tutorial: how to remove a pitman arm from a steering box

[SteveC]

ok ill try to write this best as i can but its not my strong point. This process can be done with the steering box in the truck but for my purposes it was removed since i was replacing the box.

Ok first thing first you want to do is remove the box and place it on a work bench, or the tail gate of the truck.


then you need to go down to your local auto part store that rents out tools. This cost my 90 dollars but i got all of it back when i returned the tool... so basically i did it for free.


take the nut and lock washer off the end of the shaft that holds the pitman arm on. and place the Pitman arm puller over the pitman arm. You want a snug fit but not tight agasint the shaft. You just dont want the tool to slip off the arm.


you may want to note how far the pitman arm goes onto the shaft so you can return it to its proper place.
You then want to tighten the screw bolt down( it helps to sometimes oil the threads lightly on the puller to pull the arm off if it gets really hard to turn lightly and i mean lightly tap squarly on the head of the top of the bolt and try turing it again it should get easy to turn. It shouldn't take to much work to remove the arm.


Then to put the arm back on the new box it should be as simple as linging up the splines. Most steering boxes ive seen will be made so you can only put them on one direction. Place the arm in its proper spot and put the lock washer and nut back on and use a wrench to seat the arm back to its proper alignment. Then torq the nuts to its proper torq and your done and can place the steering box back on your truck, and return your tools if you rented them.


thank you for reading and if i missed something let me know.

[Mach428]

Great tutorial! Thanks for all of your effort.

I do; however, have a question. I plan to replace my manual steering box with a Saginaw PS box. I've already collected all the parts to do this including the column, firewall brackets, etc.

I'm working under the assumption that the pitman arm is the same for both manual and power steering. Having said this, I plan to use a puller like you've demonstrated, to remove the pitman arm from the box, while leaving the other end connected to the center link - then simply changing out the box and re-installing the pitman arm to the box.

Thoughts / comments please.

[70_F100]

take the nut and lock washer off the end of the shaft that holds the pitman arm on. and place the Pitman arm puller over the pitman arm. You want a snug fit but not tight agasint the shaft. You just dont want the tool to slip off the arm.

thank you for reading and if i missed something let me know.

Whenever using a puller on something like this, especially on a tapered shaft, the nut should be screwed onto the end of the shaft, just enough so that the end of the shaft is flush with the surface of the nut.

When the pitman arm (or WHATEVER you're pulling) breaks loose, having the nut on the shaft will prevent the arm from flying across the room.

The nut also helps to protect the threads from any potential damage from the puller screw.

Once the arm breaks loose, the nut can then be removed and everything taken apart.

[Alvin in AZ]

http://www.panix.com/~alvinj/file12/steeringgear.jpg
That son-of-a-gun wasn't anywhere near as rusty as yours and still didn't want to come off! :)
When I took that picture it still hadn't come off yet. LOL :)

Had to put the puller on -tight- then lay the pitman arm "bulge" on an anvil and on the other
side of the bulge, gave it a good whack with my little "bonding hammer" before it'd pop loose. :)

And like "70" said, it went flying. LOL :)
Oops. :)

Tried to get it loose while it was still on the F100 parts truck but it wouldn't budge.
I have reasons to believe it'd never been off since new. :) New, last week of Jan '75. :)

Alvin in AZ
ps- I put the handle in that old hammer head back in '73, it's a piece of a "spike maul" handle. :)
pps- The combination wrench is 1+5/16" and fits the pitman arm nut. The old "plow wrench" is
1+5/16" and 1+1/8" (#37A wrench) and fits the nut inside the coil spring and radius arm nut too.
ppps- http://home.comcast.net/~alloy-artifacts/index.html
pppps- The "bonding hammer" head is a Fairmount and always wondered if it had anything to
do with the Fairmount "motor cars" we used. Like came with one in a tool kit or something. :)

[AlleyCat]

Great tutorial Steve. I'd respectfully like to add a couple of things if I may.

First, wear safety goggles. Pullers are made from high strength alloys but will, time to time, shatter like a punch or chisel.

Second, most pullers can be used with an impact wrench. If you do so and you're working on something that is extremely stubborn try to lay a shop towel or something over the puller while running the impact. If the puller lets go the towel will help to deflect the shrapnel.

Last but not least. If a puller shatters the noise is similar to a shotgun. It's a great way to get a foreman off of his arse and running across the shop to see what happened.

[BobbyFord]

Also, this type of puller is less prone to slipping off, trying to turn or breaking. Always use anti-seize on the threads of your puller, especially if using an impact.

[AlleyCat]

I have the same puller as BobbyFord. It also works great for popping tie rods and drag links on medium/heavy trucks.