Pitman Arm

[90GMC44]

Hi. I have a 90 GMC 1/2 ton 4x4. I am getting ready to change the pitman arm on it. I have the haynes and chilton's manuals, and it says I need some special tool. Can I just use a standard type pickel fork separator to do it? Any help is appreciated. Thanks.

[ridered]

I changed a few you can use the fork BUT you have to use caution not to crack the steerigng box or mess up the spline. It is a tappered fit if I am correct. soak it with WD40 let it sit a while loosen the bolt then drive the fork in on the short side and tap the longer side with a hammer it should pop loose and drop Just use 1 side of the fork not both.Good Luck

[2000CAYukon]

When I did the pitman arm on my 90 GMC K1500, there was no room to get a pitarm puller onto the pitman arm. I forget what was in the way but I ended up pulling the steering gear box out of the truck and pulling the pitman arm off while the gearbox was in a vice.

You can do it in the truck, but you will still have to loosen the gearbox and turn it to get the pitman arm puller on.

//2000CAYukon

[Kevcules]

A friend of mine replaced the pitman arm on my 91 gmc a few years ago. He was a local mechanic and all he did was take a fair sized hammer and tapped it hard. Once you hit it , it will come loose. The hard part was loosening the nut. He had a half inch ratchet with a two foot bar outside of it, and could barely get it to move.They are torqued on there tight.
Kevcules