Tried to change my steering box today, and I can't get the pitman arm to budge, even though I put a pitman arm puller on it, torqued it until it deformed the end of the puller's shaft (a pretty good puller too, from Napa), and hit the end of the shaft about 20 times with a 15-lb sledge. It looks like it's rusted to the sector shaft. Does anyone know a way of getting it off and having it still be usable with the new steering box?

 

Soak it real good with penetrating oil... NOT WD-40, but rather something that actually works for that, such as PB Blaster. Wait a day or 2. Add some more every now and then.

Do what you're doing about putting lots of pull force on it, and hit it. Instead of hitting the Pitman shaft, hit the arm in the "off" direction.

Incidentally, the "sector shaft" is the one the steering column bolts to, not the one you're working on.

 

crank that puller on there, soak it with pb blaster, then hit the pitman arm like crazy with an air hammer (right around the shaft area) the vibration of the air hammer will work the pb blaster in and let it do it's job. that arm should pop right off after that.

 

Your changing the pitman arm to the new box? Im guessing cause it didnt have one on the new box? Or are you talking about where the pitman arm attaches to the drag link?

If so i had to use a torch to get it apart from the drag(center) link.

 

That's right, the new box didn't come with a pitman arm so I have to separate the old one and reuse it. I actually had no trouble separating the pitman arm from the center link when I changed the link some months ago.

If the arm doesn't come off when I try hitting it from above with a piece of bar stock and the sledge, would it be worth heating it with a torch?

 

Sometimes you can struggle all you want with mechanical tools with no success. A little bit of heat may be all it needs.

 

/agree just like 02 sensors