68 Bronco

[Crawdad]

I'm talking about the the front caps to the radius arms. You have to remove these if you plan to change out the C bushings.
As far as the rear, if the 66 frame is the same as the 68 then you are good.

[wepuckett]

Don't need too remove those as the axle from the 66 front is pretty much totally rebuilt and new ableit dana 30 except for the brake lines and hoses. It is also already set up for the 3.5 JBG lift that I am moving over from the 66 to the 68.

[wepuckett]

Well went with the straight brake lines that I bend but kept messing up the first thread when trying to install them so when and picked up a die so each time I messed it up I could fix it and try it again. Well finally got them installed all the way across to the point where they are ready to screw into the line that goes to the frame and will order the extended line set on the 1st. Went to roll the axle under the bronco and low and behold I didn't have it jacked up enough with springs for a 3.5 lift so will jack the frame up even more tomorrow and try to get it all bolted back in place.

[wepuckett]

Ok sorry no pics as of yet will once the front end is back on the ground.

Well got the coil springs tightened up with new hardware also got the radius control arms nuts started need to find cotter pins for them as there was none on the frame I moved it from and broke the original ones from the 68 axle I took out originally. Any particular size there or any size that fits? Also got the front shocks in put new bolts and nuts and washers in there too didn't want any problems when I upgrade the shocks after i finally get her on the road. Also got the ajustable track bar bolted to the frame need cotter pins there as well.

My one big issue is the pitman arm is there a secret to getting that thing off as I picked up a pitman arm puller at orielieys and really just not getting anywhere. So is there a secret to getting it off?

[broncosbybart]

Cotter pins- just use what fits well.

Pitman arm- you might have to fight with it. Use your impact gun til it gets tight. Then hit the side of the pitman arm with a decent sized hammer once. Retighten the puller til it is tight again. Hit the pitman arm with the hammer. Retighten the pitman arm puller- and continue like this until the pitman arm finally breaks free. The sector shaft is tapered and it usually needs a bit of 'shock' to loosen up in conjunction with the puller. You can't just pull it off- you'll break the puller trying.

[Crawdad]

I remember taking the old pitman arm off my 76. It was a bear! I soaked and soaked that thing for days even with the puller on it. Then I decided to use heat from a plumbers torch. I only heated up the pitman arm and not the actual sector shaft. Although the shaft gets hot it won't get as hot as the pitman arm. Don't get it cherry red bc then you start tempering it and could potentially become weaker. When that thing finally came loose it scared the **** out of me so be prepared for a loud breaking noise! Once loose take a watered up rag and hold to shaft, allow it to cool slowly. You don't want to ruin the o-rings and seals inside ur steering box.

[chuzie]

Crawdad got it right. Heat, wisely and strategically applied, works wonders. I have even gone to the extent of applying ice to the lower exposed section of the shaft, avoiding the arm. This will help shrink the center making the heat on the outer more effective when it expands the arm while also slightly offsetting the conduction transfer.

Repeated heating cycles may eventually raise the shaft temperature higher than we want. Make sure you wait 30 minutes between attempts. A spray bottle with water will help cool it faster.

Try it first with heat as Crawdad suggested. If it doesn't work, remove puller, allow 30 min for cooling, apply ice (10 min), install puller, apply heat and beat that mofo.

Propane is great for the lower temp we want but won't heat the arm fast enough before it begins to transfer to the shaft. MAP gas or a broad oxy application will do well to expand the arm quickly if used with care.

Instead of a sledge or ball peen, try an air hammer. If you don't have a blunt tip, use a piece of flat stock between the air hammer and arm to prevent unwanted damage to arm. Only hit it on the outer circumference to prevent damage to the box.

If it doesn't pop after 10 minutes of propane application (5 minutes oxy) , stop and begin cooling arm and shaft with a spray bottle of water or wet rag to prevent over temperature, tempering, and seal damage.

Good luck. Keep us posted.

Sent from my GS3 on Cyanogenmod with T2.

[wepuckett]

Well got the pitman arm off left the puller on overnight and all day then tightened it up even more and then put a pry bar between it and the frame and gave it a little nudge and boom it all broke loose. Guess I got lucky on that one.

Now is there any tricks or directions I need to follow to get the new one installed properly?
Also when I try to bolt the pitman arm to the tie rod end and I put the wratchet on it it just spins the nut doesn't go down any farther. This doesn't seem right to me but maybe I am doing something wrong, please let me know

Thanks
William

[broncosbybart]

The threads must be damaged. The nut needs to be tight. Try to take it apart if you can and clean the threads up.

It might tighten if you try and seat the tapers together using a pry bar for leverage.

[wepuckett]

Yeah that is what my next course of action is going to be fix the threads I managed to get the nut off. I was looking at oriely's and it said the threads where 9/16 - 18 does that sound right or does anyone have a semi good one they can verify for me as I will pick up a tap and die that size tomorrow and run it over them like I did the welded nut holding the top of the coil spring in. Between the tap and a new bolt it was super easy to get the coil springs on.