Power Steering Gear and Pitman Arm Question

I have been doing alot of searching on PS for my build. I have a 74 CJ5 that I am converting to PS. It will have a 98TJ 4.0L that has PS, and already has a 5" BDS YJ lift on it. I am getting ready to start to put it back together as I bought a new body and drivetrain for it, and have a question. It was original with manual steering. I took the bracket off and took it to my local steering rebuilders and the guy there found only 1 steering gear that would bolt up to the bracket with the 3 bolts. The steering gear only has 3 bolt holes. I have read through my travels on the net that some wagoneers had a 3 bolt steering gear that would work. I am not sure if this is a pre 76 CJ gear or a wagoneer gear. I am pretty sure that it is not a 76-86 as the bracket is different on those model years. (I also have a 79 CJ7 with PS) My question is - I was at one of my local off road shops that is moving and they want to clear out their inventory so they dont have to move it. They had a pitman for a CJ and a Wrangler. I ended up buying the CJ one which is for a 76-86. I have read that the indexing on the pitman is different for 76-86 if you put that on the 72-75 and you will not get a full turn one way. Will this affect mine as I have a 5" lift on it and have 86 CJ7 axles that are wider under the jeep. In all the post that I have read, the pitmans were just straight and not a drop like the one I got. It is a Rough Country for a 4" lift. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.

 

'76-'86 CJ and Wranglers are clocked differently from '72-'75 because the steering gear mounting bracket angles the gear box differently on the horizontal plane. It has nothing to do with lift or tire size or whatever. It has everything to do with how the gear box will travel because of the angle it is mounted at. By clocking the splines of the pitman arm you can indeed run out of travel one direction (the knuckle hits the stops too soon) and the other direction you don't get as much travel because in effect you are already turning the wheels one direction so run out of travel.

You can use most Saginaw 4 bolt boxes on and 3 bolt mount and vice-verse. It just means the number of bolts holding the steering gear to the mount may be different from the number of bolt holes on the mount or gear box. I'd be more concerned about the input spline count (will it mate with your steering shaft), type of hose required (metric O-ring vs. SAE compression fitting), and ratio (also measured in turns lock to lock of the gear box).

 

I seem to understand now. I was under the impression that it would be hitting something, but it is the physical stop in the box. I will have to take the pitman with me, along with the bell coupler to the steering shop and make sure they work together. As far as the pitman goes, how will I know if it is centered and will work. Kind of a stupid question but if the sterring gear is centered, the pitman should face straight towards the rear of the jeep, correct?
The hose ends accept the o rings I was told, which is just what the TJ box has, as for the TJ hoses connecting to it, I'm not that worried as I can just have new hoses made.

 

What Nick said above:

And I would see if you can find a Series 800 Saginaw 4 -bolt gear box ....has a large 6 & 7 cast in the base of the case......it will have a 13/16" x 36 splined input shaft. This is the same HD box that AMC used on all the CJ's for many years. The input shaft on your manual gear box will normally be smaller than most of the Power steering boxes anyway. The 3 bolt mount should work but I would add the extra bolt to the mount anyway.

Paying attention to where the gear will fit and the location of the Pittman Arm in relationship to the tie rod and spindle ends is important before you get to far along.......I have seen some of those 3 bolt manual mounts being to far forward to mount the longer Power box and get the correct geometry with the Drag link...........so look it over , plan ahead and measure everything before you get to far along.

Your Pittman arm can be fixed by filing in ( using a jewelers tri-angle file and about 60 minutes of work. Make sure it is centered and straight) another V-spline in the vacant space that keys it's location........this will now allow the Arm to clock anywhere..........and yes it needs to face straight back after you have centered the gear box which is normally about 3.5 turns from center to either L/R stop.......The Dropped arms are normally only about 5.5" long as compared to some straight P/S arms that are 6" plus , so that in itself may be a challenge to get full steer to the stops another thing that needs to be checked although you should be fine.
You say this has a 5" lift I am assuming still Spring Under?.........in either case a Tie-Rod Flip probably ?? needs to be incorporated into the steering even with the dropped Pittman Arm but you will have to verify that as you move forward.

Good Luck!

 

Some great info. Wow lots to look for. Thanks guys. I should have a few answers by tomorrow