tool to remove centerlink from pitman arm

[chevyart]

is there a tool other than a pickle fork to remove centerlink from pitman arm and from idler arm. seems to me the pickle fork will ruin the bushings on these part, and i dont like the idea of using a big hammer to beat on the side of centerlink to loosen up the joint. thought a friend of mine mentioned a long time ago that he had a good tool to remove these parts without hurting the rubber seals on ball joints and not hurting the bushing in the centerlink studs going to the pitman and idler arms thanks art

[cjbiagi]

Art, hitting the side of the joint where the tapered stud goes through does sometime work to "shock" the parts and loosen them up. This works in conjunction with applying pressure to the tapered stud itself at the same time either with a pickle fork or by leaving the nut attached by a few threads and beating on top of the nut to protect the threads. Either of these hammering methods will not hurt the parts. I think you may be thinking of a "puller" that will separate them but I have never used one.

[kgroombr]

Maybe a pitman arm puller? They come in different sizes so you would have to find one that fits correctly without damaging anything.

Ken

[sugaryuk]

Art, hitting the side of the joint where the tapered stud goes through does sometime work to "shock" the parts and loosen them up. This works in conjunction with applying pressure to the tapered stud itself at the same time either with a pickle fork or by leaving the nut attached by a few threads and beating on top of the nut to protect the threads. Either of these hammering methods will not hurt the parts. I think you may be thinking of a "puller" that will separate them but I have never used one.

^^This, nothing beats a good BMF hammer! I flipped the castle nut around to protect the crown, and I find it better to use bigger hammer with a softer hit rather than smashing it with a gurly hammer.

[Smiley]

Maybe a pitman arm puller? They come in different sizes so you would have to find one that fits correctly without damaging anything.

Ken

[cjbiagi]

Those are designed to pull the pitman arm off the steering box, I think it is way too big to remove the centerlink from the pitman.....

[zeke]

Separator tool and bfh

[bugdewde]

Ball joint tool might work.

[cosvega76]

I have one similar to this:

http://www.amazon.com/Specialty-Product ... B000CB755K


Chuck

[chevyart]

thanks guys i dont see how any of the pullers would work. i dont want to take the pitman arm from the splined steering box shaft, and the centerlink stud into the pitman shaft needs so be pulled out from pitman arm tapered hole. would need to be pushed down from the top where the castle nut is. dont want to hit on that nut with a hammer, as it might flatten out the threads. looks like a heavy hammer hitting on side of centerlink will be only way to loosen up the shaft up into pitman arm, unless there is any other idea. thanks art

[cjbiagi]

Art, I think if you thread the nut on where it just sticks past the threads you will be fine. This in conjunction with tapping the side of the pitman should do it. Again, it's not necessarily easy but it will break loose.

[chevyart]

thanks clyde. , guess im going to have to use that big ugly hammer no matter what. art

[bugdewde]

Many years ago, I worked on one for hours on an old VW. I'd given up on it and it sat for a couple days in the basement. My middle brother came over one day and asked what was wrong with the Bug. Told him I couldn't remove the tie rod from the pitman arm . He said, "Oh, that's easy." Grabbed a hammer and tapped it on the side and the damn thing fell right out. I couldn't believe how hard I worked trying to get that thing off and he simply tapped it right off.
Knowledge is power.

[chevyart]

thanks bugwede. im trying to gain knowledge, so i guess i will get some power when i learn more about these nice cars. i listen to everybody's suggestions and i always seem to pick up good work techniques, sometimes from taking a little advice from each post from our members. thanks art

[Monza Harry]

Art you are right that the "Pickle Fork" usually damages the boot but there are other pullers for this job here are a few Harry (the exact one I was looking for is on the bottom/middle right next to another good choice) http://www.harborfreight.com/3-4-quarte ... 99849.html

Pullers.jpg