I think the pitman arm nut is 1 1/4. I used a large cressent wrench to remove mine. Those w/steering and wandering issues....what types of tires are you running and what psi? Just an idea.

 

I thought it was bigger that 1 1/4" but I'll measure it. I'll drop by Sears and look for some bigger sockets. Thx

I'm running 315/70-16's on my truck. My steering gear bolts (3) were loose which caused my steering to have the play the I was experiencing. I plan on changing the steering gear anyway now that I got the new one but will keep the stock unit jus in case. I'm looking to purchase an old/non-working one to send back as a core.

 

The pitman nut is 1 5/16". I just had mine off this afternoon.

 

I used a 33mm deep socket to get my sector shaft nut off. I got it at O'Reilly's. It's actually an impact socket. My DSS replacement nut was smaller and took a 32mm socket.

 

Guys, thanks for the tips

Any tips on removing the steering gear lines? Looks to be a tight fit getting them off and back on. It looks like they can only be removed/installed from the bottom.

 

I removed the lines from the steering box from the bottom. Although, I had the pitman arm, DSS, and sway bar out of the way which made for more room.

 

I've been through my entire steering system & still have to do something about the crappy AGR box. That said, also check your tire pressure & drop it to 65# or so. At 70 mine was all over the place. It drives straight now but doesn't recover with the box tight & has imprecise steering with the box looser. Tie rod, track bar, ball joints, DSS & alignment helped because all were worn.

Edit: You can use a double open end wrench on the ps lines. Put a box end on the open end for more leverage. Tap with a Mer as in Ham mer. Spray & let soak before working. Drink beer.

 

If all your stuff is good on front end....ball joints,track bar,etc and it still has play. With truck running have someone turn wheel left and right a little and watch the shaft going into the gearbox. If it is moving but the gearbox is not doing anything, first thing you should try is adjusting the preload in the gearbox. Do some searching on this adjustment. Then, that should fix it, but if it still a little bad you can adjust the over center a little at a time.