Pitman/Idler arm replacement

06SierraTJ · July 12, 2015

Hey guys ive got vibrations while driving down the highway. Had the front end jacked up and noticed the arm on the pass. side had some slop. What is required to replace these arms? And how difficult is it?

00Silverado4x4 · July 12, 2015

On my previous '06 I replaced them in just a few hours. The idler arm bracket will need to be pulled and it doesn't take too much effort to change. Normal hand tools were all I needed. However on the pitman arm you will need to drop the steering gear to get access to the arm itself. Then I had to use an impact gun to get the arm off and the new one on the steering gear. I didn't have the correct socket so I took it to a local parts store that helped me out.

gmtech4 · July 12, 2015

Hey guys ive got vibrations while driving down the highway. Had the front end jacked up and noticed the arm on the pass. side had some slop. What is required to replace these arms? And how difficult is it?

Ya know what they say " if ya have to ask " then you shouldn't mess with this as your experience level DOES NOT match the job ,

You don't have the tools anyways , I'm guessing anyways

06SierraTJ · July 14, 2015

Well this is my first time owning a vehicle made after 2000 so im just trying to get some help.

lunytnz · August 29, 2015

Ya know what they say " if ya have to ask " then you shouldn't mess with this as your experience level DOES NOT match the job ,

I'm not following how this kind of response is helpful. Is this a particularly dangerous repair job?

I'm in the same boat as 06SeirraTJ... I have 30 years of experience working on my cars, but I've never had to tackle this particular repair. My attitude is: If a mechanic at a shop can do the job, I can do the job. It's just a matter of learning. If you apply the "if ya have to ask, then you shouldn't mess with this" rule to every repair job, nobody would be able to learn anything new.

This forum can be a great place to learn. And sometimes I might learn that, because the job is more involved than I expected, and I don't have specialized tools, that it's not worth it do it myself.

txab · August 29, 2015

Pick up a shop manual and follow directions

servantsalesmen · August 31, 2015

Well this is my first time owning a vehicle made after 2000 so im just trying to get some help.

Don't worry about what gov tech is saying. He's a jerk to everyone (myself included)

The job is not terribly hard at all. I would recommend getting an alignment afterwards. If you are reasonably intelligent and have decent mechanical aptitude you should be fine. Good luck man! Post back with any other questions.

06SierraTJ · August 31, 2015

Haha I wasn't worried about what govtech said. I'm sure he's one of those guys that has never had to ask a question because he knows it all... What a tool. Thanks guys I actually figured out my passenger side tie rod was bad so I just replaced both sides and got an alignment done. Still have a vibration in the steering wheel so I'm a little stumped. Gonna try a tire rotation, maybe figure out if a tire is out of balance or something.