im going to be doing my tie rods soon and i was wondering if i just use the pitman arm puller for everything......? also any advice when putting it all back together will be helpful. everything will be replaced. drag link, center link, tie rod ends, and both adjusters. i will also be tightening the adjuster screw on my steering box. PO replaced the steering shaft and never tightened it down. should i just leave it and let the shop do it when i take it in for an alignment?

 

A good whack on the side of the tie rod with a GOOD HAMMER should do the trick. Don't be shy…

I should have said whack the steering arm or the drag link to remove the tie rod. Or get a pickle fork if you want to increase you your tool investment… never a bad idea.

 

I have an air hammer that makes quick work of removing the tie rod. When replacing, use a floor jack to put enough pressure on it to prevent the shaft from turning with the nut.

 

i have a 5lb hammer that looks like a mini sledge hammer. i think that should do. haha kinda scared to hit it with that

 

i put the floor jack on the steering box?

 

No. Use the jack to push the new tie rod into the steering knuckle. Just enough to create some friction on the mating surfaces and guarantee the shaft doesn't turn while you install the nut.

 

If the nut on the new tie rod is hard to screw onto the tie rod, the threaded part of the tre can spin. One trick is to put pressure on the tie rod with a jack or whatever, forcing the tapered seats together and keeping it from spinning while you tighten the nut. You will not have to do that with new tie rods.

 

I just did mine last weekend. Disconnected all the old stuff and knocked them out with a bfh. New stuff went in just fine. Best thing I've ever done to my truck.

Edit: I used an impact driver to get the nuts off. My favorite Tool is my 18v dewalt impact driver.

 

i use a pickle fork attachment on the air chisel. pops them rite out. .

 

3 to 5lb mini sledge hammer works for all tapered bolts and fittings and doesn't wreck boots or gouge up metal on the knuckles, pickle forks do more damage then good and don't work very well and you can't use them if you want to save the part like knocking out the tie rod from the pitman arm to change a gear box or from the knuckle to do ball joints easier.

For the gear box adjustment DO NOT just crank the thing down, that adjustment is for mesh load.

Mesh load is how much resistance there is in the box at steering center to desensitize the steering and prevent wondering when the wheel is straight, if you crank it down you will have tighter steering till you shred your gear box.

To set mesh load you have to disconnect the tie rod from the pitman arm, drain all the fluid out of the gear box, take your horn pad off and use the steering wheel nut to use an inch pound beam torque wrench on and move it back and forth over center and set it to factory spec.
That's the only time that adjustment should ever be touched, if you have loose steering after changing all your tie rods and nothing else is bad, check the rag joint and the slip shafts in the steering shafts for play first before going after the gear box.
Setting mesh load isn't hard, just takes a little bit of time and a few extra tools, you also get to change out the probably burnt power steering fluid to some new stuff while your at it too.