"1 ton" pitman question

[corrupt143]

So I've been doing LOTS of research into the "1 ton" steering upgrade. Ive found the tapered inserts to fit the new TRE's. Can I drill out the pitman arm and use a tapered insert on it, or is this a bad idea?

[MyNameIsJerry]

Why not just ream it?

[chadjans]

You don't need the inserts for the D30 knuckles because your starting ID is smaller than your finished ID.

Ream the knuckles, pitman and the inverted t TRE.

Where did you find the adapter inserts though? I need them for my D60 tierod flip.

[Krash80]

I would ream it. It's not hard at all to do, but finding the correct reamer might be a challenge. Snap On makes one that works, but it's kind of a crappy one with straight flutes and it doesn't stay sharp very long at all....one w/ spiral flutes would work better I think.

[JohnBoulderCO]

I used these inserts for the knuckles.

http://www.goferitoffroad.com/products.htm

I took the pitman arm and the 1 Ton TRE to a machine shop and said, "CNC to fit." $10

[corrupt143]

You don't need the inserts for the D30 knuckles because your starting ID is smaller than your finished ID.

Ream the knuckles, pitman and the inverted t TRE.

Where did you find the adapter inserts though? I need them for my D60 tierod flip.

Like John said, Goferit was one, Nates brother was another and then there is these too http://completeoffroad.com/wsm/i-134...ana_44_60.html

[corrupt143]

Why not just ream it?

I was trying to get away with not buying the reamer, but I might as well just drop the cash and get one.

[corrupt143]

I would ream it. It's not hard at all to do, but finding the correct reamer might be a challenge. Snap On makes one that works, but it's kind of a crappy one with straight flutes and it doesn't stay sharp very long at all....one w/ spiral flutes would work better I think.

Ive been looking all over for a spiral reamer and had no luck, the straight flutes are all I can find in 1.5" per foot. The local machine shop didnt even have a 1.5" per ft reamer, that would of saved me some money in the long run. Oh well.

[MyNameIsJerry]

I was trying to get away with not buying the reamer, but I might as well just drop the cash and get one.

Word.

[Krash80]

Ive been looking all over for a spiral reamer and had no luck, the straight flutes are all I can find in 1.5" per foot. The local machine shop didnt even have a 1.5" per ft reamer, that would of saved me some money in the long run. Oh well.

I looked all over too for the same one (1.5"/ft) with no luck...I bet a big supplier like MSC might have one though. The Snap-On one was around 50$ IIRC...and like I said, I wasn't impressed with it at all (and I know how to use a reamer properly).

The thing that pissed me off was that I carelessly reamed my 44 knuckles too deep so I had to drill them out straight and make a set of inserts on the lathe anyway.

[chadjans]

I used these inserts for the knuckles.

http://www.goferitoffroad.com/products.htm

I took the pitman arm and the 1 Ton TRE to a machine shop and said, "CNC to fit." $10

But the ID is for stock ends. Is the taper 1.5" / ft though?

[chadjans]

Like John said, Goferit was one, Nates brother was another and then there is these too http://completeoffroad.com/wsm/i-134...ana_44_60.html

So you drop these in the OE hole and it phases the taper 180*?

Chad

[Jim311]

I like using a reamer better than the inserts anyway personally.

[nate]

I can't remember where I bought mine. It was actually one of the 4x4 shops online like Complete Off Road or something like that. I remember they were big into Blazer parts.

It's not a spiral one, but it does have the correct taper. I used it just fine in my drill press with plenty of cutting oil and caused no damage to it.

I gave it to my brother after I was done with it, but I can ask him to get a part # off it for you guys.

I looked all over too for the same one (1.5"/ft) with no luck...I bet a big supplier like MSC might have one though. The Snap-On one was around 50$ IIRC...and like I said, I wasn't impressed with it at all (and I know how to use a reamer properly).

The thing that pissed me off was that I carelessly reamed my 44 knuckles too deep so I had to drill them out straight and make a set of inserts on the lathe anyway.

[corrupt143]

I looked all over too for the same one (1.5"/ft) with no luck...I bet a big supplier like MSC might have one though. The Snap-On one was around 50$ IIRC...and like I said, I wasn't impressed with it at all (and I know how to use a reamer properly).

The thing that pissed me off was that I carelessly reamed my 44 knuckles too deep so I had to drill them out straight and make a set of inserts on the lathe anyway.

Well heres what I ended up finding. Alvord-Polk Tool primarily makes reamers. Its an automotive reamer with spiral flutes and 1.5"/ft taper.

www.alvordpolk.com go to product search and its 5 digit part # is 74301. MSC is a distributor and its $60. Its got to be better than the snap-on one, I HOPE!

[J B]

I used it just fine in my drill press with plenty of cutting oil and caused no damage to it.

I think that's where some people are causing damage to the tool and having not last past a few uses. Some people are just chucking the reamer in a hand drill and going to town.

A reamer is a precision tool. It's meant to be used in a mill, which is very rigid, and the workpiece can be adequately secured. A drill press would be a decent substitute. But using one in a hand drill is certainly not ideal.

Also, the reamer isn't meant to remove large amounts of material, it's meant to fine tune a hole to a very specific size.

Just food for thought.

[Kornik]

I think that's where some people are causing damage to the tool and having not last past a few uses. Some people are just chucking the reamer in a hand drill and going to town.

A reamer is a precision tool. It's meant to be used in a mill, which is very rigid, and the workpiece can be adequately secured. A drill press would be a decent substitute. But using one in a hand drill is certainly not ideal.

Also, the reamer isn't meant to remove large amounts of material, it's meant to fine tune a hole to a very specific size.

Just food for thought.

It's not that bad. If you know how you can use hand drill and it will be just fine. Key points are:
a) cutting oil
b) low speed
c) even lower pressure

Treat the reamer almost like a sand paper and it will do it's job and stay for long.