Okay I have a 2001 f150 5.4L triton 4x4 with a 4 inch suspension lift and 3 inch body lift on 35s. I recently was rebuilding my front end when I found the pitman arm was toast as well....when I found out I had to pull the steering box I was pissed....who built this crap attitude. Tried a few whacks with a hammer and a few wedges with nothing to show for it beside more cuss words. Had to let it sit overnight due to time constraints, came in about 10 hours later with a fresh mind and it just clicked. Air hammer and a blunt bit tip.....easy as pie, 2 seconds I love it. Ill try and get some pics....going to send back that pos china pitman arm tool back and never pull a gear box again. Plenty of room to make it all work with the air hammer, just use the blunt tip on the space between the pitman arm and gear box and drive it off the splines....seriously I was plesantly suprised at the ease at which it cam
e off. Hope this helps some othe po
or smuck who has to do this....did not see this solution in the search figured it was worth putting it out there. If I missed this solution elsewhere, lemme know....I like claiming short cuts like this but also will give vredit where it is due. Best of luck, hopefully pics to follow shortly.

 

Doing my front end soon.
So an air chisel huh... damage the splines at all?

 

Air chisel/hammer and BLUNT tip....still requires a little manuvering of the linkage to get it all clear but your golden brother. I'm Lifted so I can't talk about the stockers but cannot imagine much difference, maybe someone else can chime in. Also uded Pb blaster penetrant oil...not a representative just a happy consumer.

 

Id be worried that the vibration from the chisel could damage the seals or something

 

Ditto, those seals start leaking on their own.....

 

easy enough but better just to pull the gear box and repalce the seals while your at it. your gonna have to any way, those things leak all the time. your probibly going to have to pull it soon enough to fix the leaks.
good idea to do it that way but see more work in the long run

 

Well I will let you know of it starts leaking I don't think it will. Its not like I hammering on the splines or the pump itself it was just a quick buuurp of the air hammer on the pitman arm in the correct direction to shock it loose and the rest was some manuvering of the linkage to get it off. Easy. Although even if the spline seal does start leaking I still don't think I would pull the box if you could R&R in frame...saves time and time is money, especially if your flat rate. Work smarter not harder. Drove it around today after the alignment and no leaks yet and the front end is nice a tight again...ball joints, inner outer tie rods, pitman,idler am, shocks, bushings, UCAs and hot damn....a straight steering with no popping or squeaks, haha!

 

I have just one comment on the seals leaking. I do not use any fluid that says it stops leaks. That fluid has a seal softener in them. The problem with seal softeners is that they do not know when to stop softening the seals.

I had a leak in my 82 TransAm power steering pump seal when pried on the pulley when changing belts. (big mistake) I put a few ounces of Trans X in the fluid. The leak stopped almost instantly. One year later, I had to replace both hoses, the steering box, and the pump. Everything that had a seal had a leaking seal. So, my advice is to stay away from any fluid that says it stops leaks! Or, at least replace the fluid after the leak stops!

 

I have a 2000 2wd and rebuilt the whole front end of mine last month replacing idler and pitman arms also. I`m not sure if 4x4 is not the same as 2wed but I used the U shaped puller with a breaker bar and it popped off. Made a loud bang when it did but no worries about breaking seals or messing up the box. I was able to slip the puller on without removing any bolts on the steering box....
I also did inner and outer tie rods, upper control arms and lower ball joints along with all new shocks and it drives like new again.

 

The 4x4 model has a crossmember that interfears with the ordinary pitman arm puller, the clearance issue is paramount, and it is unfortunate as well. I got around it,see above. I also rebuilt the entire front end and its a different beast feels like I am ready to road rally this thing on 35 inch tires

 

Ahh..That would make the puller use an issue than. No cross member in a 2wd to interfere with using it.