Pitman and Idler Arm Repair: Hummer H2/Tahoe/Suburban/Silverado/Sierra/Yukon

[@parrish903]

Outstanding, you guys saved my life. I struggled all day, then threw my hands in the air. Now I'm going to try again.

[@ForgottenWaypoints]

I hope it goes well! My first was on a suburban and it was brutal, someone taught me some tricks and we tried it on the H2 and it went well. I'll probably have to watch my own video when it's time to do my 2500HD!

[@daylanbarnard1934]

Thanks for taking time to create and share video it def helped! I was quoted 900 from a shop but they wouldn't install my moog parts so I did it myself. I didn't end up needing the pickle forks. I just used the pitman puller on everything. None of my impacts would pull the pitman from the steering box I ened up freeing it with long 1/2" ratchet and pipe from my jack to get enough leverage I was about to give up and then it popped loose thankfully. Took me about 5 hours by myself because impact issues. Now on the the ball joints and tie rods and then new body mounts.

[@gumpokiegp6259]

Thank you, doing my bros 2008. God bless you greatly for all your patients and help.

[@joeturtleneck2300]

hes a doctor?

[@mheath7178]

Thanks for the video. I was having trouble getting my pitman arm fully seated against the gear box. Then watching your video showed me it's not supposed to be fully seated against it. Just pull down the dust cover. Thank you.

[@JOEYD2006]

Once again, Thank you for taking the time to make/post this tutorial. This helped me immensely. Very appreciative.

[@ForgottenWaypoints]

Thanks again for your comments too. They will hopefully give further help/suggestions to those that have to do this job. It's not a fun job by any stretch, but with a few tips/tricks you can save quite a bit of money!

[@orlandoaiden6250]

I dont mean to be so offtopic but does any of you know a method to get back into an Instagram account..? I was stupid lost my password. I appreciate any assistance you can offer me.

[@harlemzahir8682]

@Orlando Aiden instablaster ;)

[@orlandoaiden6250]

@Harlem Zahir i really appreciate your reply. I found the site thru google and Im waiting for the hacking stuff atm. Looks like it's gonna take a while so I will get back to you later with my results.

[@orlandoaiden6250]

@Harlem Zahir it worked and I actually got access to my account again. I'm so happy! Thank you so much you saved my ass!

[@TonyMontana-mv9ez]

I just did this yesterday. I changed both. I didn't have to remove the box. Make sure when you buy the pitman it comes with 3 grooves, not 4. For some reason in the computer, it shows hummer h2 with 3 grooves and 4. And they sold me the 4 grooves.

[@jelliottnesss]

Excellent video brother it helped me out big time!!!!!

[@jclarke6073]

Awesome Video, you nailed it! Thanks for sharing!!

[@guscordero4653]

Thank you for all the info.

[@DragonflyDroneServicesLLC]

Good informative video. just a few fyi, on my 04 H2 I had to cut off the grease cover on both of ball joint parts so pulley could fit in place. Also, had to detached steering column from steering box in order to get the needed angle to fix pulley for pitman arm removal. Maybe was because my was original factory parts.

[@JOEYD2006]

I used an air hammer with a pickle fork attached to it in order to loosen the pitman arm from the drag link. This helped some. I then followed your advice by grinding down the pitman arm remover in order to fit it between the pitman arm and drag link and BAM, it came loose. The air hammer, pickle fork attachment and arm remover tool are from Harbor Freight. While I was moving the steering box in order to fit the tool, some fluid was dripping from the box. I then hand tightened the 3 bolts and the dripping stopped. Should I be concerned?

[@ForgottenWaypoints]

I have never had a problem with the steering box, I'd keep an eye on it. It should just be power steering fluid. I doubt you even noticed the level drop.

[@JOEYD2006]

Finished the job. Both the pitman and idler arms were bad. All went well except for the fact that the steering wheel is not straight. Have you ever experienced this? Time for an alignment.

[@ForgottenWaypoints]

Yes. You will need an alignment post install. On my dad's H2 in the video the tires were slightly pointed inwards on both wheels. The rubber wouldn't have lasted if we left it..

[@TheMountainlife77]

Question about the nut joining the idler arm to the bracket part. When I tighten this nut down, The idler arm seems to be too tight and it won't swivel on the bracket part. Do I back the nut off so it can swivel, or will the nut be too loose? 21:25 on the video. Thanks.

[@ericksmelendez3821]

Thank you very much for the lesson very helpful... Awesome

[@philfish6619]

Does the steering make a noise before you changed it or is it just loose my steering creeks when I turn it. There is a.little leak on the bottom shaft of the box where the pit arm connection. Is it my seal

[@ForgottenWaypoints]

Both times I did this repair (on my Suburban and my dad's H2), we had zero symptoms. It was flagged during Utah's old annual safety inspection (no longer required) and we were forced to fix it before the car could be registered. We had zero symptoms, but allegedly the parts showed play in the shop. Yeah, that is your steering box and the seal would be from the power steering.

[@cromaticdragon5079]

About how long did it take you guys to swap it all out? I was considering doing it myself also I just hate having to lay on the ground and wrestle around almost may he worth it to me to have it done at a shop

[@ForgottenWaypoints]

It's been so long, I can't remember. It was a couple of hours at least. I did the job twice. First time was on a Suburban and I didn't know the tricks and was messing with the steering box. That was frustrating and took forever. The time we did the H2, I don't recall it taking that long, maybe a couple of hours? 3-4? Including filming? But that's a wild guess. It might be worth calling a shop and getting a quote depending on how much time/desire you have for this job.

