Archived Pitman arm removal...

[snowracer69]

Hey all,



I'm in the process of changing out my steering box and can't get the pitman arm off. I've tried using a good snap-on puller, and can't get it to budge. Nobody has a specific pitman arm puller to rent that will fit our big pitman arms. The only thing I haven't tried is heat, but that's cause I don't have a torch handy.



Any ideas?



Thanks, Josh.

 

[jrobinson2]

When I pulled mine it was VERY tight, The pitman arm puller I used was less than 20 dollars at an auto parts store, I thought I would have to modify it but it barely went on with light hammering. I dropped the sway bar first then tightened the puller as tight as I dared, then hit the pitman arm very hard around the circumference of the shaft. I ended up re tightening the puller and hammering a few times but it did come off finally.

Jared

 

[B.G. Smith]

Pitman arm

Some of the parts stores have tools to loan. If you have room, loosen the nut and leave it in place to protect the threads, place a large hammer on one side of the pitman arm where the shaft goes through and rap it on the opposit side with a ball pein hammer, usually will pop off. Good luck and wear eye protection. bg

 

[BWilson]

I just bought a cheap one at the local store and it worked with the impact gun. It was tight, but it came off good.

 

[Extreme1]

I was in the same boat. Then I figured, "What the heck?" and used a 2' breaker bar on the Snap-On. The pitman arm popped off with no tool damage.

 

[rkressg]

Use a big impact gun, 600+ ft. lb. and work the puller up and down. If you do not have an impact gun, tighten up the puller as much as you can and use a BFH Oo. and repeatedly hit and tighten the puller, it will eventually come off. It will just take a lot of work for they are always very tight.

just my $0. 02

-Rich

 

[snowracer69]

Guess I forgot to reply to this post... .



I was able to get the pitman arm off last Friday morning. I went and bought a good puller from Napa (which was way too much $$$ for a one time deal). I tightened her up with a 2 ft. breaker bar, then put an additional 2 ft. pipe on the end and tightened her some more. Then I found the biggest thing around here, which happened to be a pick (for digging up ground ya know) and I wacked the livin' crap outta it till I was tired. I was gettin' pretty mad cause it hadn't just fell off, and so I decided to try and tighten it more... when I began to tighten it more, it just pulled it off. I think the main part was hitting the puller, not the pitman arm itself, which is what I tried the first time (DOH!). Found the box to be good and reinstalled. Straightened wheel and am awaiting my "Darin's Steering Stabilizer" to finish the project.



Thanks for the input. Josh