I'm having one HXLL of a time pulling it off..ANY ADVICE...PLEASE HELP

 

Try Auto Zone or any of your local auto parts stores in your town, they should have a pitman arm puller they will loan to you that make it easy to get off. At least they have them at my stores. Try PepBoys, Kragen, Auto Zone. Be careful when you are cranking it off..
Worked for me. Jim
However I borrowed their lower ball joint press when I rebuilt my front end (OTC) and it destroyed both of the lowers when I installed them. They gave me new ones for free and the press whenever I need it but I have to redo them.
Jim.

 

If you can't get a puller, someties you can loosen the Pitman by tapping around lightly and repeatedly while prying from different angles.

 

Soak it with PB Blaster or Kroil for a while then use a pitman puller. One other trick is, if you have access to air, while you have the pitamn puller applying tension give the side of the arm a couple of shots using an air chisel with an anvil bit iin it, last resort would be heat but be very carefull as the sector shaft seal in the botton of the steering box doesnt like alot of heat.

 

Get a pitman arm puller. I prefer the type that has adjustable jaws with two bolts to clamp it tight. Less likely to slip off under pressure.

 

Definitely use the puller method instead of the pry method, those seals damage
very easily, I found this out the hard way once. I ended up installing a rebuilt
unit since my box was worn out anyway.
The rebuilt unit was $350 cdn and the new box from my DC dealer was about $850
The rebuilt unit lasted about a year before all the play came back.
I put a new unit from DC and it has worked great ever since.
Cheers, Jim

 

Hey CrewCab, Don't feel like the lone ranger.. I too had a pittman arm whip my butt!
I tried everything but a hacksaw or grinder to split the arm to pull it off! (probably hardened too)
I borrowed a 3jaw puller and figured it would be a 30min job.. WRONG!!!!
I slathered penetrating oil all over it for a couple days trying to get it off.
Next I borrowed a Port-A-Power 11 ton hydraulic ram and a heavy 3 jaw puller frame to pull it off. Had a tough time getting that big puller frame around that arm but finally got it on there.
Pumped the hell out of it... Didn't BUDGE! Pumped harder and blew one hyd hose and had to get a different pump.
Next the puller arms kept slipping off of the pittman arm every time I got it pumped up to the max hydraulic pressure.
Next I bought a heavy duty "C" shaped pittman arm puller from MATCO and tightned it up as tight as I could crank with a long handled ratchet and STILL couldn't get it off!!!
I knew better than to beat on it or pry between the arm and the housing..
Any more heat was out because of the previously mentioned seal...

I finally swallowed my pride and called my friendly dealer to see how they pull them off.
They are really good people and my friend the serv mgr delighted in kidding me about my not knowing what I was doing and that they'll easily get it off...(hah!,we'll see!)
I brought the new NAPA P-arm and my wobbly truck to him.. He himself crawled under my truck with the SAME kind of "C" shaped pittman puller I had and a big pneumatic IMPACT...
Well, he got set up and proceeded to hammer away with that impact gun.
Three minutes of hammering later, it finally yielded!!!!
I thought for sure the puller would crater under that kind of abuse.
I got a lot of satisfaction knowing that he too had hell getting that thing off!
He said that sometimes they are just that tough! MAN! That spline must have been painted with saltwater and the arm heat-shrunk onto the shaft while being torqued to death.

There was absolutely no sense in it being that tight!!!
I figure a C type puller would be a sacrificial puller under that kind of strain, but that's what got it off!!!
Have faith! It WILL come off... Just don't tear up the box trying un-orthodox methods...

Keith

 

I'll bet the puller that DC used was not made in china. I've had a few come off that hard too. Makes me glad my pullers are OTC's