Foretravel Owners' Forum For owners and Fans of Foretravel Motorcoaches September 15, 2025 ...

Pitman arm instal indexing

July 12, 2014, 12:16:11 am

I'm trying to reinstall my Pitman arm after replacing the steering box ( rebuilt).
I removed the Pitman arm and drag link together hoping it would save time when I did the re-instal.
That plan is NOT panning out.
I see a index mark on the pitman arm and on the steering gear shaft. Unfortunately they are not even close to alignment, about 180 degrees off.
Is there just one point on the Sheppard box shaft that will index with the Pitman arm?
I will separate the Pitman arm and the drag link Saturday (  need to buy a socket that fits the Pitman arm and drag link connection, seems to be in between every large socket and wrench I own) I hope separating the two will make the install easier.
Can the Pitman arm and steering box shaft index at more than one point?

Thanks

Quote Selected

Re: Pitman arm instal indexing

Reply #1 – July 12, 2014, 12:44:29 am

I can't provide a definitive answer to your question. I can suggest that you visit the RH Sheppard site Service. They provide a lot of information about their equipment. You probably have the M100 steering gear. There is a lot of specific information about that unit. I learned a bunch from the site. Especially I learned how to adjust the "pressure relief plungers" after we had a catastrophic failure of the top seal. It was probably because someone (probably at FOT where the steering gear was installed) did not properly adjust the pressure relief plungers.

On the Motorcade event in which we are participating, someone blew the top seal. Again it was most likely because the pressure relief plungers were not properly adjusted. Fortunately, some mechanics in Soldotna, AK, knew how to replace the top seal and adjust the plungers and the victims of that failure continue in our adventure.

Quote Selected