Front end rebuild

DIESELJUNKIE

New member
Aug 12, 2011
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I need to rebuild the steering on my truck and was wanting opinions on brand of tie rods ,pitman and idler arms, ball joints etc
Thanks in advance for the advice
 

Dragonsfireloki

New member
Nov 6, 2011
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North Dakota
i really like the ultimate steering package from dmaxstore.com, its like $1400, but its all pretty heavy duty. It comes with tie rods, pitman and idler arms, pitman and idler arm supports and a solid center link.
 

DIESELJUNKIE

New member
Aug 12, 2011
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Ill check into that thanks for the info. Is there any tricks to changing these parts I'm pretty mechanically inclined just never done this before
 

rms2012

New member
Dec 7, 2011
155
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Phoenix
Did pitman, idler, idler support, 4 ball joints, 4 tie rod ends, upper & lower control arm bushings & new Timken hubs.
Took it apart Saturday and finished yesterday.
Greased the new parts today and got an alignment.

Hubs from Dmax store - lifetime warranty.
XRP tie rods - million mile warranty (got 'em from a forum member).
Everything else from Rock Auto (Moog Problem Solver line).

Buy the complete Moog uca with ball joint & bushings pre-installed. You'll be glad - cheaper than the individual parts.
Put new lower bushings in the freezer overnight (if you need to do them - my old ones looked new :mad:).

Goodgle all the DIY's and watch every Youtube video.
 

SoCalMike

Member
Dec 12, 2010
758
16
18
SoCal
I got cognito uca's, cognito braces, moog lower ball joints, oem pitman and idler arms with oem idler support, rare parts hd tie rods, and bilstien shocks all around.
did it all about 3 weeks ago.

i have been hearing/reading about moog arm snapping so i went with oem for the pitman and idler arms. added braces at the same time. ball joints i went with moog. and since i was taking everything apart i replaced my uca's with cognito's.

the only thing that was bad was my pitman/idler arms and drivers side lower ball joint but i did not want to take everything apart again so i did it all.
 

rms2012

New member
Dec 7, 2011
155
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Phoenix
^^^ Yeah, Mike - same here. Once is enough.

I'm not sure on where to buy the XRF parts (http://www.xrfchassis.com/parts-tierod.htm). They were with a set of tie-rod sleeves from a forum member here. The price was right and their reputation is excellent.

I'd go to the Dmax store for any of their suspension or steering components. Decent pricing and excellent lifetime warranty.
 

jcm

New member
Dec 15, 2012
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Just a heads up the pitman arm is a known pain in the ass on these trucks. I took a ball joint fork, heated it up and spread it a little bit( let it cool I didn't and burnt my gear box seal) it came off pretty easy with the tool
 

SoCalMike

Member
Dec 12, 2010
758
16
18
SoCal
this is what i did to get the pitman arm off. the bolt is a 5/8 x 18 x 2 grade 8 bolt and it fits in there with out taking anything apart. my pitman arm slid right off.
0123131849.jpg
 

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DIESELJUNKIE

New member
Aug 12, 2011
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Thanks for the info. Sorry its taken so long to post anything but life got in the way. Anyway I ended up with oem pitman and idler arms, supersteer tie rods and napa balljoints
 

flyinelvis11

Member
May 11, 2010
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VG, IL (because my wife does)
The last pitman arm I did I cut off but the one before that I took the steering shaft off and removed the bottom two steering box bolts and loosened the top one. I was able to rotate the box down to then get the puller on it
 

blk smoke lb7

<-----Lots of green $
Nov 8, 2010
5,694
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belvidere,ill
The last pitman arm I did I cut off but the one before that I took the steering shaft off and removed the bottom two steering box bolts and loosened the top one. I was able to rotate the box down to then get the puller on it

That sounds like a powersteering fluid mess.I can cut threw it with a metabo in less then a couple mins just nicks the splines sometimes.
 

THEFERMANATOR

LEGALLY INSANE
Feb 16, 2009
3,890
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ZEPHYRHILLS, FL
I take the 3 box bolts out and swing it to the side. Takes less than a minute to loosen it up and swing it over, then you can get the puller on it straight and pop it off. No need to take the lines or steering shaft loose when doing this.