Modifying pitman arm

a_kelley

a_kelley

mechanical fixer
Joined
Jan 26, 2010
Location
Rutherfordton
I'm wondering if it's considered acceptable to cut and weld a stock pitman arm. Intending to cut the splined portion off of one and weld it into another. Full 360* circle & can be welded all the way around.

Any reason to not to? They are definitely cast, but I am not sure if they are steel or iron. I suppose if they are steel it's acceptable. I don't see why they would be cast iron, wouldn't they be brittle if they were?
 
a_kelley said:
I'm wondering if it's considered acceptable to cut and weld a stock pitman arm. Intending to cut the splined portion off of one and weld it into another. Full 360* circle & can be welded all the way around.

Any reason to not to? They are definitely cast, but I am not sure if they are steel or iron. I suppose if they are steel it's acceptable. I don't see why they would be cast iron, wouldn't they be brittle if they were?
Click to expand...

All the ones I’ve messed with are weldable steel. My guess is cast or forged steel not iron.

Been running a hacked up and welded one for several years now without issue.
 
What ^ said. They are definitely cast steel, not cast iron, though some (XJs and ZJs I think) are forged. I welded one up for my Jeep about 2 years ago, and it's held up fine in the 10 miles since then.
 
I've cut and rewelded mine too. Definitely steel, not iron.
 
Bevel where you can and lay it in.
 
I decided to sublet this to a friend of mine that has a ranger welder. i figured that a 90A FCAW pushing .030 or .035 would not yield satisfactory welds without doing 3-5 passes per side (figuring ~1" thick, beveled to half thickness), and even then (in my opinion) would be unsatisfactory.. some things are best left to people with proper equipment.. However, I did find out that the plasma cutter I picked up from @guffey24 is nearly capable of poorly severing 3/4" thick material. (flipped to finish cut)

for those following along, I will post final pics of the arm. (it is a hybrid push/pull 10 bolt arm to fit a IFS yota box.. simple solution. otherwise I was looking at mounting the chevy box and using the stock arm or may haps going to a older pushpull yota box(headache), or some kind of T steering(crap setup).. histeer is out of the question, Im not for sure that they even make them for 10b, and its not in budget if they do.

will post pics when i get it back
 
It's tacked together and at my buddies shop for welding.. I need to get a bigger welder, either a multiprocess or a tombstone. I hadn't decided yet.

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Did you re-ream the taper? If not, with that much weld, I'd be concerned about an egg shaped hole. Keep snugging it up for the first few weeks and it will probably sort itself out.
 
The tapered spline? No. The tapered hole at the tie rod end? No it's far from the weld. Presently it doesn't move anyway, lots left to do before it drives.

IMG_20190304_221103610s.jpg
 
Ah, I see, that's the steering box end. Yeah, if it bolts on, it should be good to go.
 
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