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I'm rebuilding the steering box on my '54 M37, and something about the Pitman arm didn't look right when I was degreasing it in the parts washer.



The ball end is not square to the splined end. It appears to be slightly twisted (to the left from this photo angle). I don't have a second one to compare it to, but based on the text in TM 9-8031-2, I don't think that twist should be there.

And then on closer inspection, I noticed this:



It's a crack in the Pitman arm. I hate to throw this one away, as the ball end is within spec for a new part, but obviously, this Pitman arm will be going into the scrap box. Had that failed while driving down the road, things could have gotten very interesting, very quickly.

Ouch, Yes replace it, unless you want to have it break like I did. Didn't know mine was cracked, but I knew it when it broke. Thank the Lord I was just turning around in a parking lot, and not going down the road at 50+ MPH like I had just been doing.

Scrap box is the correct place for that one, you might give thought to torching it in two to prevent it ever being used again. The arm crack is similar to one that went unnoticed and was on my Dodge M882 until it failed one morning while doing 45mph which got me a evac. chopper ride to Maryland's Shock Trauma with 4 fractured ribs and a dislocated right shoulder, truck was totaled.

Wow! I better get out there and check mine, never thought the pitman arm could fail, as stout as it looks. Safety First!
Gary

Cal_Gary wrote:Wow! I better get out there and check mine, never thought the pitman arm could fail, as stout as it looks. Safety First!
Gary

Hopefully, this will inspire some more M37 owners to check their Pitman arms.

I think I'll take the replacement to have it Magnafluxed.

scary! never seen a pitman arm fail but I have had the balls on the idler come loose