When a hammer won't work on Labor day.

I was driving down Crowchild Trail in Calgary the other day on my way to work. There has been a lot of work getting done on the high ways and by ways of Calgary the this road is not exception. There are areas where the pay\vement is stripped back so repaving came be started. I hit one of these stipped areas and right away my front end started wobbling. I turn the wheel back and forth quickly and that seamed to smarten up the issue. Then on the next bump,the same thing. Ok,now it's time to have a look at this damn thing before it kills either myself ,my daughter or both of us. Saturday comes along and I decide it's time to get started. I get under the front end of the truck and find that the Pitman and the Idler arm are toast. Which I find very suprising. I really thought that there was an issue with a Tie-Rod end or a Ball Joint.

  When you are removing the Pitman Arm,you have to remove the nut holding it on and "Tap" the side of where it mounts to the relay rod. Never smack the end of the attachment bolt or use the nut. That's just an open invitation to grief and creating a money pit out of your hot rod. Getting the Pitman arm off of the output shaft of the steering gear was a little costly as well. I ended up going down to the neighborhood parts store and getting a Pitman Arm puller. That was another $40. The plus side is that it works for both the Pitman arm and the Idler arm. Sometimes it's a good thing when you have to get under your ride to do some work. I noticed other things that need attention and made a note of it for future referrence.

  I also decided to change my rear end gear oil as well. When you do this,it's probably best to change your axle seals at the same time. After all you have to take the differential cover off anyway and it's just aniother few minutes to remove the locking screw from the pinion shaft. By pushing in the axle shaft from the outside of the rear end you can see where the C-lock will come out. Then its just a simple matter of removing the axle and pulling out the axle seal from the axle housing. Now is a good time to inspect the axle bearings. It's cheaper to do it now then find out the hard way that they need replacing. After you've put the new seals in be sure to install the axle slowly back to where it goes. Watch the inside of the spider gear assembly to insure that you can slide the C-locks back into place properly and re-install the pinion shaft and lock screw. Be sure to use a seal installer or a block of wood to make sure that the new selas install straight and flat against the axle housing. Now is also a good time to inspect your rear brake shoes or pads. New ones should be installed at this time if it's required. There are a couple of ways you came seal up the rear duifferential cover. One is by using a new gasketanother is by using gasket maker. Either way works however the gasket maker is more cost effective and you should also give the silicone time to cure. so that would mean not driving the vehicle for a few hours after you have re-assembled it. This work was done on a 96 Chevy pick up with 320,000 Klicks or right around 200,000 miles on it. With a little know how and an excellent referrence book.Chevy S-Series Pick-Ups, SUVs, GMC Sonoma, Jimmy, Envoy, Isuzu Hombre, Oldsmobile Bravada Chilton Manual (1994-2004) is an excellent manual and is very discriptive with ecellent picutres and diagrams.