tie rod parts

[fordman]

what are the things i have circled in red made of? are they steel or rubber. i know the one 3A116 looks like a replaceable bushing. it seems that lmc does carry the replaceable track bar bushings to replace that. but the others are missing from my truck. what are they? steel would be a better use but i bet they are rubber or something like that. does anyone know? can i use washers in there inplace of what was there? will it work? lmc doesn't show these for my truck.

[Wes]

3a116 is a rubber bushing, similar to a leaf spring eye bushing.
3950 i am guessing is seal, or boot. Also guessing 3332 are seals as well. I will go look at my bronco is similar to that picture.

[Wes]

Yeah i checked my bronco 3332 are all soft parts not steel. So they are dust/moisture covers.

[fordman]

i done some looking at mine today and at a npd catalog also. and i think the 3332 is a seal of some sort with a rubber boot over it. i am going to need to find out sooner or later. but i'm going to check out a junkyard truck 30 miles from here that i hope has the same setup on it. so that may tell me more and or confirm what i think i now know.

[fordman]

are these the correct track bar bushings or are these junk compared to the ford oem type? http://www.autozone.com/autozone/catalo ... ons=%5B%5D

[fordman]

heres what i have going on with this thing . i don't know if you can tell in the picture but there is a pretty big gap between the pitman amr and the wahser below. and the nut is on there in the furthest positon to line up with the cotter pin hole. npd has the parts but i don't want to put any money into it unless i have to. can i just use a washer or two and make it work without trashing it? or does it need that seal thing and boot to keep it from wearing down the rod that goes into the pitman arm?

[cep62]

I'm a little confused. The nut on the pitman arm might tighten up with a washer ,I think there might be an adjustment on the end of the link under the crud to tighten the link to the ball.

The parts from Autozone are poly urethane and are better than oem. they sell a complete kit with the C bushings and that really tightens up the steering. Well worth the money but a big job to put in. (you can also try Summit ,Jegs or Carquest)

[fordman]

if you tighten the nut more then the cotter pin wont have anything to lock into. unless there is a washer liek you said under the nut. i was hoping someone who had the same setup knew what was suppose to be there. i seen the autozone poly stuff. i am considering it still. the c bushings are ok on this thing for now. i do need radius arm bushing for it though. i am thinking about using some 2wd bushing i have instead. they are almost new so why not.

[mr_josh]

If you're saying what I think you're saying, I think that you can actually just get a taller castle nut. Would that solve the problem?

[fordman]

i don't think it would take up enough space to do the job.

[Wes]

heres what i have going on with this thing . i don't know if you can tell in the picture but there is a pretty big gap between the pitman amr and the wahser below. and the nut is on there in the furthest positon to line up with the cotter pin hole. npd has the parts but i don't want to put any money into it unless i have to. can i just use a washer or two and make it work without trashing it? or does it need that seal thing and boot to keep it from wearing down the rod that goes into the pitman arm?

Is the ball stud loose in the pitman arm ? I believe the seal/dust cover is there to help keep dirt from grinding away at the tapper fit between the two parts. By the looks of that truck it will need all the help keeping dirt outta critical spots it can get,

[fordman]

the thing about this is that above the pitman arm is a thin metal plate. if that is left there to just rub then it will wear it down to nothing. so shimming a washer from the top or bottom is not the correct way to do this and make it work. as far as just a boot. no a boot will not take up that space to make the joint tight. i just need to know from someone who has this actual setup to tell me what the piece is that sits above the pitman arm. that is the piece that rides against the top of the pitman arm. is it solid rubber? it is some sort of seal with a metal piece inside of it to take up the space. i know other guys on this site have this setup. why won't they respond. maybe i should do like everyone else and post this in general discussion.

[fordman]

i think i may have part of an answer but i need some confirmation if anyone can help. my pitman arm and tie rod joint will not tighten up any further that it is now. because the nut will go past the hole for the cotter key. so i am missing a piece between the tie rod end and the pitman arm.

well i was at lmc a while back and they had a whole ball and socket for my tierod end. but it also did not have the extra rubber part in the ford NOS bag. everything else was in the bag but that part. now the ford part was for a 74 and up truck. and you can see a picture of it in the lmc catalog.

since both era trucks used the simlar ball and socket type of end to the pitman arm. and i have that same arm on my 2wd power steering box. what i am thinking is maybe the ball and socket are not correct for my pitman arm. because it wont wedge into the pitman arm either. so i am thinking i could have a mixture of parts on my frotn end. the ball and socket from a 74 and up truck and the old 71 pitman arm. the pitman arm does have a part number that starts with C7.

what do you think about the mixing of the two different years parts? the 74 ball and socket. and the 71 pitman arm. do they mismatch? is that whay the pitman arm and stud dont want to get tight and set. or am i missing that rubber part? i have anohter pitman arm but i havent had a chance to put it on the truck to test it. the ford NOS piece doesnt look exactly like my original piece. that is whay i think the part may be mismatched. or missing pieces.

[fordman]

are you sure you read this thread?