Pitman arm questions

[_nickjoseph]

97 k1500. Changed my pitman last summer and went cheap with ebay special. Gonna look into changing it and a friend told me he changed his without taking out the gearbox. Has anyone done this? I hate dropping it just to change that pitman so seeing if anyone has any tips.

 

[Dropped88]

Yup. Loosen 3 bolts holding to frame and tilt it up to get puller tool on pull old one off. Install new and bolt back to frame

 

[_nickjoseph]

Yup. Loosen 3 bolts holding to frame and tilt it up to get puller tool on pull old one off. Install new and bolt back to frame

Heard of that too but really wanna leave the gearbox a lot because if I have to tilt it I have to disconnect all the **** for it

 

[Dropped88]

I dont unhook anything but the bolts in the frame

 

[gric_az]

If you use the ebay special, be warned your steering wheel will not be straight. The splines are not aligned like oem ones. Also they are not the same thickness. I welded 2 thick washers together to take up the gap. The lock washer was touching the splines and it wasn't even tight yet. I changed it for an oem unit after the many gearbox swaps.

 

[_nickjoseph]

If you use the ebay special, be warned your steering wheel will not be straight. The splines are not aligned like oem ones. Also they are not the same thickness. I welded 2 thick washers together to take up the gap. The lock washer was touching the splines and it wasn't even tight yet. I changed it for an oem unit after the many gearbox swaps.

Gearbox is from oreillys pitman from eBay

 

[TacosnBeer]

Dont forget to inspect for frame cracks around the steering box when you have it loose... common issue and better to check and know than to find out later.

 

[gric_az]

Gearbox is from oreillys pitman from eBay

I meant the pitman arm, not the gearbox. Sorry

 

[Erin]

You can get an AC Delco from Rock Auto for a reasonable price.

 

[Wilecoyote]

After removing the 3 bolts shove the gearbox towards the dashboard,compressing the steering shaft and it will clear the cross member so you can pull the arm.