Center Link removal from Pitman Arm
 

Anyone have a good way of pressing the center link out of the Pitman Arm (and at the other idler arm end). The only tool I have at this stage is a pitman arm puller - that worked OK on the tie rod ends, but the center link ends are in a far more difficut position pointing upwards. They are stuck fiercely into the taper...

You mean that you don't have the REAL tool that is necessary for this job? The very best tool for this is a BFH. This is a BIG .... HAMMER!

Loosen the nut and loosen it almost all the way and then strike the end of the pitman arm at a right angle to the axis of the stud. The stud is in a tapered hole striking the pitman arm momentarily shrinks the tapered hole and will shoot the stud out of there. That's why I recommend that you leave the nut in place, so that when it flies out of there it doesn't hit you and hurt you or damage something.

Hang around a shop where front end work is done and almost the only tool ever used for this operation is the BFH. One good, well placed lick and it's done.

Good reply!
 

I am going to try it!!

I have BFH's in various sizes and now feel fully equipped for the job at hand.

Many thanks!

BFH
 

By the way, I am going to be very p'd off if the BFH is too big and I break the Pitman arm...

That's why you should use a BFH, not a GBFH! :D

Put an old sock over the hammer. Helps keep down the clank too.

"Silent Hammering"
 

Good name for a Horror Story.

I have a dumb question about this. Can you do this on the drag link ball joint where the drag link is connected to the Pitman arm? Wouldn't this hard of a hit transfer right into the steering box and possibly muck up something inside the steering box? I was going to do this when I pulled my drag link off when I did my oil pan gasket but I was afraid of inadvertently damaging something inside the steering box. Thanks!

I have used the hammer method for years. I find it best if you can back up the opposite side with a large mass like a 2 pound hammer.

Recently I have discovered another method that I prefer. Put something on the part that will apply a lot of pressure; pitman arm puller, gear puller, etc. When you don't dare to tighten it anymore for fear of breaking the tool, heat the part surrounding the tapered stud with a propane torch. I find that 10 to 15 seconds is usually enough and it will come apart with a lot of force, so keep the nut on the end of the threaded part.

The BFH works great on any joint with a tapered stud.

The trick to using the BFH is to remember you are not trying to smash the joint apart but to break the bond by vibration. A series of short blows is more effective than a long swing no matter how satisfying smacking that good for nothing, non releasing, awkwardly placed mutha is!:)

I wouldn't know anything about a series of small blows. My goal is to pop it out with one lick and I usually do. I've never hurt anything doing it.

Once I was at an MBCA local meeting that was held at AAA Small Car World in Fort Worth, Texas. This was a foreign car salvage yard owned by a serious Mercedes collector. Once a year, he opened up a section of about 30 or 40 cars for club members to come in and take any part they could find. This great event ultimately came to a halt after a few greedy shop owners brought in some small armies to get all the free parts they could.

Anyway, there were a couple of college professors that were pulling some 126 parts. Since they were hobbyists they weren't real versed in using heavy tools. There was a 126 with no engine and they wanted the steering box out of it. They asked me if I knew any tricks for getting the joint loose from the Pitman arm. The guy asking me was standing with a big hammer in his hand and said that he couldn't get it out. I asked him where he was hitting it and he showed me. I told him he should be hitting it at a right angle to the way he was hitting it and he said there was no way that could work.

I asked him if he minded if I try. I swacked it with one lick and it made a loud noise when it hit something below. He was amazed. He then came back to me later to show me a piece of bent sheet metal that the joint hit when it came loose. It appeared to be a panel from below a headlight and it was bent pretty good. He said that I did that when it came loose. Up until that point I never bothered leaving the nut in place. I suppose I had always been lucky not to hurt anything or injure myself when a joint came loose.

That one came loose so easily because with no engine in the car, there was PLENTY of room for a back swing.