Pitman arm stuck.

[Curious Hound]

Anyone have any good tricks for removing a Pitman arm? I have already broken one puller. Another puller I have keeps slipping off. Other pullers I have access to (full rental kit from Advance or Autozone.) Don't fit because they are either too small or too thick to fit between arm and steering box.

I might try heat. But I'm afraid of damaging the seal on the end of the steering box. My other idea is to cut it off with a grinder & chisel.

Yes, I have been applying PB Blaster and WD40.

Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk

 

[pjtoledo]

one of my generic tricks for pulling stuck pulleys/gears/harmonic balancers is the infamous "wack 'n twist" method.

start by applying the puller as normal until its quite tight, then whack the bolt with a hammer (about the size & weight of a carpenters hammer) three times.
hit it good and square. not hard enough to deform the bolt head, but enough to send some serious vibrations into the bolt. then twist the wrench a small amount, maybe only 1/4 ". hit it again, twist. repeat as necessary.

this works on straight shafts, maybe not so much on a taper like pitman arms.

it would help if you could get a solid piece of steel between the arm and the housing. that keeps the arm from moving and prevents damage inside the box.

it once took 20 minutes to pull a balancer off a crank because it only moved about .001 with every whack, but I got it off with no damage.

 

[AgPete139]

Good morning.

Sounds like you're in a pickle. SPeaking of pickle, do you own a large pickle fork-like device for prying?

The 2-jaw pitman arm puller / heavy duty 2-jaw puller + heat sounds like your best solution. It's just caked on there.

Using a propane/butane torch, and apply heat to the pitman arm only. Rotate the heat source evenly around, and don't keep the heat concentrated in one spot for too long. Don't point the flame AT the gearbox or let too much of the flame near the seal. The gearbox IS allowed to get hot, but direct concentrated heat will distort it and cause leakage.

So, apply a preload / some pressure with the puller tool, and add heat. Warm it up a little, crank the puller some more. If you want, send vibrations through the tool with a 3 lb mini sledge or beat the pitman arm itself at a 45* angle.

Let us know how it goes.

G'luck.

-Pete

 

[AgPete139]

^---- What PJTOledo & I suggested above: vibrations help with removal.

 

[Curious Hound]

I have been using the "whack-n-twist" technique. Just didn't mention it. I have not tried prying against the end of the gearbox. I didn't know if that might damage any bearings inside.

I just got back from Lowe's with some grade 8 bolts to keep the arms from spreading on my heavy-duty puller. Kept stripping the threads on cheaper bolts. So, I'll go back to it and add heat, vibration, tension, and maybe even a few cuss words. I'm installing a 6" Skyjacker lift kit, so, if I have to finally cut the arm, that's no big deal since there is a new one in the lift kit. It also helps that I went ahead and dropped the entire TTB axle assembly to the ground and got it out of the way. Have to regear the diff anyway.

 

[alwaysFlOoReD]

Use a 3lb or bigger hammer on the back of the arm. Then use a heavy hammer on the front. You are pinching the arm between the two. A couple good heavy wacks while the puller is tensioned should pop off.

Sent from my XT1032 using Tapatalk

 

[Curious Hound]

It's off. I did some more grinding on the arms of my puller. The grade 8 bolts did their job properly. More PB Blaster. Then while I had tension on the puller, I hit the arm with an air hammer. More oil. More tension. More air hammer. Repeated a few times.

Got the air hammer from Northern yesterday for $13. That was worth the money.

Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk

 

[Curious Hound]

Oh, yeah.
Thanks, everybody.

Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk

 

[pjtoledo]

hey, if it involves a BFH, we're all here to cheer 'ya on

 

[Curious Hound]

I love BFH's. It's always an honor when you have to get out the BFH or a 48" pipe wrench, the 1" drive ratchet set, etc. Sure, it's usually more work. But it's more fun to tell every about. I once had to rebuild a cutter shaft in a big shredder at work. Final torque was set with a 1" drive torque wrench with 6ft cheater pipe. and at 220lbs, I almost didn't have enough weight to do it.