Well,

I tried replacing my steering box this evening, I got most of the old one off (Know where this is going yet)

I was able to release the steering box from the frame, the pressure and return lines, and remove the nut holding the pitman arm to the steering rod.

I cannot however get the pitman arm off of the steering rod.

Any suggestions would be great!


Glenn May

 

Nuff said - it's on there so tight nothing else will get it off. Autozone normally has an assortment to rent.

 

The puller I have is just 2 pieces, a "C" shaped piece and the threaded shaft through the middle. Put a bolt or two back through the frame before you pop the pittman off, so the box doesn't come crashing down without warning.

 

I willl head to AutoZone this morning and pick up a puller.

The only other connection I have up there is the steering column connection, I have not even tried to free that yet.

thanks
G

 

Thats the easy part... just make sure to lock your wheels... nice thing about the pitman is that we have master teeth..

 

Well, I got the whole damned thing back together again tonight, unfortunately when I took the castle nut off of the drag link ball stud I mucked the threads a little bit. My dad decided to be a nice guy and clean the threads back up again, he ran a 1/2 x 13 tap through it.. Well, that was the last of it fitting on the stud.

I am having a hell of a time getting my hands on one of them unfortunately. Local dealer has to order it in, no hardware store carries them, etc.. Well all in all, the job is done, the truck steers MUCH better..

Here is a tip for anyone who has to do this job though.

When you re-attatch the power steering pump, you have to bleed it. The best way I could do this was to leave the pitmam arm detached from the drag link, fill the resivoir with steering fluid, move the steering wheel lock to lock several times with the engine off. Start the engine, replace the cap on the resivoir again move the steering wheel several more times lock to lock, then proceed to bump the lock several times on each side in rapid succession.

This got a vast majority of air out, obviously the rest of them will work out over time. This seemed to work incredibly well..

Other than that, the old / new box is steering better than ever.. Gotta love it..

Later
G

BTW: Take the air box and hoses out in order to get a great deal more room..