My replacement pitman arm doesn't slide up the steering gear shaft as high as the original. Is this a problem? The center link is not perfectly horizontal because of this. Does this matter? Will it cause alignment or driveability problems?

 

Did you clean the splines on the steering box before driving the pitman arm onto it? How far off is it? If I remember correctly, the last one I replaced did not line up in the exact spot the old one did but the car drove well.

 

I did clean the splines. Used a drill with a wire wheel bit. It cleaned up pretty good. I would have to say it's about 1/8 to 1/4 inch lower than it was originally. It's off enough to notice that the center link is not horizontal. I'm not an engineer so it's hard for me to picture in my head how this will effect the rest of the steering system. Right now I have no suspension system so the tie rods are just dangling. It seems to steer fine but I have no idea if it will once everything is hooked up and it's on the ground. Are the pitman arms supposed to be pressed on somehow? Or do you just use the nut to drive them on? I'm debating ordering the rebuilt pitman arm from Atkins. It's $125. The 2 I have purchased thus far only add up to $43. I would assume the Atkins unit is OEM and should slide all the way on. Any thoughts?

 

i remember others posting this same issue yrs ago. can't remember if it was just an issue with it being the wrong part or what. it may take some digging to find these older posts.

 

post #9 of this thread:
https://www.rx7club.com/1st-gen-gene...ouble-1115359/

maybe check thru some of these other threads
https://www.rx7club.com/search.php?searchid=15965243

 

Thanks, I will read through them. I think I'm just going to drive it as is. See how it is. Can't afford to keep spending money on this car. It's been way more than anticipated already.