Well I checked the mounts for the steering box and they are all tight. The
pitman arm/steering gear arm has some slop/play in it; so I am just going
replace the pitman arm. I called around(and around and aorund) and found
what I think to be a good price of $42 for a lifetime pitman arm. Now I need
to concentrate on removal and installation of the new/old arm. I replaced
the idler arm on my Dak about a year or so ago, and that was relatively
easy. I was reading up on the pitman arm replacement in my Hayne's Manual,
and have a few questions. First off, do I really need to jack the front end
up off the ground to do this? No biggie if I do, just was curious. The
pitman arm is held onto the large 'crossover tie rod' with a nut and a
cotter pin. That is no biggie, just pliers for the cotter pin and a socket
for the nut; maybe a hammer to loosen the arm from the tie rod. The pitman
arm appears to be held onto the steering box with a nut/washer/lockwasher.
Is there a 'special' type of socket/wrench which I will need to remove this
nut, or will is be a standard size? Next I will need to pull the arm off,
which I am assuming I will need a jaw-puller. How will/does this work? Also,
once the bad pitman arm is pulled off, how will I make sure the new one will
be centered on the gear arm?? Is there a trick to centering the new one back
on?? I have access to about $20,000 worth of Craftsman tools, so I can get
any type of tool needed. Thanks for any and all info/help here fellas.....
Kyle
93 Dakota 4x4 V6
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