Hey can anyone give me the skinny on what sizes of pitman arms were used on the 1970 Satellite with PS and a small block? The one I got from Moog was too small it measured 1” diameter.
Apparently there is a “Large Sector” pitmans but not sure what was used and on what back then from the factory.
From the research I got here and other sources:
1” Factory standard 62-70 bbody
Large sector is a 1-1/8 used 71 up bbody
and 1-1/4 used ?.
Is this right? If the 1” didn’t fit so does that mean my steering box was changed? It looked original given its surroundings…..
Thanks for taking the time to read and respond.
Ron
That might be part of the problem. It was an evay buy. The part box did NOT have a part number. It was a bit too small and we put the old one back on. I can’t get to it to measure it.
The question I have still stands. What was used on these 1970 bbodies from the factory? Was the 1” standard and the large sector a 1-1/8”?
A 1970 Satellite with power steering was originally equipped with a small sector shaft power steering gear, or "box", with matching small sector pitman arm.
Small Sector:
All 1962 - 1972 B-bodies, 1960 - 1972 A-bodies, and 1970 - 1972 E-bodies (except cars equipped with the "TA" box) were originally equipped with the small sector shaft power steering gear. The small sector shaft roughly measures 1-1/8" near the top of the splines on the shaft. The original nut that retains the pitman arm on the shaft has a hex size of 1-1/8".
Large Sector:
All 1973 and later A, B, C, D, E, F, J, M-bodies, all E-bodies with the "TA" box, all C-bodies and D-bodies (Imperial), and all 1971-1993 B-series vans were originally equipped with the large sector shaft power steering gear. The large sector shaft roughly measures 1-1/4" near the top of the splines on the shaft. The original nut that retains the pitman arm on the shaft has a hex size of 1-5/16".
The following image shows a small sector shaft pitman arm for pre-1973 B-bodies (top) and 1973-later B-bodies and more (bottom):
Measuring the actual spline diameter is a little ambiguous, but the following two images show measuring, roughly, the diameter of the opening at the top inner edge of the splines. Note that the measurement is a little smaller than the outer edge of the splines and less than the measurement of the sector shaft splines slightly above where the pitman arm sits. The steering sector shaft is tapered for a wedged fit to the pitman arm itself.
NOS Moog K-780 for pre-1973 B-bodies:
Moog K-7076 for 1973-later B-bodies and more:
NOS Chrysler C-body:
C-body and early B-body compared:
