Lots of pitman arms have been cut and welded (buzz box Lincoln 225) and work just fine (if the weld is good) The V cut and sufficient bevels.
You know, this forum is getting really bad about misinformation, and completely pointless posts from people who don't know what they are talking about. Example: How about WELDERS and PEOPLE WHO HAVE WELDED PITMAN ARMS reply to this thread and the rest of you shut the hell up with your "Rat rod in the works" and "Stay off the roads" commentary. Sorry if that's harsh, but you idiots and your repeating what you've read even though you CLEARLY have absolutely NO TECHNICAL EXPERIENCE with the topic at hand really gets old. To the OP: If done properly, you will be fine. Just like the thousands of other cars on the road over the last 50 years with the same work done. Tell everyone who gives you **** to can their cakehole and that they can talk when they can actually discuss the technical aspects of heat affect on different metals with you.
hey im glad i came across this post, my buddy is in the midst of cutting and welding his f1 arm because bending wasnt an option. this just solidifys that it is indeed safe and has been safe since hot rods started. if guys like james could go back to the oprah fan club board we could maybe get back on track here with building hot rods. i think there is a right and wrong way for everything and this is no exception. qualified welder + part = success? i'll let you all know how it goes. maybe take some pictures along the way for those who are curious about having this done.
Here is a steering arm I made. It has the original vw cast spline area welded into the end. I already know you arent suppose to weld on cast or forged steering parts unless you know what youre doing. To ease my mind a little , I welded a old vw steering arm after I cut it in half. I then put it my big press and bent it at the weld. No breakage. I took it out and took a sledge hammer to it and bent it back the other way, no break. It also welded like a dream. Now I will go and have it magnafluxed or x-rayed before I drive it, but it seems strong. Worse case scenario would be that if the welds werent any good I would just go and cast a new one based on the one I made. The rest of the arm is mild steel. People always welded up the dropped spindles in the fifties didnt they? Even though I think I'm a good welder, I will get it checked before I go on the road.
Can I have a ****in' AMEN ! Maxwell in my humble opinion is a clueless Idiot that has keep this going on and on for the rodders on here that want to learn things and in stead of teaching how (cause he don't know) is scaring the **** out of them to modify an arm that needs "made' out of 2 arms to make one that will work. I have done it countless times over the years without one failure. If you don't know what your talking about keep your mouth shut. You already said you didn't know the difference between forged and cast parts, how could you possibly know how to do ANYTHING?!
All this over a Welded Pitman arm, YET there are Thousands of welded Wishbones, Spring mounts, Drive Shafts, Axle Housings, Steering Columns, And yes... The Favorite 2x3 Box tube Frames under Many of Your cars. JeeZus, They are FORGED STEEL and if welded correctly there is NO PROBLEM.
Hahaha...good point! I guess the only safe modification is a "tree" air freshener hanging from the rearview mirror.
thank god!finally someone did some thinking.i agree that if you dont know what your doing DONT DO IT,but a 30 year professional welder?come on!im an ase certified master auto technician and everything on your ol ladys mini van ,control arms,struts,etc.is welded together.as far as forged steel goes,nothing welds any smoother or stronger if done correctly.the rat rod comment is unecessary.
For all you guys who are ascared of anyone welding a pitman arm: 1. What the heck are you doing on a hot rod forum? Maybe Consumer Reports is more your speed (and stick to driving stock cars, better yet, use m*** transit). 2. You may now return to hiding under the rug with your Boy Scout hat on. No one is espousing incompetent work (uh oh, more big words). The original poster did not ask whether we all thought that shoddy work was OK. In the words of the great Harry Callahan, 'a man's gotta know his limitations'.
Here is how I like to make Pitman arms. A flame cut arm is burned and the big end is bored to size. The small end gets either a tapered hole for a tie rod end or a straight hole for a rod end. The original arms tapered hole with the splines is cut off and turned to size for a press fit in the new arms big end bore. A shoulder is left on the nut side of the splined end. Press them together with the proper indexing and then TIG weld them on both sides. I've done a bunch of them over the last 35 years. Here is some of my template selection.
That looks su****iously like a bizarre *** toy collection! "It puts the lotion on its skin..." kind of stuff right there!!
I have dropped uprights on my '52 chevy that were made by an old guy that was doing them since the 60s. Cut and welded. Got close to 70k on them now. The steering arm on my modified was cut and welded. Beat the **** out of it all over the country. Guess I better sell them both cheap before I die.... If you know what you are doing, it's not a problem. If you don't, shut the hell up.
Seriously this is getting stupid. There are MULTIPLE guys on here saying it will and has worked been beat to **** and back with NO issues, yet the ones that say its a no no cant come up with a incident of one breaking......... lets see PROOF that is works or the hypothetical "what if just what if it breaks".... some of you need to put your helmets back on and sit in your rubber room. Window lickers I swear
have to they have been doing them on jeeps for years and the only time i have heard of any failures is the offshore ones they sell for t-buckets from speedway.
Um, my "rock climber" (RTI 1130) is my daily driver, it does 80 just fine, on or off the road, on the 405 even, and yes, it has a welded pitman arm. Somehow I am still alive after 30k of this nonsense.
Is your name James Maxwell? Im pretty sure the "concerns" he had were already long thought of by the thread originator and many other people. He can be as negative as he wants, fact is its not going to change anyone's mind! I had a pitman arm that was arc welded by someone who knew what he was doing on a car I drove almost everyday for a year and it never broke or showed any signs of getting weak. I say this from experience. Do YOU or James know anybody that did have a welded pitman arm on a vehicle where it snapped and killed many people? If so tell me about it! Next time let the man speak for himself drama queen!
Well James, seeing as "hot rodding" is under the watchful eye im sure that any catastrophic failure of a welded forged pitman would sure as **** make the news. At that point im sure you and the rest of the safety patrol would have posted every link and article known to man showing the proof that it cant be done. I am quite curious James, What is your welding background that gives you the soapbox to make such claims? One other thing James, do you have your tinfoil hat on ?
**** how many people are struck by lightning... bitten by snakes... attacked by swarms of bees... hit by falling ice or trees/tree branches... every year? Yet we all still go outside the house year round.
Rustynewyorker, you also forgot plane train and car crashes oh my, **** how many ford expolders and other cars were flipping over due to bad tires ?
James now you are just being a retard and trying to fish for some drama. Once again james i ask you what your welding experience is that you can make the call that this is unsafe?
AHHHHH and here is the real reason, you became a safety NAZI after some douche ****ed your perfect little world up. Guess I might be bitter if i was in your situation, wait a min i have been ran off the road and rolled a van 7 times down a 150 foot hill and hit head on by a drunk. **** **** **** damnit lets ban all the cars and trucks out there you must all now WALK per order of safety NAZI james
All this talk gots me a lil curious. Imma weld up a pitman arm this week, put it on a hydraulic press and bend it till it breaks(or bends all to ****).I got an old one laying around. Im going to preheat it,TIG weld it,and slow cool in the oven.
4WIW... I'm going back quite a few years, but a bloke I knew used to race a geuine 1940's 'vintage' racecar here in Oz. Handmade alloy body, hot sidevalve, 39 box, transverse front end, banjo rear, the sort of cl***ic thing you see all 'gussied up' at concours events these days. He needed a new pitman arm but rather than make a new one, he had an existing one cut and welded to his specs. The racing bodies here have a strict code, any welding on suspension components at all has to be... Done by a professional. X-rayed. magnafluxed. Before it can be used on the track. All this was done and the car went racing. At the time the car was down for repairs, old Don decided to fit a rollbar to it. It wasn't required, but he just had this feeling it might be a good idea. First race, third turn and the weld on the pitman arm let go. The car flipped over, and skidded upside down along the track, smashing the 4 carbs and manifold, and grinding the top right off Don's helmet on the tar. If he hadn't installed the rollbar it would have been his brains being smeared all over the track. I saw the broken pitman arm and the worn out helmet at the time, and yes, it was the weld that had broken. Cheers, Glen.
I'm in the 'get over it' mode as well. Steering parts are more than just forgings, they're maleable (sp?) forgings. Anyone worth a piece of welding wire knows EXACTLY what that means. For those that don't that means it will also bend a long way before it fractures. Anyone ever see the test pictures of the Model A axle? It's wound up like a coil spring. That's how ol Henry tested em. That was an INDUSTRY STANDARD for decades using such metals and practices. Can they be welded? ****in eh right they can. Buy new? Uh, yeah right. Just dial 1 800 HOT RODS and use yer credit card. No talent or skills needed. But this is the HAMB, spreading the 'gospel' worldwide. Doing what many here know to do, MAKE IT WORK. Safety be damned? No. Never. Live in a bubble worryin about such things? No thanks. I'm more concerned with drunk drivers than fellow rodders. I won't bother to post what's been done before cuz those of us who can, DO. Those of us who can are more than happy to help our fellow hoodlums get em done. Those of you who worry about it just remember "...yes Virginia, there is a Santa Claus."
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