The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Engine Shop removing '49 steering box

hi i am currently doing a frame off on my '49 chevy 3/4 ton and i have the cab and box off. now i need to take the steering box off. what is the easiest way to take off the box without messing up my steering? do i need a puller? i appreciate any help, thanks mike

Ya got the hard part done Mike. Yes you will need to pull the pitman arm, pullers are avalable at Harbor Freight real cheap of you can't borrow one. If ya taint got one near you order it on line. A plain old pully puller probably won't be sturdy enough for the job. Soak the spline down with a good penetrating oil for a few days. Just take your time and don't butcher the spline or arm by beating on it with a BFHammer.
Denny Graham
Sandwich, IL

thanks denny for the advice, i am going to see if my fathers friend has a puller. thanks, mike

You can get a puller faily cheap at the flaps, too. You might need to use an impact to get the nut off. Most likely the socket needed will have to be a 3/4" drive, too. Seems that sockets that size are hard to come by in 1/2" drive without going to Snap-On. Get the socket and a 1/2 to 3/4 adapter, Tractor Supply or other farm store will be cheapest. Follow denny's suggestion and soak it. I like B'Laster myself, but I've heard good things about Kroil, too. And DO NOT try to ruch things. Go easy. Trying to rush it and get it off fast will just lead to tool failure. Let the tool do the work for you.
After that, it's just a matter of 3 bolts and the box will come off.

Another suggestion once given here was to leave the nut on a few threads while you are using the puller. They can really let go with a bang.

Could a person heat the pitman arm white hot and pull it off with his hands...wearing thin rubber gloves for protection...


Stuart

I hope your idea of thin rubber gloves on a white hot pitman arm is just a joke. I'm fairly new to this site and I notice a lot of joking around, but you didn't end your comment with "Just kidding, don't even try this"

Hmmmmm,,grabbing it while its white hot with rubber gloves???
Somebody try that and let me know how it works.

Although Stu is givin’ ya a little Red Assin’ about the heat, some do use heat. There are different opinions on heating heat forged, treated, steering components. If you are going to reuse them, I for one do not believe it is a good practice, others have done it for years and claim never to have had an incident. If your on the clock and are replacing the pitman arm for a customer with a new one then that would be appropriate. Do a little reading and use your own judgment about it.
I’ve used Kroil as Bill suggested for decades and found it to penetrate and loosen up a rusted part better than the others I have tried, i.e., Liquid Wrench, PB Blaster etc. “Testimonial;” I have totally disassembled my ’50, 3604 under carriage, brakes and drive line and I did not find one single bolt that did not come loose after soaking with Kroil.
You have a lot of surface area in contact on a splined shaft. If moisture has gotten into the spline, which there is a 99.9% chance that it has, that equates to a rather large frictional area. After a good soaking I put as much tension on the puller that I think it can stand then go do something else. Come back later re-soak it, tension the puller an repeat and it will come off eventually.
Denny Graham
Sandwich, IL

I have also been working on my front end (removing old balls from the arms etc) and they don't get the name Shop Shark(s) for no reason. The tricks I have learned here have saved me lots of time and trouble. Denny and Bill have great advice, let the tool do the work and don't rush. The work on these old AD trucks should be a labor of love not a NASCAR pit stop.

What am I...chopped liver! You don't like the barbecued hands drill. I'll keep trying.

hi guys, after i pull the arm off how do i place the arm back in the same grooves in the steering box itself. i told my dad i was going to take the box off and he went nuts since he asked how i would put it back in the same groove so the steering would line up perfectly like before; or is this not a problem. since i am new at this i don't want to pull it off and then when i put it back on i'm screwed. thanks again, mike

Mike,

Never fear...Detroit already covered your @ss! The pitman arm is keyed to the sector shaft with a small 'only fits one way' flat.

Stuart

Stuart your the man, off with the steering box and without any fear, tommorow! thanks for all your help. you know once you get the cab off it is just tempting to keep taking things apart. pretty soon , i will only have a bare frame with no axles and motor. thanks alot, you guys, for all the help you give me. thanks,mike

Stuart your the man, off with the steering box and without any fear, tommorow! thanks for all your help. you know once you get the cab off it is just tempting to keep taking things apart. pretty soon , i will only have a bare frame with no axles and motor. thanks alot, you guys, for all the help you give me. thanks,mike

The taking apart part is fun and easy, for example, a sawzall as a bed disasembly tool. It is the putting back together part that can be a bear.

I used a pitman arm puller (bought from House of Tools) and it did the trick very well.

Putting it back together could prove a challenge but I hope will go as well.

thanks you for all your help, i have borrowed a puller and taken it off, thanks, mike