96 Tahoe Steering Gearbox

[tahoeguy96]

So I have a 96 tahoe LT and I need to replace the steering gearbox. The problem I'm coming across is getting the pitman arm uncoupled from the link bar. I have a tie rod end puller and a pitman arm puller along with a pickle fork tool and none of them have worked so far. I'm at a loss as to what needs to be done to do this. I dont have the money to just take it to a shop. Any suggestions?

[Squirrely]

Put some heat on it to help get it off.

[Blazerblitz]

Did you unbolt the gearbox from the frame first? Bolted on, it puts a pretty good amount of pressure on the pitman arm, and it's nasty to pry apart (even with a pickle fork). If you try unbolting the gearbox, you're going to need a second hand to hold/move it around or a board to balance it on to get the tension off the pitman.

My issues doing this job have alway been breaking the pitman arm from the steering knuckle. Even with a pitman puller and pneumatic hammer, it's been really hard breaking the part free.