Castro

Hi all,

Was wondering if anyone knew what was involved in chaning out the pitman arm and or the idler arm. And also brands to use etc...

I took my car in to get checked about a year ago and they changed my lower ball joints because I had told them I had an accident awhile back on the highway i hit what to me looked like a very large pipe with my front right tire. I pulled over and the tire didn't go flat but a few days later I realized my car was shaking. After checking out the front I noticed the my front right wheel was bent the inner lip of the wheel. So I got new identical wheels changed the tires etc.

Well that got rid of the vibration but when I pass about 50 miles on the highway the car does this wierd thing were if it find a grove on the highway it pulls left then like a few seconds later pulls back to the center. So anyways they checked out my car and said it was the lower ball joints. They showed me the play and I got that done. They also told me that the car's pitman arm was also on its way out but still ok.

Anyways a few months later after not running to car for too long (cause I use to work by my job so I would walk) I noticed the car was still doing that movement above 50. I got the car realigned btw just to make sure and still it occurs.

So I think I am going to attempt to change the pitman this weekend. Any recommendations on what and from where to buy? I read that Moog sells a complete kit that includes the pitman and the idler arm for about 150...not sure if its tru. Also is this a tough thing to change? I think I can borrow a pitman arm puller from autozone...

thanks and sorry for the long post...just want to be as detailed as possible =)

mrr23

here's a tech article i wrote on changing the idler arm http://www.fl-thirdgen.org/idlerarm.html

pitman arm you can rent a puller from AZ. you'll also need a pickle fork (ball joint separator) the tuning fork looking thing in the pics.

Castro

mrr23 thanks! Looks pretty simple. Now I just have to find out if Moog has a kit.

thanks!

mrr23

if i remember correctly, the pitman arm is a non replaceable item. meaning it has 2 holes. one for the steering box and one so the centerlink goes into it. look at it real close just to make sure. i couldn't find any pics of my car with the pitman arm in it. moog sells the idler arm separately.

lackneramanda

I had that wondering feeling come back so i got under car to check things. My 2 year old Moog pitman arm already shows slack. No question, thats the problem as any bit of slack here makes for loose steering . This has been a chronic problem on my other GM cars including idler arms and center links. I use good moly EP grease yad yada yada. Is there just no good part out there?

mrr23

holy smokes. 7 year old thread come back to life.