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My steering arm wont come off

justwhatido

justwhatido

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I removed the nuts (3) leaving the studs protruding from the steering arm. I knocked hell out of it with a hammer. It did not break loose. Am I missing something? I doused it good with penetrating oil and I'll try again Monday.


Fred
 
Try beating down on the arm instead of up. Also heating it up with a torch helps out too. Once it gets a little loose, remove the tapered bushings, and the arm kinda just comes right off. Make sure you don't overtighten the new arm, or you may have the same problem if you ever need to remove that!
 
This can be a lesson in frustration.

If you look around the studs, you will see the cone washers.
This is a form of press fit.
Along with the rust it can be a tough job.

Get some really good penetrating oil.
Get a torch. Propane will do.

Now heat the steering arm. Spend some time with this. Not cherry red just good and hot. This is a big hunk of metal and it takes a lot of heat. Again take your time.

Once the heating is complete spray the ever lovin’ crap out of those cone washers with the penetrating oil.

Now beat the rest of the crap out of the steering arm with a great big honkin’ hammer. (The last time I used a 10 lb. sledge).
Swing the hammer both up and down. You just want to loosen the cones.

Take a look at the cone washers. They have to come out. Even just a little is a start.
Grab ‘em with pliers, Vise Grips, what ever you have and try anything to twist them out.
They usually come out one at a time.

If the cones are on the way out keep working the arm with the hammer and the pliers.
If not go back to the beginning and start with the heat again.

Your arms are going to hurt; this can be quite a work out, especially if the axle is still in the truck.
Don’t hit the fender.
Almost forgot, wear gloves. The calluses will rip right of the palms of your hands. Bad swings will hurt your fingers also.
Good luck!!!
 
Don't mangle the cone "washers"! I vice gripped one of mine, and it took me an hour to extract it. This is because it needs to slide up off the stud (obviously!), and only gets tighter if it can't slide up (the stud). Spray it with some cleaner and wire brush it to death so that you can see what is happenning.
 
Also reusing the cones is not a good idea. New cone washers are good insurance. You might want to change the studs also.

I haven't seen the results but... I have heard of people running a sawsall along the side of the studs through the old steering arm. You are on your own with this one.

I wonder if an air chisel would do the trick.
 
Also, you'll notice the cone washers are split. Once they start to move take a small screwdriver and wedge it in the split to spread them open, this will help release their grip on the stud and ease removal.
 
Optional Solution

All good advice from guys who know what they're doing. But, I had the same problem as you, and went a different route. The army had Blazers before going to Humvees, and recently liquidated their stock of axles. There are a bunch of people selling NOS axle parts cheap. Buy the whole knuckle from one of them if you get sick of banging like I did. Try Coleman Surplus and keep an eye on e-bay.
 
If the drag link is still connected and its on tires just pull the nuts then start the truck and turn the wheels slowlly, the pressure should help, me and some friends about went insane trying to get one off.
 
Sawzall

I used a sawzall after trying all of the methods everyone else described. What I did was make a few cuts about half way through the arm, cutting through the cone too. I think I made 1 cut on each cone before things started moving with a BFH. Be careful cutting near the studs if you want to re-use them. Also, be prepared to go through a couple blades.
 
Usually a big hammer and selective beating will get them off after soaking in PB'laster. If not, a little heat does wonders.

Sometimes if you can take a pair of ChannelLocks with good teeth on them and twist the cones out. You put the top jaw right at the edge of the right side of the split in the cone. You then gently grip and twist counterclockwise. This way you are compressing the cone around the stud and pulling it away from the steering arm. I've had decent luck doing this.

Lastly, I cut it off with a torch.
 
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