Pitman arm???

[Bryce]

97 Chevy K2500, What is the secret to get the pitman arm off the power steering gear box shaft without pulling the gear box out??

Thanks for any advice.

 

[ak diesel driver]

I found on mine I could pull the bolts that hold it to the frame and then push it towards the steering column and then have enough clearance.

 

[jrsavoie]

I followed that advice previously and it worked fine. I removed the pitman nut before I loosened the box.

 

[stacks04]

Same here. I usually take the nut off then take the bolts out and move the box enough to get the puller on it.

 

[pc_renaud]

Just did mine last weekend. What a battle. I replaced the lidler arm and bracket and added the cognito brace , went well and took about an hour. The pitman on the other hand sucked. It took all of an hour to break it loose from the center link which was supposed to be the easy part. I ended up unbolting the steering box and wiggled it up and down while hammering on the stud to break it free. Then I broke the pitman puller while trying to remove it from the steering box. After renting another puller I finally got it off by hitting the pitman with a chisel while i had the puller torqed up to around 180 ft lbs. Then the new pitman didnt want to go on all the way so I torqed the living hell out of the nut to set it far enough up on the shaft.After 5 hrs and 6 bloody nuckles the job was done. The truck handles better now then when i bought it.Next week I'm installing a set of extreme duty tie rods. I hope that goes smoother.

 

[Bryce]

Thanks for the advice. Hopefully I can get back to it today. The storms are supposed to break this morning. 38 degrees right now with fresh snow on the mountain tops.

Have to get it done this weekend.

Thanks again everyone.