Rookie question I have a 71 c10 and i'm trying to separate the idler arm from the drag link. Have heated with torch. hammered for 20 minutes, no luck. any ideas? Thanks Adam
Pickle fork? Pitman arm puller? Might be able to rent (borrow) either from a local auto parts store... Jay
beatin on it with a pickle fork already. Cant find a puller that wit slide between them. maybe a 3 prong puller??/
One trick that I've seen work is to give the eye one REAL hard blow with your hammer. The theory is that if you can hit it hard enough to make the round eye oval for an instant the taper of the shaft " spits" the arm out. I've had this work for me. use a big hammer and wack it HARD.
Assuming you have nuts and cotter pins out/off, you can try reheating and melting parrafin wax into the junction, then hold a bigger hammer on the back side and smack it. I would then try the pickle fork, good luck.
i have two different pickle forks, i have a wide one and a narrow one, you need a narrow one, is that what you have, if the pickle fork goes in it will seperate,.
Finally got it off. opted to buy a new 3 prong puller. thats the toughtest part i've ever had to take off. I actually broke the head off the body of a hammer beatin on the pickle fork. thanks for the ideas.
Hi Adam, Good to hear that you finally got your old idler arm separated. I did the same job this afternoon with my 1992 GMC 1/2 ton. It wouldn't come loose either with PB Blaster and my dad's big mechanic hammer. So I went with something that hasn't failed yet for me... A can of CRC Freeze-Out which causes the temp to get really cold on the side you are spraying and bingo... took 7-8 hammer pounds and it popped right out. It is best to move the big nut out to the end of the threads to allow a larger target. Spray until part is cold. Anyway, try this Freeze-Out next time... I bought a can at AZ ( $5) in Alamogordo about 4-5 months and it has worked perfectly everytime.. Has saved me many hours and many aspirins. Have a great day tomorrow.....duane
I've never seen one that stuck before. If the idler arm has a stud, loosen the idler arm at the frame and give the stud a whack with the BFH. Works like a charm. Bob
Next time, a new arm and a cut off wheel to the old one! That way you don't damage the shaft in any way. Make a cut down one side and it should "pop" and seperate about 1/8" or more.
From my experience you have to use the right size fork or it's an exercise in futility. So close yet not.
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