Borgeson install/pitman arm alignment
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Mar 2008
Posts: 487
Likes: 48
From: Ocala Florida
Borgeson install/pitman arm alignment
I guess what I'm really looking for here is confirmation. Doing the borgeson install on my '76 with power steering. Install went rather well until I tried to install the pitman arm. When I align the groves on the steering box it goes on easy enough but it is about 3" away from the drag link adapter. If I try rotating it 1/4 turn the other way on the shaft it off way to far the other way. The wheels are straight and I have "centered" the borgeson box at least a half dozen times.
So, does that mean that I am going to have to get the box aligned properly and then rotate the tire rods ends until the wheels come into alignment and the drag link adapter centers on the hole from the pitman arm? I have read that it can be done without disconnecting the tire rod ends and just rotate the housings themselves.
I just don't understand how it could be that far off. I never had trouble with the other box as far as alignment goes.
Please let me know if there is something else I should be looking at that I missed.
Thanks
Barry
So, does that mean that I am going to have to get the box aligned properly and then rotate the tire rods ends until the wheels come into alignment and the drag link adapter centers on the hole from the pitman arm? I have read that it can be done without disconnecting the tire rod ends and just rotate the housings themselves.
I just don't understand how it could be that far off. I never had trouble with the other box as far as alignment goes.
Please let me know if there is something else I should be looking at that I missed.
Thanks
Barry
Drifting
Joined: Jul 2002
Posts: 1,944
Likes: 20
From: The only Corvettes in Highett Victoria
Spline machining
BLDun, it almost sounds as though the master splines on the sector shaft are in the wrong position, which would imply that the machine operator was not paying attention. However, I have been to the Borgeson factory and seen much of the machining that goes on there and don't believe that this is likely. Also, if you go on their Facebook site, you can see a video of them cutting splines on a virgin shaft and it would be impossible to imagine that the machine operator could put the shaft in the machine so far out and not notice that something was wrong.
Good luck with your steering upgrade and let us know what you discover.
Regards from Down Under.
aussiejohn
Good luck with your steering upgrade and let us know what you discover.
Regards from Down Under.
aussiejohn
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Mar 2008
Posts: 487
Likes: 48
From: Ocala Florida
I rotated the shaft from stop to stop - which appears to be about 1 and 1/3 - and then came back 1/2 of that. After you do that a few times you can feel a spot where the rotation seems to drag just a little. Since that was about half of a complete stop to stop rotation I allowed that to be the "centered" spot.
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Mar 2008
Posts: 487
Likes: 48
From: Ocala Florida
Well, it's fixed!! After more than 45 years of wrenching - mostly on my own cars - I've learned a few things and one of them is to occasionally - when things get crazy - is to just walk away and come back tomorrow. More often than not it works!
In any case, I took some time off work this afternoon and began again and found that what I thought was a steering stop actually wasn't. I started working with the shaft rotation on the steering box and found that what I thought was one of the stops was actually the half-way point. I pushed hard at each stop and one of them kept on going. When I returned it to half way the Pitman arm was almost directly centered where it needed to be. So I got it all bolted up and ready to go after a good wrestling match with the side-pipe headers.
Now it's on to the hydroboost!!
In any case, I took some time off work this afternoon and began again and found that what I thought was a steering stop actually wasn't. I started working with the shaft rotation on the steering box and found that what I thought was one of the stops was actually the half-way point. I pushed hard at each stop and one of them kept on going. When I returned it to half way the Pitman arm was almost directly centered where it needed to be. So I got it all bolted up and ready to go after a good wrestling match with the side-pipe headers.
Now it's on to the hydroboost!!
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Verdad Gallardo
Team Owner
Joined: Jul 2006
Posts: 22,183
Likes: 4,178
From: Kannapolis NC
Well, it's fixed!! After more than 45 years of wrenching - mostly on my own cars - I've learned a few things and one of them is to occasionally - when things get crazy - is to just walk away and come back tomorrow. More often than not it works!
In any case, I took some time off work this afternoon and began again and found that what I thought was a steering stop actually wasn't. I started working with the shaft rotation on the steering box and found that what I thought was one of the stops was actually the half-way point. I pushed hard at each stop and one of them kept on going. When I returned it to half way the Pitman arm was almost directly centered where it needed to be. So I got it all bolted up and ready to go after a good wrestling match with the side-pipe headers.
Now it's on to the hydroboost!!
In any case, I took some time off work this afternoon and began again and found that what I thought was a steering stop actually wasn't. I started working with the shaft rotation on the steering box and found that what I thought was one of the stops was actually the half-way point. I pushed hard at each stop and one of them kept on going. When I returned it to half way the Pitman arm was almost directly centered where it needed to be. So I got it all bolted up and ready to go after a good wrestling match with the side-pipe headers.
Now it's on to the hydroboost!!
Sorry it didn't show up, but I'm really happy you got it going. It's the best change I've made on any Vette I've owned. Put up some pictures when you're done.
The ORIGINAL and bestest
Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 10,009
Likes: 240
From: Toronto Ontario
Toronto Events Coordinator
I too have learned this in my many years of wrenching on cars!
Glad you got it sorted out!