I plan on going to the junkyard today to grab an s10 manual box. I know I'll need a pitman arm puller to separate the pitman from the box but can I just leave them together for removal at the junkyard? Will I need a tie rod puller or any other special tools just to get the box off?

 

Leave the pitman arm on there until you get it home on the bench. Have the junkyard cut the attached center link off with a cutting torch.

 

I don't think this yard does anything like that-is it necessary for removal?

 

Nah man. Most of the times you can pop the drag link off with just a hammer. Leave pitman arm on box.

Take nut off of the drag link to pitman arm, and thread it back on until flush with top of stud...

Whack the heII out of it with a 2 to 5 lbs hammer.. A couple of hard hits should pop it free... Unscrew bolt and drop it free.

If you have one you could throw a pickle fork into your yard bag/box just in case you can't knock that joint loose.

IIRC the gear box to frame bolts are something like 15 or 16mm

 

Appreciate it!

 

Side cutters to remove center link if it's the style that has a castle nut. Adjustable wrench to remove the nut. Big hammer on the side of the pitman arm to pop the center link out of the pitman arm.

Steering shaft should need a 10mm socket but there's always a possibility it may be 3/8" or 7/16". Ratchet and maybe a short extension. Small prybar or big screwdriver to slide the steering shaft off the steering box. A hammer usually helps. If it has the plastic cover over the shaft, you can just break the cover off for access.

5/8" socket and a 1/2" drive breaker bar to remove the 4 frame bolts and the steering box should fall to the ground.

Remember, you're looking for a 4 bolt top cover box. Something like 1984 and newer. They are only in S10's that have the 2.5L 4 cylinder engine but not all 4 cyl S10 have manual steering. The older 3 bolt top cover box will work but there are some differences that don't make it a direct bolt in.

 

after searching the junkyard I finally found a stripped down 1991 s10 with 4 cylinder and the manual box. It even had the pitman arm removed for some reason. All of the other s10s had power steering.
I've got it soaking in degreaser but I'll install it tomorrow.

Here's a pic I snapped of it still on the truck