Precise1 Posted October 7, 2009 Share Posted October 7, 2009 Ok, I have a pitman arm puller on it, which I think I have already bent, it has soaked for days with PB Blaster, I have manually persuaded it from every available direction with a 3lb hand sledge and even heated it up with a torch until it was smoking. Nothing, I can't get it to budge. The nut was bad enough to get off and there is some rust. I no longer have ready access to liquid nitrogen so I'm almost out of ideas. Anyone have some trick for me to try?? Thanks... B Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andreus009 Posted October 7, 2009 Share Posted October 7, 2009 Are you trying to save the arm or not? If destructive removal is an option then drilling/cutting may relieve some of the tightness. If destructive removal is not an option you may have to engineer yourself a better/stronger puller. Also, maybe hitting with an air hammer to set-up vibrations to help break it loose. Oh yeah, one more idea. Big pickle fork or maybe two wedges. (Wish I was looking right at it, but I'm at work ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Precise1 Posted October 7, 2009 Author Share Posted October 7, 2009 No, I did not want to destroy it, I need to drill it out and remount it... Good ideas!! I do not have an air hammer and with wedges, I'd have to force against the bottom of the steering box which doesn't sound like all that good of an idea. Engineering/making a puller that is stronger is something I considered, but time and materials need to be factored in, not to mention the one I have is pretty beefy already... A guy at work asked me how much a new arm costs... Pitman arm - Power steering - Power steering 93-95 $59.46 So now I have a air cut off tool and I'm thinking about just ordering a new one after I butcher this one... B Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unccpathfinder Posted October 7, 2009 Share Posted October 7, 2009 How the Fark do you remove it?!? a bigger hammer...i recall reading lots of posts on this and it being very difficult...I haven't tried it so i can't offer up too much...but i have heard of people heating things up like that then "quenching" it so that any rust/corrosion has a chance to "break apart" from the expansion and "rapid contraction" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
msavides Posted October 7, 2009 Share Posted October 7, 2009 Man I must have been really Lucky. Mine Came off with little effort. I rented a pitman arm puller from autozone to remove it. It came right off. I even had to put it back on again cause calmini sent me the wrong size pitman arm. Hopefully some soaking a brute force will remove it. Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
94extreme Posted October 7, 2009 Share Posted October 7, 2009 let the PB work on it for a few days.. spray it everyday.. then either a jaw puller or pitman arm one.. maybe a whack or 100. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Posted October 7, 2009 Share Posted October 7, 2009 Otherwise, drill it out on the truck. It's actually not that hard. That's how I did both of mine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andreus009 Posted October 7, 2009 Share Posted October 7, 2009 (edited) Good ideas!! I do not have an air hammer and with wedges, I'd have to force against the bottom of the steering box which doesn't sound like all that good of an idea. Engineering/making a puller that is stronger is something I considered, but time and materials need to be factored in, not to mention the one I have is pretty beefy already... Yeah, I didn't know about the wedging thing, but since I wasn't looking right at it to access the risk to the box I thought I'd through it out there. What about the one from your parts truck? If you destructo remove the one and get the one off the parts truck intact...maybe you can make the destructro removed one work well enough to be able to move the parts truck around. Otherwise, Simon's idea sounds good too. :02: Edited October 7, 2009 by andreus009 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Precise1 Posted October 7, 2009 Author Share Posted October 7, 2009 Well, the biggest issue with Simon's suggestion is that I don't have a 1/2 capacity hand drill and that is the smallest shank size I have for a 5/8 drill. Besides, I'm a machinist!! I drilled out the idler arm on a mill and it looks beautiful, is centered within a few thousandths and is exactly .625" in diameter with no bell mouth what so ever. Asking me to drill it out by hand is like asking a mechanic to fix valve tap by adding sawdust to the oil... I called Rob Lacy (AKA Alkorahil who is a great guy to deal with BTW) and he can get me a new one for $60 but not until end of next week so I'm going to give it another try tonight before I give up. It is kind of a challenge now... Good point about the parts truck, but that one is in worse shape so I don't think it would be a good idea to tackle. I won't rule it out though... LOL MZ, yes, it has been soaking, yes, it has a puller on it and yes, I'll hit another 100 times just for you!! B Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StatutoryApe Posted October 7, 2009 Share Posted October 7, 2009 i jumped on the PA wedge that i used. but that was on a different vehicle. maybe you can loosen it a lil by jamming the PA somehow, then moving the steering wheel back and forth. these things tend to slide out better if they're in the right position. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Precise1 Posted October 7, 2009 Author Share Posted October 7, 2009 Ahh, good call, but there is no center link installed. It's just the arm on the shaft, nothing else do I doubt it is binding on the splines... B Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Posted October 7, 2009 Share Posted October 7, 2009 Well, the biggest issue with Simon's suggestion is that I don't have a 1/2 capacity hand drill and that is the smallest shank size I have for a 5/8 drill. Besides, I'm a machinist!! I drilled out the idler arm on a mill and it looks beautiful, is centered within a few thousandths and is exactly .625" in diameter with no bell mouth what so ever. Asking me to drill it out by hand is like asking a mechanic to fix valve tap by adding sawdust to the oil... Sorry to insult you sir. Though, I fail to see where this would be a high precision job, given that you have adjustment in both tie rods to take out any variance you might have in terms of center. Not to mention, given that these are pre-drilled, you're just boring out an existing hole, so the bit sort of centers itself. At any rate, it's a "last straw" option if you want to save yourself $60. a 3/8 shank drill bit would be considerably cheaper. