel of 14 to 15 inches in diameter to 'quicken' it up a little. No complaints with lock but I am a little concerned with the angle of the steering column between bell coupling and rag joint. It appears a little sharp for my liking. The new steering box is massive and looks like it belongs on a 10 ton truck but a little extra stoutness never goes amiss !!!!
I think your problem could be that the pitman arm on your box could be too short and not giving enough travel for a sufficiently sharp steering lock but I am sure that one of the gurus on this site will have a solution to the problem no doubt. If you take a couple of snaps of the setup with camera and post them on here maybe someone can see the problem. I love my Dodge now and I am sure yours will be a simple fix bro.
 

Bdaman

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Location
Illinois
The PS Box on Mine is leaking badly. So I need to get a new one, but I want to get a proper one. Notice the One I have have operates the pitman in a horizontal plane, not vertical as it look like all of yours do. I can turn far enough to the right that the tire hits the control rod. Left turn, doesnt even get the tire out of the fender well. Super wide turns. If the turning radius was back to correct I would almost go back to Manual steer until it could be fixed properly.


IMG_20161016_214956.jpgIMG_20161016_215002.jpgIMG_20161016_215017.jpg
 

Bob H

Well-known member
Steel Soldiers Supporter
3,140
160
63
Location
Huron National Forest, Michigan USA
The PS Box on Mine is leaking badly. So I need to get a new one, but I want to get a proper one. Notice the One I have have operates the pitman in a horizontal plane, not vertical as it look like all of yours do. I can turn far enough to the right that the tire hits the control rod. Left turn, doesnt even get the tire out of the fender well. Super wide turns. If the turning radius was back to correct I would almost go back to Manual steer until it could be fixed properly.


View attachment 649370View attachment 649371View attachment 649372

sounds like it wasn't centered when the link between box & axle was attached.
put it on jack stands, unhook steering arm from pitman arm,
verify wheels turn fully & return then to center
pitman arm needs to be perpendicular to the frame (pointing straight out)
adjust length of steering arm to fit.

clean crap off of gear box, a seal kit is a lot cheaper than a rebuilt gear box

your steering box appears to be a 1978 or newer model, which is a standard rotation unit.
It allows for more tire clearance than the 77's had when turning full right,
 
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Bdaman

New member
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Location
Illinois
I will try that. Thank you Bob. So if I can get it to work out properly then you are saying what I have could be a little than the standard fix?

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Bdaman

New member
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Location
Illinois
sounds like it wasn't centered when the link between box & axle was attached.
put it on jack stands, unhook steering arm from pitman arm,
verify wheels turn fully & return then to center
pitman arm needs to be perpendicular to the frame (pointing straight out)
adjust length of steering arm to fit.

clean crap off of gear box, a seal kit is a lot cheaper than a rebuilt gear box

your steering box appears to be a 1978 or newer model, which is a standard rotation unit.
It allows for more tire clearance than the 77's had when turning full right,
Looks like a previous owner got me. The control arm is a fixed length rod. Can you suggest a make & model to spec to get one that is adjustable? Look like if I lost 1" of length it would be about perfect.

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cajuncustom

New member
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Location
Port Barre , La
just got in a new gearbox today , i cant imagine how nice it will be to have , i drove the truck with the stock tires with no power steering and it wasnt that bad , when i went to hummer wheels and 37 it was **** when i went to 44 boggers it was parked lol im going to try to take a serpentine setup off a newer model dakota and see how that works
 

Bob H

Well-known member
Steel Soldiers Supporter
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Location
Huron National Forest, Michigan USA
Looks like a previous owner got me. The control arm is a fixed length rod. Can you suggest a make & model to spec to get one that is adjustable? Look like if I lost 1" of length it would be about perfect.

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Well shucks, the Dodge isn't adjustable like the Chevy.

Anyway, two pics 1st one is stock 1978, turned full left, the connecting rod is 18 inches long.
2nd pic is of a PS box from a 76 Ramcharger on my 77 M884, just used the box & pitman arm.
001.jpg002.jpg
 

Bdaman

New member
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Location
Illinois
What would be the odds that a Chevy one would fit? Of course I would just have to guess an old model to be similar length

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Bdaman

New member
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Location
Illinois
What would be the odds that a Chevy one would fit? Of course I would just have to guess an old model to be similar length

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Or somebody suggested to maybe look towards a tractor control arm?

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michigandon

Well-known member
1,442
82
63
Location
Wake Forest, NC
Our truck was retrofitted with later model steering not unlike Rich and Bdamans trucks. I refer to it as "'80s steering". Not too long after we got it on the road, the input shaft seal began leaking like a sieve. Since I had no idea what it originally came from I ordered a replacement steering box for an '85 W250. Bolted in perfectly! It was also on less turn lock to lock than the one that came off, so it handles a little better now.
 

cajuncustom

New member
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Location
Port Barre , La
I currently have everything for mine , ordered a Lares 997 PS gearbox from rockauto but i am having **** finding a pitman arm for a 32 spline 4 master gearbox , my area all the junkyards only keep 90's and up. so its the one thing im lacking , i call all these places that sell pitmans stock and for lifts they have no clue they cant even answer a simple question about the items they sell.
 

michigandon

Well-known member
1,442
82
63
Location
Wake Forest, NC
So you're wanting to put it back to factory? I didn't catch that at first.

Finding the correct pitman might be a bit tricky. I would suggest going to Ramcharger Central and looking for one.
 
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