Pitman idler arm replacement on 2004 Yukon. How to?

[McFatterson]

Just finished searching for info on how to replace the pitman-idler arms on my 2wd 5.3L 2004 Yukon and surprisingly found nothing.


There is a lot of slop in the steering so the truck wanders and sways and the insides of the tires are wearing very quickly.... I assume this is the pitman/idler arms. Could the steering column/linkage/box/whatever you want to call it also be worn? I'd like to get the Cognito (sp?) braces eventually but do not have the money for all arms and braces so I was going to replace the arms first.

Does anyone have a how-to or provide DETAILED info on how to replace these arms? Do I have to remove the steering box? Do I need the 4 groove or 3 groove arms? Any special tools or torque specs required?

Also if anyone can help me find good pitman/idler arms (no chinese crap) for a good price (autozone does not sell them and checkers wants over $100 for 1 moog arm) I'd greatly appreciate it.

Thanks

 

[mitch]

McFat, I had to unbolt and turn my steering box to get the pitman arm off. Someone does make a puller that is very slim so you can do it with out pulling the box but noone near me had one. I popped for all MOOG problem solve replacement parts when I did my front end, well worth the extra cash in my opinion. I replaced everything but the ball-joints . My Yukon is a 03 2 wheel drive and it has the 3 groove arm, I dont know how to tell between 3 or 4 groove with out pulling the arm to see.I do still have a bit of play in the box itself that I need to fix, I have posted about that in this forum. good luck, Mitch.

 

[McFatterson]

Bump..... my truck still feels like crap and eats tires bad. I have to get an alignment every 6 months. It is outrageously expensive just to drive this damn thing (not even including gas) I think the pitman and idler arms are worn out again since there is some play there. Can't find much play anywhere else.

Does anyone know if the Cognito pitman and idler arm supports will prevent tire wear and maintain proper alignment even with the worn out pitman and idler arms?

I DO NOT want to have to replace those again.

Cheapest I can find for the Cognito supports is $280 shipped for the 6-lug 2004 2wd Yukon on ebay which seems expensive. Anybody sell this kit for cheaper? The 2500 kit sells for $60 cheaper for some reason

 

[ATL]

i have no idea what cognitos are but i just replaced my pitman and idler last week. its a tough job but nothing that you cant do.

but the best way to find out if they even need to be done is to jack one side of the truck up and check it. if they need to be replaced, im sure i can help you. but first go out, lift one of the front wheels off the ground. grab the wheel and push/pull at 3 o'clock and 9 o'clock. look at the outer tie rods then follow the steering and see where the play is. when pitman and idler arms are bad, the centering link will sway up and down when u press on the tire at 3 and 9. with the other front tire on the ground, you want ZERO 3-9 o'clock movement in the wheel that is raised

 

[McFatterson]

I replaced the pitman and idler arms just a year ago and yes the center link sways and moves around a decent amount. I'm trying to avoid doing this pitman/idler arm job every year which is why I'm asking about the cognito supports.

 

[Splatmaster527]

If you are having parts that should last over 200,000miles wear out on you that fast you probably have some other issues...
Are you running lowered or lifted or big wheels or anything?? Seems like your alignment must be pretty wack to be making parts fail that fast

 

[tx tahoe z71]

Jack the front end up, climb under your truck and have someone turn the steering wheel. If the steering shaft is turning and the pitman arm doesn't move much, chances are that you should replace your steering box as the worm gear is worn out. I replaced all of my steering stuff with Moog (inner/outer tie rods, idler, pitman arm) and bought a Cognito idler pivot, but still had slop. Replaced the steering box and now it drives like new.

 

[McFatterson]

Everything is stock..... We had the steering box replaced by the factory (warranty) @ around 50k. It looks like most of the play is coming from this center link which is where it originally came from.

 

[McFatterson]

Bumping this because I purchased the Cognito pitman and idler support kit for $260 shipped on ebay which is the cheapest I could find....just finished installing earlier today.

Instructions that came with the kit are pretty bad IMO. When I first read through them I thought it would be an easy hour and a half job. Turned into a 4 hour job. If you get this kit make sure you assemble it on the car BEFORE putting the lock tight on to be sure it will fit correctly. I put the lock tight on and tried to get it to fit but ended up having to take the sway bar brackets off to make room. By the time I was finished with that the lock tight had dried and I had to run up to the store and buy more and re-do everything.

ALSO make sure you have both 5/16" box wrenches. I only had sockets and adjustable wrenches in that size. It made torquing everything a living hell.


After everything was torqued I jacked the front end up and checked for movement in the steering link. Before it would twist slightly as I moved the wheel. Now with the braces it looks solid.

Driving impressions..... you feel the stiffer steering more at lower speeds and over bumps. Can't feel too much of a difference on surface streets at higher speeds.

I feel like $260 is overpriced.... but if it helps save my tires I suppose it's worth it.

Guess I'll see in the next month or so if this helps.