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Precise1 Posted October 7, 2009 Author Share Posted October 7, 2009 Absolutely and it probably will be my last resort. It won't cost anything, I'll just turn down my 5/8 Silver and Demming drill from 1/2 to 3/8 shank on the lathe... I'm still gonna try one more time. At this point, I want to clean up the rust on the splines too... B Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Indigent Posted October 8, 2009 Share Posted October 8, 2009 Are you using a propane torch or a MAPP gas torch? I had a hell of a time with my wife's 95, and I know there was a post about it a long time ago. I ended up pounding on that damned thing for days with no luck, broke 2 pitman arm pullers and finally bought a mapp gas torch. After a few minutes of mapp gas, it came off after no kidding 3 hits. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sammyb33 Posted October 8, 2009 Share Posted October 8, 2009 How i have gotten stubborn pittmans off in the past is put the puller on it, till it has a bunch of tension, and then whack the side of the pittman with a hammer/sledge, usually this type of persuasion lets it fly off...so be careful some of these have come off with a bang, i recommend standing out of the way..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedPath88 Posted October 8, 2009 Share Posted October 8, 2009 A few years ago when I was collecting steering parts I had one that was so stuck on that I just could not remove it while on the truck. So I took the entire box off and used the wrecking yards garage to try.. still no go. The senior tech there even tried, but the damned thing would NOT budge! I ended up buying the steering box, took it home and applied heat several times before it finally broke free. But it toasted the steering box seals. (I returned the box for yard credit) I had to beat the hell out of if with a small sledge and it took forever to get it off. Some of them are just best left on I have my old one (the one hat came off my truck) if you need it B Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeV Posted October 8, 2009 Share Posted October 8, 2009 MAPP, PB Blaster and a hammer (I used a chunk of wood to cushion the hammer blows) Heat it, then PB it, then hit it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Precise1 Posted October 8, 2009 Author Share Posted October 8, 2009 Yep, I've heated it up with a propane torch, put tension on it and beat it with a hand sledge. No luck, I'll post a picture of the warped puller. It got so bad that I was actually concerned about it shrapnelling. Some of them are just best left on I think I own one of them... Simply put, I give up. I turned down the shank on my 5/8 drill and I will try to drill it out by hand on the truck tonight. I have my old one (the one hat came off my truck) if you need it B Thanks Red, but the later models have a different (larger) style so I doubt it would fit. B Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KovemaN Posted October 8, 2009 Share Posted October 8, 2009 Try this one for $15.90 shipped. Ebay Pitman Arm I bought one for another project. I am pretty sure that the spline count and taper are the same as the 92.5+ Pathfinder. I can take some measurements, count the splines and compare the drop to my '95 tonight if you want. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Precise1 Posted October 8, 2009 Author Share Posted October 8, 2009 Thanks for the offer, but if I can drill a decent hole with it mounted on the truck then there is no need. I appreciate the offer and will let you know if I need that from you. Thanks! B Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Precise1 Posted October 9, 2009 Author Share Posted October 9, 2009 Well, thanks all for the (sort of) helpful ideas. At the end of it, I went the Simon (lazy) route and drilled it out on the truck. I didn't do too bad, it's centered better than .02" and not terribly bell mouthed. The centerlink is on so after work when I pick up the last two tie rod ends I will install them, torque everything, fix the squealing brakes put the rims on and adjust the torsion bars. Alignment tomorrow and little stomper is back on the road (minus idler arm brace :shifty:). Thanks again for the input, the job was remarkably frustrating. B Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Precise1 Posted October 9, 2009 Author Share Posted October 9, 2009 Oh, just for your amusement... And does anyone have any idea why Energy Suspension front sway bar links are so much longer than stock?? I recall someone else mentioning the same thing. I can't see how it hurts anything (other than the bushings not aligning perfectly with the end eyelets). Is this a semi universal kit or something?? B Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KovemaN Posted October 9, 2009 Share Posted October 9, 2009 And does anyone have any idea why Energy Suspension front sway bar links are so much longer than stock?? I was told that it was to compensate for lift since the mounting points on the LCAs is lower than stock when lifted. I can see that being the case, but I am surprised that it's the default. It may also be to enhance the effect of the sway bar. Maybe you should call ES Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedPath88 Posted October 10, 2009 Share Posted October 10, 2009 Yep, I've heated it up with a propane torch, put tension on it and beat it with a hand sledge. No luck, I'll post a picture of the warped puller. It got so bad that I was actually concerned about it shrapnelling.I think I own one of them... Simply put, I give up. I turned down the shank on my 5/8 drill and I will try to drill it out by hand on the truck tonight. Thanks Red, but the later models have a different (larger) style so I doubt it would fit. B Thats right Well I can still get one for cheap Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Precise1 Posted October 10, 2009 Author Share Posted October 10, 2009 Maybe you should call ES LOL, bastage!! Yeah, I will next week. Much appreciated Red, but no need, I got it handled. Go ahead and keep enjoying those mushrooms... B Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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