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Fri Aug 14, 2009 4:48 pm

Well, I got back my pitman arm back from Kustom 1 in 2 days as they promised (unlike German Auto that sat on it for a month and did nothing). It was reamed for Ford tie rod ends.

The holes are much larger than the stock VW holes.

Does this look too thin around the holes now? Is this likely to break when I am off-roading?

Fri Aug 14, 2009 5:22 pm

I had the same issue with mine. add a little plate stk.

Fri Aug 14, 2009 11:22 pm

My pitman arm is pretty much the same as QRP's, but the gusset extends to the base end.

This shows the 1/2" Allen through bolt with self-locking nut.

You should also shim between the bottom of the steering box housing and the top of the pitman arm to prevent forces being transmitted to the weak cast zinc lid.

Sat Aug 15, 2009 4:49 am

Very nice work!

Sat Aug 15, 2009 9:49 am

dustymojave wrote:

Wow. That is a work of art.

Sat Aug 15, 2009 10:01 am

VERY NICE DUSTY, VERY VERY NICE !!!! :P

Sat Aug 15, 2009 10:11 am

The pattern or profile of the pitman arm could be traced on a template, copied by computer drawing, and cut from 1/4" plate using a water-jet. Could even be mass-produced too. Someone here on thesamba stated that he could do cutting on a water-jet saw... all these ideas can make some money out there!
Aloha!

Sat Aug 15, 2009 4:59 pm

Damn, That is sweet. I know who to call for my welding projects. :wink:

Sat Aug 15, 2009 7:07 pm

WOW! That thing is nice!

Mon Aug 24, 2009 5:51 pm

If somebody mass-produced these gussetts for pitman arms, there would need to be several different styles made. My pre-1961 pitman arm is a little different in shape and ball joint ones are also different.

Mon Aug 24, 2009 5:55 pm

thefladge wrote: If somebody mass-produced these gussetts for pitman arms, there would need to be several different styles made. My pre-1961 pitman arm is a little different in shape and ball joint ones are also different.
how different are we talking? many aftermarket parts are made for the most common application and if you plan on using it for something else you have to modify it to fit.

Mon Aug 24, 2009 6:04 pm

HamburgerBrad wrote: thefladge wrote: If somebody mass-produced these gussetts for pitman arms, there would need to be several different styles made. My pre-1961 pitman arm is a little different in shape and ball joint ones are also different.
how different are we talking? many aftermarket parts are made for the most common application and if you plan on using it for something else you have to modify it to fit.

Well, the ones used on ball joint beams have a little "finger" that sticks out that hits the steering limiter brackets on the beam.

Very early ones (pre-1961) are a bigger diameter at the shaft end.

Mon Sep 14, 2009 9:12 pm

I put everything together today and noticed that the Ford tie rod ends are very close to each other on the VW pitman arm. It almost looks like they might hit each other as the suspension travels up and down.

Has anyone experienced this?

Mon Sep 14, 2009 9:24 pm

you can disconect them from the spindle end and move them around to check. :wink:

Tue Sep 15, 2009 5:33 pm

QRP wrote: you can disconect them from the spindle end and move them around to check. :wink:

Actually, mine look about as close together as yours do in the picture you posted above. Do your tie rod ends hit each other? Have they been clearanced at all?