Tips on removing a stuck fj40 pitman arm? (1 Viewer)

[mrjordann]

Hey guys. I have to remove my steering box because I got a refurbished one and my old one was leaking. Struggling a lot to remove the pitman arm. I've tried heating it up and lubricating it. Won't budge. Any tips or advice? I would appreciate it. Thank you!!

 

[whitey45]

Pitman arm puller!

 

[Travis 76]

Put a lot of pressure on it with a puller and then tap with a hammer. A lot of times the vibration will finish the job.

 

[mrjordann]

Pitman arm puller!

Using one. No matter how many turns of the breaker bar, it won't move.

 

[NorCal97]

Have had luck with penetrating lube + heat/cold cycles...

Soak in PB Blaster (or similar penetrating lube), get the assembly hot enough to get a little smoke from the PB Blaster with a propane torch or heat gun, then blast with brake cleaner to cool it while adding more PB. Get the whole mess icy cold, then quickly reheat, directing the heat to the arm rather than the shaft (as best possible). As mentioned above, the hammer tap trick adds to the success rate. May have to repeat the cycle several times. Do this with the puller engaged and under tension, and repeat until she pops.

This has almost always done the trick for me. Good Luck!

 

[ToyotaMatt]

Using one. No matter how many turns of the breaker bar, it won't move.

The Only way i have ever gotten them off is to incorporate BOTH a Pit-Man arm Puller & a OXY-Acetylene Torch at the same time

Attach the Puller , make sure u have the one with the Side Jaw Compression Bolts . Apply Mild pressure to the main Puller bolt

Heat the Ring on the arm up Just Below Cherry Red , u will be melting the main shaft seal by this time .

slowly tighten the main puller bolt & adding head at the same time , It should Pop off Before it gets cherry red status


make sure U identify the Match marks outlined in the FSM before separation , if u cant find them due to rust , make a new one

with a dremmel Tool , this step is crucial


the pressure from the puller combined with the expansion from heat is the magic combination

 

[ToyotaMatt]

 

[ToyotaMatt]

@devo

 

[73FJ40]

@mrjordann :

i had the same problem, not able to get the pitman arm to budge with a two jaw puller.

Someone here on 'Mud suggested using one of these:

Which is availabe on Amazon as:
OTC 8150 Conical Pitman Arm Puller

The pitman arm had been well soaked in penetrating oil. I tightened this puller up, waiting an hour, and whacked the head of the screw with a hammer and the pitman arm jumped off.

My theory on why this one works better than the two jaw puller is that the force needed to pull the arm off the shaft is so great, that the two jaw puller slightly distorts the splines of the pitman arm, 'locking' it onto the shaft. This conical puller distributes the pulling force over much more of the surface of the pitman arm. NOTE: My theory.

Anyway, buying this puller 'saved the day' in my removal efforts.

 

[MOTOV8R]

I put the puller on and leave it on. Then once a day I tap it with a hammer and or hit it with some heat. After a few days you'll come out and see it popped off.

 

[devo]

I think the easiest was is to take the whole thing down to your local mechanic. In my case I take down to Napa and for $20.00 they pop the pitman off in about 15 minutes.

 

[devo]

So getting the pitman off is one thing.
But when you replace it back on the gear box, how do you know the proper position before tightening it down?





devo

 

[kevos37]

So getting the pitman off is one thing.
But when you replace it back on the gear box, how do you know the proper position before tightening it down?





devo

There are witness marks on the pitman arm and the end of the output shaft.

 

[devo]

I have a rebuilt box from some other 40. It was on the shelf at the gear box shop.

If I line up those marks it seems to be off . The pitman will swing more aft than forward. Seems it’s not centered?

I know I can find the center by counting the turns. Mount the gear box, and let the pitman line up with my drag link.

I’ll look things over again before final installation.

If you line up the witness marks, does the pitman lock at the 6 o’clock position or more like 4:30?

 

[Pin_Head]

Try the two sledge hammers or a hammer and anvil technique. Hold a 15 pound sledge up against the Pitman eye and smack the other side hard with a 5 pound sledge. If you have the box out, you can put it on an anvil. Then use the puller if it doessn’t come off with the hammer blows.

 

[coonassjohn]

Nice use of the egg carton. A floor press works very well.

 

[Vae Victus]

I ended up cutting mine off, getting a new one. Sometime you have to balance time and effort with $$$.

 

[Pete]

Pinhead's method works. The shaft the Pitman arm is on is tapered and whacking the side of the eye tends to work the arm down the taper. And for those who said to "tap" it with a hammer, forget it! It takes way more than a tap. I soak it in advance with Ole Red, put on and tighten the puller, heat with a propane torch (all I have), whack with a hammer, tighten the puller if possible, heat, whack, tighten, etc. After a few cycles, it will come off. If you get frustrated, soak some more with ole red, tighten the puller and come back the next day.

BTW I ran into a tie rod that was harder to get free than a Pitman arm! Used basically the same procedure and finally got it off. One problem I had was getting my puller to get a good bite. I wound up using a large C clamp across the puller to hold the two arms together. The puller I used was like the one in the second photo of post #6.

 

[hobbes]

Just did this. I had a cheap pitman puller that wasnt working. Local Autozone loans free ($90 security deposit) pitman arm pullers for trucks and SUVs. Looks exactly like the one in RagingMatt’s first photo. Made short work of mine. Less than 5 minutes total. But I had been lubing it and whacking it for a bit with the cheap pitman puller, so maybe that helped.

Did I mention it was free?

 

[mrjordann]

The Only way i have ever gotten them off is to incorporate BOTH a Pit-Man arm Puller & a OXY-Acetylene Torch at the same time

Attach the Puller , make sure u have the one with the Side Jaw Compression Bolts . Apply Mild pressure to the main Puller bolt

Heat the Ring on the arm up Just Below Cherry Red , u will be melting the main shaft seal by this time .

slowly tighten the main puller bolt & adding head at the same time , It should Pop off Before it gets cherry red status


make sure U identify the Match marks outlined in the FSM before separation , if u cant find them due to rust , make a new one

with a dremmel Tool , this step is crucial


the pressure from the puller combined with the expansion from heat is the magic combination




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Thanks for the advice. I see marks on the end of the Output shaft, but there aren't any on be pitman arm itself, am I correct? Should there be?