OMG! HELP!!

[Armada]

Slackers.....
Yeah, good free help is hard to get these days.....

 

[wyliek]

i beat the hell outta of the 3 screws and they didnt bug down at all....
sorry im not talking about the pitman arm...the kit i bought came with a new steering arm the one that goes from the drag link to the knuckle housing (next to the wheel) there are 3 bolts coming out of the housing that hold the arm in place, but i cant get the arm off...i also cant get the tie rod off but ill try a pickle fork for that...thanks for so many responses

 

[mangus580]

that is the pitman arm. The bolts are studs....

And I would use Ken's suggestion.

 

[Armada]

Soak the hell out of it with penatrating oil for a while.

 

[wyliek]

right then, so what is the arm that comes directly off the steering box??

 

[mangus580]

Not sure.... but the one you are dealing with is the pitman

 

[Recovry4x4]

Vibrations are engineered into lift kits with rear blocks. These blocks are designed to keep the rear drive shaft at a more favorable angl and as such raise the pinon a bit. The changes the angles between the ujoints on the same drive shaft. These need to be at the exact same angle to cancel out vibrations, Also for you guys pullling slip yokes apart, don't forget to "Phase" the shaft when reassembling. As far as that steering arm (pitman arm in on the steering box) when all else fails you can back the nuts to the top of the threads and weld the nuts to the studs. When backing out the studs, the turning action will spin the tapered cones rightt out.

 

[cranetruck]

To back up Kenny's U-joint phasing statement, here is a page from the 1985 TM-8000. The yokes must be aligned and the angles the same.

 

[ken]

The pitman arm is the arm on the steering box. The arm he is tring to remove is on the knuckle. Right by the top ball joint. Striking the 3 stud won't help. Although it does relieve a small amout of fustration. Striking the end to rotate it a bit on the knuckle should help.

 

[mangus580]

Wow, every 4x4 thing I have ever read called the arm he is removing the pitman arm. So much for credible resources/learning

 

[Armada]

In regards to aligning the u-joints, that is where the guys with home made kits get into trouble. Purchased kits from a reputable company have those angles already designed into the new spring packs, or the blocks if you go that route. Also, never use blocks on the front suspension.... bad things could happen.

 

[mangus580]

I agree about the blocks in the front..... Same goes for using already used U-Bolts.

 

[Taz]

Driveshaft angles

There is another option that really helps if you have four or more inches of lift. Adding a CV joint to the rear shaft will keep you from having to lower the transfer case which helps the rear angle, but hurts the front driveline angle. I have six inches on my 1009, dropped the t-case about and inch which resulted in the front shaft CV joint binding. I built a flange for the rear output which allows me to use a front shaft with a CV on the rear. Actually the shafts front and rear are now the same. I carry one spare! A guy could also buy a drop-in shaft from www.driveshaftsuperstore.com. Be warned that usually you have to cut off the mounting pads and reweld them to get a 1 degree angle at the rear joint. I have zero vibes in my rig from driveshafts. BTW I run 37" MTR's, 4.88 gears, 700r4, and a 9.5" 14 bolt rear axle.

 

[Armada]

Picture?

 

[wyliek]

thanks for tons of input, hav time to try a pickle fork tomorow. i hope it works.

 

[Sam27]

Mangus, I wouldn't drop the T-case. Depends on your funding situation, but on my K5, I have a 4" lift and installed a rear driveshaft with a CV joint on the T-case side. Fixes stuff right up. I think I did have to sink a few hundred bucks into the driveshaft though. The other thing is that with the CV shaft, you want the rear pinion to aim approximately straight at the T-case, so you'll need a few shims. It just doesn't seem right to put a lift on and then lower the vital organs back down!

 

[wyliek]

sam did you add s CV joint or did you put a completely new drive shaft in??
i would imagine that you could get an old front cv from a junkyard cheap, if you can just 'add' it to the rear driveshaft.

 

[85-m1028]

with a cv the slip yoke ends up at the other end of the drive shaft *see front drive shaft* you need to cut off the splined output shaft of the t-case and drill and tap it for a cv style yoke, I think there are people out there that make a kit for this I know of one for the np241 and the 208 is very similar, this is also known as a fixed yoke kit or slip yoke eliminator. for offroading this is a nice feature not only because of the extra driveline agle but because you can remove the rear drive shaft and drive it with the front axle should you break an axle or rear end component.

 

[Sam27]

sam did you add s CV joint or did you put a completely new drive shaft in??
i would imagine that you could get an old front cv from a junkyard cheap, if you can just 'add' it to the rear driveshaft.

I put in a new drive shaft. I bought a complete balanced shaft with CV joint in place of the upper U-joint. It still has the slip yoke for the NP208. I've had no problems and was able to eliminate the T-case drop.

I'm not aware of any good kits to eliminate the 208 slip yoke. If you are good, some guys get the back half of a dodge 208 case and combine it with their chevy case to get rid of the slip yoke. The other choice is to swap in a 205 case. This is better than my setup because removing the slip yoke shortens the T-case overall, making the angle less steep. The CV joint attaches right to the T-case output, and if something goes wrong, you can remove your rear shaft and drive home front wheel drive. You'll need an extending driveshaft though.

Doing it like that is a pretty big deal though. The way I did it is pretty slick too, and much cheaper and easier. If you're interested, Tom Wood's driveshaft (http://www.4xshaft.com/) made mine. Their business is modified 4x4's, so they can help you get the measurements right.