pitman arm removal

[Dannyboy]

going back to the start lets make sure we're all on the same page.

Nut is removed ?

Is this the pitman arm puller you are trying to use?

any chance you can snap a photo?

This should make it clear as day...

...not so much....

 

[croga001]

lol yeah good video. the nut and washer are off. i have tried pickle forks, about 3 different pitman arm removers, an air cutting wheel, and a bfh. im begining to think that the years of michigan rust have just locked the pieces together.

 

[Dannyboy]

can you get the pitman arm puller in ther and start turning the black part to push against the bolt?

It will take a ton of pressure but then the thing will just pop right out. The key is lining that black bolt up on the puller and giving er hell.

 

[croga001]

yeah thats how i busted the first one.... btw i wheeled all day friday and saturday at mcauslin mountian with the pitman arm cut through (brought the drop one in the glove box for a fast swap) it never broke off even wheeling over big rocks.

 

[Riceburner247]

I'd almost bet its rusted on. Grinder + cutting wheel = win. Just be careful not to damage the steering box shaft.

 

[torque345]

It's a 33 mm but the auto parts sold the one I called about 5 min. before I got there. Pound on a 12 point 1 1/4".

 

[Tbars4]

..:scratch:...Mine came off with an 1 5/16" wrench...

 

[Four0Sport]

mine was 34mm.. weird

 

[iheartbeams]

i had the same issue last night.
i hit it with a sledge to wedge it in there, torched it, then hit it with a hammer.
it definately was more work than it should be, but i got it off eventually

 

[WickedWindsor]

I have to brag a little here. Mine came off in 15 minutes. I was afraid, because I live in Canada, that mine would never come off. I've never tried it until today but I was lucky I guess. I had soaked it with PB Blaster overnight, started wrenching on the $20 Pitman Arm tool with a 2' breaker bar and it just started to slide off the sector shaft then fell off all together.
The steering linkage is much better now being pretty much straight across now.

Steering geometry before drop pitman arm

After drop pitman arm

Old pitman arm soaked with PB Blaster

I used a 4" drop pitman arm which is actually 2" lower than the original arm. This was perfect for my 4"+/- lift.

 

[willisan]

When removing the pitman arm to replace a steering gear, do I need to remove from the steering linkage also, or can I just remove from the gear? I didn't want to use a pickle form on the steering linkage, cause I didn't want to jack up the boot. I have the HF puller listed at the top of this page. Also would the truck need to be lifted when removing this?

thanks!

 

[Backwoods "X"]

You can leave the arm connected to the steering linkage, if you want.

 

[willisan]

You can leave the arm connected to the steering linkage, if you want.

Thanks, I just found out by jacking it up and pulling the wheels off. The puller seemed to work a bit better. Hopefully I didnt mess the boot up earlier while futzing around trying to figure it out.

 

[madbutcher]

Destroyed 2 difrent pullers today.. i will let the alignment shoop swap my pitmanarm after my lift.. haha.. i'm to fed up to try more now

 

[Travisfab]

The puller alone won't do it, it takes some pounding from a BFH too!

 

[madbutcher]

The puller alone won't do it, it takes some pounding from a BFH too!

thin i cut the **** out tomorrow.. anglegrinder and a BFH

I need a drop

 

[Flip4ford]

I use a pickle fork in the end of my air hammer --works great! Tap straight in on the end toward the shaft. If you grind the tool it will e too thin and just break (trust me on that one).