[@cromaticdragon5079]

@@ForgottenWaypoints thank you sir!

[@JOEYD2006]

That makes sense. I am experiencing the same issue where the puller will not fit. I will try to grind it down. How do you feel about using a pickle fork? Thank you for your help.

[@ForgottenWaypoints]

The pickle fork I had wouldnt work. But it might be worth a try for you and post the part number if it does work.

[@justinhamlin1539]

Not sure why you use so many SAE wrenches. The H2 is almost all metric. I found the Pitman arm was easy peasy. The idler arm was a complete pain and took me HOURS because it wouldn't come loose from the rod no matter what I did. The puller tool was useless since the fingers wouldn't get between the arm and the steering rod. Then the strut (I bought a new one) was a pain to go back in, largely because it came with an extension hose for the grease fitting, a good idea in theory, but not so good in practice. I ended up getting the idler arm loose with a pickle fork after pounding it like crazy for about half an hour. Had to remove the wheel to get to it, too.

[@ForgottenWaypoints]

Sounds like when I did the job on a suburban. That sucks. I can’t remember if my puller was modded (cut so the fingers are wider) or not. I did have to cut one on one job. Yeah, the job sucks, even if it goes well.

[@ethanfoster6438]

Excellent video.

[@ForgottenWaypoints]

Thanks

[@martinordonez6760]

Muy buen vídeo felicidades

[@ap1hondaking]

Nice work...

[@willox3972]

Nice work and thank you for saving me Monies!!!

[@JOEYD2006]

Great video. Thank you so much. What brand did you use for the parts and do you have the part numbers? Thank you again.

[@ForgottenWaypoints]

My Uncle owned a NAPA store and we sourced the OEM-grade NAPA products.

[@JOEYD2006]

Do you have the name and model number of the pitman arm puller used in this video? I rented 2 from Autozone and they are not working. Thank you

[@ForgottenWaypoints]

@@JOEYD2006 , the puller I used was again a NAPA tool, but the jaws were too close and I had to is a grinder and grind them down so the gap was wide enough to fit the joint

[@AP-nu3jc]

@@ForgottenWaypoints how my spline groves are on the H2..i know there's and options for 3 or 4 groves when ordering

[@ForgottenWaypoints]

@@AP-nu3jc , That's crazy. We didn't even think twice, we just told the parts desk we had an '03 H2 with 6.0V8 and took the top-tier NAPA part. It fit. When I did my '03 Suburban it was the same way.

[@toddparks]

How can I tell if I need to replace my Pitman arms ? Thanks, Todd.

[@ForgottenWaypoints]

Great question! I've had to do this job twice, once on my own Suburban and again on my dad's H2 (where we decided to film the DIY). In the case of my suburban, I ruined and excellent set of tires. You will get inside tire wear that if it isn't caught early you are at a risk for a blowout. I was down to about 1/4" tread left on the tires on the inside edge despite having 80% of my tread left everywhere else. It was actually caught on the annual Safety Inspection required by Utah at the time. On my dad's H2, his tires were fine, but he also failed the annual inspection. He bought the parts, a little annoyed that they wouldn't be broken, and as you can see in the video, when we pulled them out....they were clearly bad. Other symptoms can be poor steering feel (wobbly, loose, etc), but neither of our vehicles felt that way. There are tests you can do to check yours, by lifting the vehicle and using a crowbar to see if there is play in the joint. I'm sorry, but I don't have a video of that; but there are others on the web.

[@toddparks]

Would you like for me to fly you to Costa Rica so you can change the one on my 2003 H2 ? :-)

[@bu5761]

@@toddparks- yeah, I'll do it!

[@coffeedollsvp]

Wait...that standard puller is a different size than a pitman puller?

[@BigNorth937]

Is it a 4 or 3 spline?

[@charleslionheartii510]

What did you mean by lining up the steering gearbox to remove the pitman arm? I don't quite understand.

[@ForgottenWaypoints]

Rotating the steering shifts the shaft so you can get the parts in and out and get your tools up there. I was stuck on a suburban for an hour on this, the factory manual says remove the steering shaft. I was tipped off to turn the shaft and everything cleared. On the H2 it was easy. You'll know when you need to do it. If the parts go in and out without touching it...then you were lined up from the get-go and all is well.

[@chevyboy2066]

I just paid $1600 for all that to be changed out, steering shock, pitman & idelr arm, idler arm bracket plus the gear box.

[@awesomefish100]

What brand of pitman arm are you installing?

[@ForgottenWaypoints]

I believe it was the upper-tier NAPA part. I can't remember the actual brand.

[@longlivechina7538]

God bless America

[@hunterdude3262]

Damn get that guy some coffee

[@ForgottenWaypoints]

Essential Tremors. It sucks, I have them too. :(. Coffee would make it worse.

[@hunterdude3262]

@@ForgottenWaypoints damn I get like that when I need coffee.

[@calebdriscoll9329]

Imma just send it the junk yard😣

[@mikestefanik3526]

It prob would have been easier if u had taken the wheels off and took the whole front bar off

[@robertduran1945]

You can tell they're bad if too much wiggle wiggle

[@seamalulion]

why are your hands shaking so much?

[@ForgottenWaypoints]

Because I have a disability called essential tremors, so I guess the vid shows anyone can do this job!