Pittman arm removal

I am having a heck of a time removing a pittman arm from the steering gear on a 1970 skylark. Does anyone know any tricks to loosen it so I don't break a third pittman arm puller. Thanks
 
Joe,
Put the pitman arm puller tool on and get a lot of pressure on it. Then smack the side of the pitman arm with a good size hammer. That will normally get them loose. By the way, I have never had a pitman arm puller work without using an impact gun, and forget about the cheap tools like they have at AutoZone etc, you need a good one. Snap On or Mac will work without breaking.
 
Pitman Arm Puller

I have also used an air hammer/chisel with a large blunt point and hammered on the arm also, but never on the box or the shaft!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
Re Pittman arm removal

Thanks for the help. I just wanted to hear someone else say " hit it with a hammer". Funny how you should mention auto zone. I'm not sure how to break the news to them about their cheap puller.
 
Pitman arm

I had the same problem. I also whacked it hard with a hammer several times and still no luck. Then I squirted WD40 on the seams every day for 1 week along with a hammer hit , and at the end of the week it came off. I left the puller on the arm under tension for the whole week as I sprayed the WD40 in the seams. I don't know if it was the WD40 or a week's worth of puller tension plus hammer hits, but the arm came off. Art
 
Re: Pitman arm removal

I was about to post an update with an FYI, but Art beat me to it. After leaving my puller under tension for about 48 hrs, and spraying the splines with penetrant a couple of times, I decided to heat the arm with a propane torch for a minute or two. I then gave it a gentle downward tap, and it slid right off. I'm not sure what did the trick, but nothing else broke.
 
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