66 K10 steering slop

[VetteC10]

Hope some one can help to direct me to a diagram or video of how to fix this. I have a lot of free play in my steering and I traced it to the photo attached. I'm not well versed in 4x4, so what is this part called. It is really lose and looks like three of the four bolts are stripped and won't tighten. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[pimpston65]

Originally Posted by VetteC10

Hope some one can help to direct me to a diagram or video of how to fix this. I have a lot of free play in my steering and I traced it to the photo attached. I'm not well versed in 4x4, so what is this part called. It is really lose and looks like three of the four bolts are stripped and won't tighten. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

that's the pitman arm. the bolts have inner shells and are difficult to remove. I've seen folks use heat to remove the old...

[Captainfab]

That is the steering arm. The pitman arm is on the steering box. Those bolts should have tapered sleeves where they pass thru the steering arm. If the threads in the top of the knuckle are stripped, you will have to either install heli-coils or replace the knuckle

[VetteC10]

Yes, they do have tapered sleeves, I was able to get two of them out pretty easy, but the other two are just turning. I will try to apply some pressure to them today. Is there anything under there once I get it off? Just want to know what to expect as I disassemble.

[Nanook]

Maybe this will help...

[61K10]

there should be studs in there, not bolts. There is a boss underneath (bottom) of the bolts that fits into the knuckle bearing. Being loose the bearing is probably toast. There is a top and bottom bearing. plus shims that need to go back in the same way as they came out.

[VetteC10]

Thanks, that diagram helps.

Definitely has bolts and not studs, so previous owner must have been messing with it. I don't see the bearing in the diagram.

Any special tools needed for this job?

[Nanook]

In the diagram 15 and 16 are the bearing and cone

[VetteC10]

Thanks, will see if I can get it apart this weekend.

Would I need to special order those studs, or do you think something common that my local auto parts store would have?

[61K10]

Here's a couple of pics with the hubs removed. bearings on top and bottom of knuckle

[VetteC10]

Great pics, yours are a lot cleaner then mine.

[61K10]

lol--thats before the axle was removed striped-gear change/posi/disc set-up. took me 4yrs to get it where I'm at--still not done.

[VetteC10]

ok, so I finally got back to working on this. The threads on the steering knuckle were stripped, so I repaired them and got it fastened down. BUT, there is still play, so based on earlier comment, would this be due to the bearings being shot?

if so, how hard to replace them. Can I just lift off the steering arm and replace, or does the axle need to be removed as well?

[61K10]

how did you replace the threads? everything has to come apart to replace the bearings. same as my pis as you need to replace the bearing races also. where is the play? With steering arm tight there should be no play in it. If talking moving the hub and there is play in the knuckle, yes bearings.