dstefl

My car was pulling to the right so i took it in for an alignment. They did a good job, but they told me that the bushing in my pitman arm was worn. They said that is why i have a lot of slop in the front end. I was also told that the bushing was pressed in from the manufacturer and i had to replace the whole thing..... is this true? And if so, how come I can't seem to find one. None of the parts stores around me (advance auto, napa, and checker) can get me one.

What do i do???
any links or info would be GREATLY appreaciated!!

D Stroy H8

Hey - no autozone type places have this part. I checked everywhere and then had to give up and buy it thru a dealer! It cost me 108.00 bucks special order part. Guess what, I don't need it, and it is brand spankin new, and I cannot return it!! Check your PMs.

joshwilson3

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RB83L69

There is no bushing in the Pitman arm. It's just a chunk of metal with 2 holes in it, one piece with no other parts. No bushings pressed in at the mfr or anything else.

You probably need a new center link. That's what has the bushings in it. They frequently wear out.

Kenwood

iTrader: (1)

I agree with RB on the centerlink...My alignment shop told me the same thing...NEW pitman arm... I said WTF the pitman arm is a chunk of steel with 2 holes.Luckily I knew this because I had just has the steering box out and some of the suspension apart...then they guy was like WELL see this...Pointing to the centerlink grease joint going into the pitman arm......showed me the slop in it...I said WELL you mean THIS centerlink... He said YES...Then said some BS about not knowing what these "old" suspension parts were called...LOL Mine was like $50 if I remember correctly...Installed it myself...I had the alignment checked again and it was pretty much right where it was supposed to be....But that can vary depending on how bad the old part is and the tolerance of the new part..

dstefl

Thanks guys, that explained a lot!
Now my question is should i just do the center link or is there anything else i should change while I am in there?

slowTA

iTrader: (1)

He also may have meant the idler arm. Those are wear items and kind of resemble the pitman arm. Its fairly easy to get them mixed up too. Odds are both the idler and centerlink are prety worn so you may as well do both at the same time since you will need an alignment anyway. To do the idler it is important to make sure the center link is level to the rest of the car. I used an angle finder on the crossmember and the centerlink to get the same angle.

joshwilson3

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91wtROH17's

Good thread, I too have some play from what seem's to be the steering box!! So these bushing's ware often??

slowTA

iTrader: (1)

I don't have any diagrams handy but try this. The pitman arms hangs off the bottom of the steering box and extends towards the rear of the car. This is where it connects to the ceterlink. From there the center link goes towards the driver's side tie rods and across to the passenger side where it is held up by the idler arm. The idler arm is parallel to the pitman arm and it bolted to the passenger side frame. When you replace the idler arm you have to replace both parts of it, thats how they are sold.

When you get a bushing kit, NONE of the above mentioned parts are included. All you get with a bushing kit are the rubber inserts with some metal sleaves. The steering parts I listed above all use ball joint like links. These ball joints are what wears out and creates some slop.

If you snoop around Spohn's site you should be able to find his fornt end rebuild kit. That is the kit you need if you want to replace all of your steering components. Tires can also cause a pulling condtion, as well as the quality of the road. Just something else to look into.

joshwilson3

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slowTA

iTrader: (1)

If a wheel bearing goes bad you will most likely hear it screaming at you. However if the bearing is set too tight (very tight) it could causee a problem too, doesn't sound like your problem if the bearings weren't touched recently. Depending on how bad your car is pulling it may be a sticking caliper, bad brake hose, the list goes on for a while. If it just started pulling with the new tires, then I would be pointing my finger at the tires.

joshwilson3

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slowTA

iTrader: (1)

Well I hate to tell someone to blindly replace parts 'just because'. I think you should pull the wheels off and see if the rotors are dragging any. If they are then pull off the caliper and see if it improves. That will eliminate the brakes and bearings if they are OK. Both rotors should feel about the same, use the other side as a reference. There is a lot of weight and friction in the rotors so they will not spin forever, so don't jump to conclusions. If you change the bearings then you should change the bearing races that are pressed into the rotors. They don't like to come out too easily, the good news is that the rotors come with new races pressed in already. You can see how these things grow out of control.

If the bearings check out OK, then I would start looking for some loose steering parts... this is all assuming you've had an alignment done on the car already.

dstefl

I just replaced the center link today. WOW, what a difference in the front end. The car drives awsome now. You guys saved me a lot of time and money!!!
A big thank you to everyone who had a hand in helping me figure out what was wrong!