1934 pitman ball shape question

Gastrick

Gastrick

Member
I have a question about the shape of the pitman arm ball on a 1934 Ford pitman arm. I have several of these and the ball is shaped the same on all of them. Two are definitely worn so I thought that the shape was attributed to a worn ball, but I have one that doesn't appear to be worn at all and yet the ball is still not round. Can someone familiar with these tell me if the pitman arm ball on these were egg shaped from the factory or are they supposed to be round. Thanks.

If the photos are too poor I can take some more.



 
...and it is difficult to find one that still is round; need NOS. There is a limited amount of material available for what I would consider a "safe" repair, since if
the weld fails, very bad things will then happen... It IS possible to use a 32
arm with a new ball (available) but the arm orientation/shape is not the same, so have to do a little careful heat/bend to make it work on a 33-34.
 
Lawson Cox said:
Check with Stacy Brown in Arlington, TX and see if he happens to have a NOS arm.
817-275-2381
Click to expand...

Be aware that there at two different pitman/steering arms for 33-34. Passenger car version (including wagon and sedan delivery) will be marked with a "40" on the big end, one side. Commercial version (pickup, panel) will be marked with a "46". The difference is in the "clocking" of the splines; steeper column angle on Commercials moves the arm/ball rearward; reclock on the "46" arm then moves it to vertical/correct location again SO that the draglink length remains correct. If the wrong one is used, the front wheels will be turning when the steering is centered and when the front wheels are going straight, the steering will not be centered = slop/play when going straight-ahead... Lots of otherwise-good steerings get condemned when the wrong arm is installed...
 
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