Front dif swap

[Richard Prieto]

Need some help 2001 Tahoe I'm having problems removing center steering link bar to get it out of the way to install dif all the nuts are removed from pitman and stable izer it won't budge it's been a week of embarrassment all you mechanics out s.o.s

 

[OR VietVet]

When you say, "nuts removed from pitman and stabilizer" are you talking about the idler arm? If so, you are talking about the center link, correct? You need to rent or borrow a "pickle fork" tool and drive it in there with a hammer. There are pickle forks that are made for ball joints and ones made for the links.

 

[SnowDrifter]

When you say, "nuts removed from pitman and stabilizer" are you talking about the idler arm? If so, you are talking about the center link, correct? You need to rent or borrow a "pickle fork" tool and drive it in there with a hammer. There are pickle forks that are made for ball joints and ones made for the links.

I'm way late to replying, but I'll pipe up in case anyone else finds this:

Pickle forks are fine if you're replacing components. But don't use them if you want to re-use the ball-joints. They tend to tear up the boots.

Get a 2 jaw puller for that one. Get the thing on, tension it up. Smack the center link a few times with a hammer and it should pop out. Dab of anti seize during reassembly will keep things happy for the future