hello everyone.
my question is strictly to those who replaced idler and pitman arms by themselves and learned the tricks.
i have 2000 silverado that has very much of occasinal steering wobble, and the usual culprits would be idler, pitman, and steering damper.
i have 2 tierod ends, that go into long rod that connects to idler and pitman arms. forgot the name. idler arm connects to what looks like a large aluminum cylinder, assuming it's steering damper.
1. can steering damper/idler assembly be removed without removing that long steering rod? i'd like to get it out and see if the damper does work
2. does pitman have to be removed with steering gear or can it be removed without removing steering gear? if not, how do you prevent pitman from re-installation onto a wrong spline? (obvioulsy, fitting it with locking pin was too easy for designers, they just had to do this "guess which spline" game) what is the right tool to pull pitman off steering gear shaft?
3. how much of a hassle is to remove steering gear with pitman? i have no problem doing this, but i have inherent dispise to messing with steering system, as one spline off - and you end up in crooked steering wheel. no, i will not give this job to a mechanic, it's simple mechannical task. once again, besides locking steering wheel and tying the hell out of it to seats to block it in place, what are the pricautions to keep everything aligned? chilton says "mark pitman relationship to steering gear" but if you are replacing pitman, the mark is gone with it.
4. has anyone tried to press idler and pitman ball joints out? and replace them with new ones? i have no idea why it can't be done. i replaced ball joints before in control arms that were told to be replaced completely, and had no trouble. large socket and hammer do well. anyone?
thank you in advance. i have to do this over the weekend, as it starts feeling unsafe on freeway.