nlinn

I searched for this because I didn't want to start a new thread but couldn't find any info on this specific problem, sorry if it's out there and I just missed it.

I went to replace my pitman arm last week, and ran into a problem. I was able to get the old one off just fine, and the first time i put the new one on it wasn't hard either, but the steering was off about 45 degrees. Took it off, had a helper center the steering wheel while i watched. It turned (i thought) two splines. I decided to go ahead and put it on, tighten everything up and take it for a drive to make sure that it was still driving straight. It did but the fact that the wheel was now 45 degrees the other way was annoying.

Decided to take it off again. Same drill, watched as a helper centered the steering wheel for me. I now realized that it only turned one spline, and that no matter what if i used this particularly cheap advance auto part the steering wheel would be off 45 degrees to one side. Oh well, i already bought the part, I decided to live with it.

Now comes the problem;

I had already really tightened the arm down on the tie rods, that end was not coming out....so i put a lot of pressure on the 32 mm nut that holds the arm on the splines. Ended up stripping the nut and the shaft it connects to (only a little bit). I have a new nut but i can't get the threads on the shaft to come out enough to get it on there. They somehow got smashed enough that the nut can't get past the first thread.

I've tried to straighten out the threads with a screwdriver and hammer, but that only partially worked, not enough to get the nut on.

I'm kind of at the end of my rope with this. Thinking about grinding it down past the first (smashed) threads tomorrow...thoughts, suggestions?

waskillywabbit

iTrader: (-1)

Clean it up with a file.

:wabbit2:

nlinn

All right, I have an update on this and still unfortunately need some help.

I decided to grind down the bolt to get past the first few stripped threads. I went to the Toyota dealer and got a brand new nut (it was pretty hard to find this thing, they were the only place that had it.)

The bolt threads are all in line and the nut starts to screw on just fine, but when it's barely on one whole thread it starts to bind. It simply wont go on....I don't see any reason it shouldn't though...am I just missing stupid?

Any help would be deeply appreciated. I have a motorcycle so I haven't had to drive my truck this past week, but it needs to get fixed...It's gonna rain soon.

4Crawler

iTrader: (3)

A couple of things to try. One is to pick up a thread file and try chasing the threads around and see if there are any spots that might clean up. Another thing is to lube up the threads with some grease or anti-seize and then use the nut like a threading die. Turn it on until it gets tight then back it off a part turn, then tighten up again and see if you can get it past the rough spot. The other thing to check, if you have access to a thread pitch gauge is to make sure the threads are the same pitch on the nut and sector shaft.

Also, there is typically a scribed mark on the shaft and arm (although you may have ground the shaft mark off):


I find the shaft mark lines up straight front-back when the steering box is centered (count turns lock-lock and divide in half).

whelan709

Maybe the threads don't match-up , the shaft could possibly have a different thread type than the nut. try counting the threads per inch. they might be slightly off.

theoi

Yup..
Take your time and follow the threads with a lil triangle file

nlinn

Thanks for the help guys.
It took a while, but I eventually got it on there.

She's back on the road!

JoeT

Is your steering wheel still off by 45 degrees? Maybe a stupid suggestion and something you've already considered/done, but it's real easy to pop the steering wheel itself off and rotate it a couple of splines to make it line up again... You don't even need a puller, just loosen the nut a couple of turns and yank on wheel to disengage from splines. DON'T complete remove nut before yanking, or you'll be missing a couple of front teeth

corich

Just FYI in case you encounter a similar situation in the future.... It's fairly common to bugger up the first thread on something. When it happens, you can file at a 45deg angle to the bolt, stroking only towards the center of the bolt, to clean up the bad section. A needle file run along the trough of the thread can help too, and of course flipping the nut over if the nut has been damaged.

I would advise against using the hammer/screwdriver method. You'd have to be a sculptor to be able to control those tools well enough to make clean threads.

Anyway, glad you got 'er back on the road. Good-looking truck!