I was just concerned about the space between the center link and the pitman arm not seating and on the steering box it is the same way.
There should be a gap. Otherwise your puller would not fit to remove it. Also the pitman needs to rotate against the centerlink, if the faces mated then that would be quite a friction point. The stud is tapered, so as long as it tightened up, you should be good.
Well I took her out for a test drive today. It was so hard to steer I could barley drive it. I felt like the wheel did not come back after turning. Is this usual with manual steering? I never imagined it being that hard to turn the wheel. Any thoughts? Thanks...
Ok. You used your old power steering box, right? I'm assuming you have had it aligned already? Did you adjust the caster like Darren suggested? (post #12) That may be just the way it is, I have not had manual steering, so I cannot really attest to it's effort differences. But most people running the p/s gear box and manual parts seem happy with it.
I am running a manual steerring box. I have not had it aligned yet I will be getting that done in the next day or so. I just wanted to test drive it today. I just never imagined it being that damn hard to steer.
The alignment should help, but I would not expect a huge improvement in effort. Did you check the box before installing it? It should turn freely, no binding. The manual gear box should give you the least steering effort. Don't forget that for manual steer cars it really matters do have the car rolling before you start to turn. In other words, do not try to turn at a stop. Not saying you don't know how to drive a car, just thinking out loud to try and help. Manual steering cars definitely require more steering effort, but it is hard to gauge what is too much. It would be nice if another member lived close with manual steering so you could compare. You might have a problem, or it could just be normal. Not sure what else to say, maybe others can chime in with some advice.
