How do you change and idler arm Chevy Tahoe?

Answer 1

I just did my 2002 Suburban 2500 4X4 at 145K miles. I replaced the Idler Arm and Bracket Assy, and the Pitman Arm. I had not actually done this before but was familiar enough to think it was possible. Especially after the $800+ from the dealer.

When I was in the dealer for some small repairs, they said this was now becoming an issue with the high mileage. The truck did wander slightly so I said I would look into it. I checked out part cost, on-line for info, then jacked truck up to get a look. The taped ball joints at drag link did seem to have some play. Certainly more than stock.

I purchased the Pitman Arm Puller from Harbor Freight. Very Inexpensive. I would start a few days before getting under to get a good view of what it is all about. At this time, use some penetrating oil on all threads and the tapered shafts in the drag link(the cross piece). If you are going to do the Pitman arm, also do the splined shaft.

It may be a good idea to start with a powerwash.

Much of this is Metric. Be prepared. You will need a 35 MM socket for the Pitman arm, and a breaker bar(24+ inch) and a large C-Clamp, 8 inch.

Jack the truck up, use the jackstands, you will need to get both front tires off the ground.

Remove the plastic splash shield and the steel skid plate.

Remove the 2 bolts holding the Idler Arm Bracket Assy. Remove the nut holding the Idler Arm to the drag link. It is possible the Pitman Arm puller will fit on this shaft? Mine did not due to no clearance and the rubber dust shield. I used a 5 lb sledge to drive this out. A few well placed hits and it popped out.

Then you can start on the Pitman Arm. This will be harder. Remove the nut at the drag link. Now back with the hammer to knock off the tapered shaft from the drag link on this end.

You can not reach the nut on the Pitman arm at the Steering Box. Not enough room. Now remove the 3 bolts holding the steering box to the frame. From in the fender well. Helps to rotate the tire out. The steering box is attached with the hydraulic lines, use some care.

Drag link is free. Slide back out of the way.

The steering box will drop, and you can rotate it to get access. This is where you should use the c-clamp to clamp the box to the frame, where you still have access tot he nut. It is possible that if you have a powerful enough air impact hammer(1/2 in drive) and impact swivel, and the 35MM socket, you can now remove the nut. I would get something with at least 400+ ft lbs. Also a Harbor Freight tool. Mine was smaller and would not break the nut loose. Out comes the 30" breaker bar. They locktite these on and a big locking spring washer. This took a lot of work, bracing my feet on the opposite frame and using a very large force, maybe 300 + ftlb.

It eventually came loose! Now on to the Pitman Arm. In between the arm and the box is a plastic grease sleeve, with a screw driver, slide this up into the box, so you have room for the pitman arm puller. Mine needed a small amount of clearance to fit. The grinder took off about a finger nail from each tab to slightly increase the opening.

Hopefully that penetrating oil is helping. Use some grease on the end of the puller, where it contacts bolt you are tightening against. Back to max torque to remove. Maybe lub the puller threads. You will need all the help you can get. It eventually came loose, but the puller may only be good for one of these type workouts!

Most of the hard work is done. About 2 hrs of real work.

I assembled the Idler to the bracket assy on the bench(used 90 lbs on nut). Rotation doesn't seem to matter, you can spin to proper location in truck.

A short conversation on parts choice. I got mine from Checker, since they had them, and they were all from the same manufacturer, Moog. They do look somewhat less beefy than the factory parts. I possibly would have gone with Autozone, but they were not on the shelf. Price seemed to be about the same. Approx. $300 for the 3 parts. I also could not find any info on whether to replace the bracket assy every time with idler arm.

My idler arm bracket came with a remote grease fitting I installed. I then installed the assy into the frame bracket, loosely.

I installed the Pitman Arm onto the box. Anti-sieze on splines might help. It is splined so it only fits in the correct rotation. If the wheels are still straight forward, the arm should be near straight back. Make sure steering wheel is centered. It will generally align with drag link hole. You will need the big impact wrench, and should have an appropriate torque wrench. I did see in another post this needs 230 ft lbs. I could not verify, but would seem appropriate. So went to 150 on my 1/2 in torque wrench, after maxing the air impact, then on to the big breaker bar to my max.

Now loosely fit box back to frame and then drag link to 2 tapered spindles(anti-sieze). If everything is looking good, complete Box install. Then Bracket install. Then both tapered nut install. All to 90 lbs, you could use a small bit of locktite on anything but go minimum. The tapered nuts have cotter pins. Go to torque then complete alignment to the plus side and install pins.

Find a place to install remote zirk fitting. I pulled down to a frame bracket that had a small gap for a bolt. Make sure no clearance issues, and zirk is free to fill.

Re-install skid plate and splashgard. Look it all over good. Run over your mental checklist! No test drive surprises! About 1 hr to button up, and then 15 mins to review everything for completeness.

I did notice that I will need to get it aligned now. Steering wheel is very slightly off center. I didn't expect this, since you were putting it all back to previous situation. The truck doesn't pull or drive any different, so things are good.

Off to the alignment shop. With $500 in my pocket, and 3 hrs of interesting but hard work. Very doable.