Removing Steering Gear box Pitman Arm

[GreenRiverCummins]

So as the title say's I am STILL (lol over a month or two now) trying to remove the Pitman arm from the bottom of my 2001 dodge 1500 4x4. And so far it's been a pain in the butt to say the least. We can get the nut off really easy and it is all really clean aswell mostly cause the Seal in the Gearbox is bad and leaks fluid. I bought the Repair kit and thought it would be a quick fix....Wrong.. lol But at this point we've broke my Pitman arm puller, the one from my work and 2 of my negihbors pullers from his work it snaps the fingers right off it just won't budge. To me the last hope is to heat it with a Torch but i dont won't a fire or the destroy the gearbox does anyone have any other idea's. I want to fix it to let my Cummins and V10 rest as my daily driver's hehe though they are fun the V10 cost an arm, a leg, my future first born and if i countine to drive possible my second  j/k but 14mpg is rough on the wallet and i would rather let my Cummins rest for half the big loads alongside my V10 thankfully my cummins gets 18+ and its only 6 miles Round trip to work so i only spend about $20 a week total on fuel between the 2. Compared to 23 when i could drive my 1500 So again any help would be great

Edited July 15, 2014 by GreenRiverCummins

[YabbaDoo]

If you are using cheap Harbor Freight pullers that is the first problem.. I know, mine snapped 2 before I went to Autozone and rented theirs http://www.autozone.com/autozone/accessories/OEM-Adjustable-heavy-duty-pitman-arm-puller/_/N-264w?itemIdentifier=209523_0_0_

 

I used this and it came right off!!

[YabbaDoo]

Here is a link to my thread http://forum.mopar1973man.com/index.php?/topic/8702-ball-joints-replaced/?hl=pitman#entry93978

[YabbaDoo]

[CTcummins24V]

I snapped the three fingered one as well. Then I bought a NAPA one piece two fingered one and it took it right off...there may have been a couple hits with a dead blow hammer too with tension on the pitman arm.

[rancherman]

I had  my  puller maxed out to the end too, and  ended up  heating with a torch.  I used a pretty aggressive  flame,  to   speed up the  heat transfer.  Contrary to some,  a  small  'safe'  flame  will actually  get  more heat  where you DON'T WANT IT.  (up the  shaft, into the gear box)  mainly because it  takes too long to  heat the  pitman arm.   

The quicker you can  get it  loose,  the  quicker you can  shut the flame off.

[mopartechnician]

I have a good one from mac tools and any that have hung up, all they needed was a good hit with a bfh

[GreenRiverCummins]

Thanks for all the info and links my neghibor who works at the dealer has gotten the 2 from the dealership replaced and were gonna give it a go tomorrow weather permiting and the first Puller was from Pier 19 but the other one's were from my work(Farm machinery Mech we use on tractor's and such really HD) and the other two were ford dealer pullers guess once again dodge is to much for Ford Tool's lol will keep ya'll informed

[GreenRiverCummins]

Well more bad news my neighbor brought the dealers puller and I went to autozone and rented there puller as well for 95+tax. We used the autozone puller first and after three attempts one side of the puller broke off... Then we tried heating the pitman arm end with a torch and tried the other one. Also tried using a numatic(Air chisel) with a Pitman fork on the end and even all those at the same time it wouldn't budge. So I returned the broke puller and got my money back and ordered a new Steering gearbox and a new pitman arm. I'm just gonna replace both of them with new and save any more headache. After 2 months and 6 or 7 pullers later I'm done I have never seen this before I can go through a dealer and get the Gearbox and pitman arm for $190 total $270 on my own that's a large mark up if you ask me but I will let ya'll know when I get them on.

[GreenRiverCummins]

Great news all I had my Dealer friend get the part (At a great discount $150 for steering box and Pitman Arm) we removed the old one and reinstalled the new one truck drives great now! Steering is tenfold super tight he said an alignment would be best so will try to save up for that thanks all for the info and help glad to have her back out on the road I just filled my Diesel up washed and waxed up and parked it for a well deserved rest. Now I get to play with my V10 for awhile

[Mopar1973Man]

Redneck method...

 

I normally pull the steering gear box off the truck. Loosen the pitman arm nut. Then remove the sector adjust cover. Remove the nut from the pitman arm. Then with a 2x4 and small sledge drive the output shaft out of the pitman arm. No special puller required. But hey that's how this Idaho Redneck does things...