How to change steering box?

[rentedmule]

Is there anything special I need to know about changing the steering box on my truck? I have a gear puller that I think will work for the pitman arm and I've had the steering shaft off before to change plug wires. What do I need to do with the fluid lines - just unbolt from one and bolt in to the other? Does the system need to be bled like brakes do or do i just top up the fluid and go? thanks!

[rentedmule]

damn i'm a 'tard! i just found the how-to in the ZQ8 box thread right below this! It didn't answer my fluid line question though... any input?

[Hammer Head]

Yes, you need to bleed it. Best way to bleed it, IMO.. jack the front of the vehicle up, support it w/ jack stands, add some fluid to the low mark, turn the wheel lock to lock a few times, check fluid level (add if needed), start the vehicle, turn the wheel lock to lock a few times, check fluid again only this time to the full mark... obviously lower the vehicle & take it for a test spin. It'll take up to 500 miles for all the air to be purged from the system. This is the same procedure for mounting the hydroboost as you're crackin open the p/s lines & introducing air. Good Luck!!

[rentedmule]

Thanks HH! that's the info I was looking for. I suspected that was the procedure but didn't want to ruin the new box.

[Hammer Head]

No problem

[rentedmule]

Okay, I need help - badly!!! I can't get the pitman arm separated from the tierod. I ended up pulling the pitman arm from the old box and I have the box out now (it was a fight all the way). I hammered the hell of it with a pickle fork but the pitman arm still won't let go, it's up about an inch but still stuck. I tried getting a gear puller on it to no avail and then I broke my puller trying to take the pitman arm off the new box! what the hell should I do now???? I really don't want to put the old leaky box back in but it's looking like its that or a tow truck!

[Mikz86TA]

Are you putting a new pitman on? I wouldve just left the old pitman on the linkages, pulled it from your old box while still on the truck, then pulled/swapped boxes and re-installed the pitman to the new box.

[rentedmule]

tried that but my puller broke. I ended up solving that problem and now i'm on to another! i took off the steering linkage and hammered the pitman arm out of it. have the new box in and hooked up fine. now the issue is tightening up the tie rod bolts. when they're pressed into the linkage they don't spin so you can loosen the bolts fine but when i'm trying to tighten them up they just keep spinning and i can't get them seated in the linkage enough to hold them. what an annoying job this was, I wouldn't recommend this to a novice like me! any advice for that problem? i'm going to go degrease everything really well so they won't slip and try again

[rentedmule]

alright its in! what a day - 8.5 hours start to finish. creative use of a floor jack for pressure and pickle fork as a wedge and i managed to tighten up all the joints in the steering linkage. its still really hard to turn the wheel though, i guess the pump isn't air-free yet. i've put in about a liter of fluid. hopefully it'll work its way in over night.

[Mikz86TA]

glad 2 see you suceeded...so far =)

[rentedmule]

lol, it was epic but i won! it took a few minutes of cranking on the wheel this morning but it finally caught and everything's working fine now. it tracks straight but the steering wheel is off to the left a few degrees, barely noticable. would i need to pull the pitman arm to align it or is there another way to adjust that?