gonzo14

As you can see from the pictures below, I am trying to remove my power steering control valve, and having a rough time doing it. I read all of the tech articles on this forum, and no luck so far. As you can see, it is not "rust seized", so in all likelyhood, it should just pop off, right??? Well, it isnt happening as easily as I thought. I removed all of the power steering lines from the valve, and tryed using a pickle fork, with rubber mallet (as I do not want to harm the other tie rods in any way), and tryed to pry it off with a large bar. It will not budge. The only thing I can see is the the control valve is at an angle, caused by the pitman arm on top of it. Is this normal??? ANY help at all would be appreciated. I want to remove this and my steering box and get them rebuilt (steering box is leaking grease). Thanks!!!!!!!!!!!!

SteveG75

I squeeze a tie rod separator in there and it pops loose very easily.

I use one of these, cheap at Autozone.


The lever kind works well as well.

manofsteel1

Hey all of you out there.......help this guy out. I can't because I never done this before, but I'm sure some you have.

gonzo14

Thanks, I tried to get a tie rod separator in their, will not fit, at least when I worked on it last night for a couple of hours. It looks just like the pic you have posted. If I can get a smaller separator, I think that might work. Otherwise, the castle nut came off fine, was not over tightened on the valve, so it should come right off, right???

Gonzo

7T1vette

Another 'tried-n-true' approach is to turn the castle nut upside-down and install it back on the ballstud threads. Turn until the outer surface of the nut is just flush with the end of the stud. Then turn a hammer on its side and give that nut/stud a good solid whack with the hammer. It should break loose.

P.S. Using a rubber mallet on steering system stuff might be "nice"...but it won't put enough force on anything to disassemble it.

gonzo14

Thank you, I will get my "mini" sledge out (guaranteed to break bones!! LOL) and give a a great WHACK!! Will try your method since I have not heard of it before. Will let you all know what kind of damage happens, if any.

P.S. Better fill out my will before working on this method, since it sounds VERY DEADLY!! LOL LOL

Gonzo!!

AR71Stingray

I am no expert but I have just completed a front end rebuild of my 1971 and as part of the process replaced the power steering hoses, piston and valve due to leaks and age. It will be a lot easier to separate the components if you drop the entire steering unit. I used an air hammer with a pickle fork attachment but I was planning on replacing all of the components. I wouldn't recommend that if you want to save the grease boots or reuse the components. Another reason to drop the entire unit is that you'll have an opportunity to clean up the various components. I'd finally recommend Willcox for your parts. They are great to deal with. Good luck with your project.

gonzo14

Thanks for the suggestion, I really dont want to mess with the other components, since I remember about 20 years back that a mechanic friend of mine was able to remove the control valve with EASE, when I needed it repaired, and nothing else was touched. So I know I must be doing something wrong, or performing it the wrong way. I am going to rebuild both valve and steering gear. Everything else came off with ease, flex coupling, 3 bolts for gear, even the large 1 5/16 nut that holds the pitman to gear. But now am just trying to deal with which end of the pitman arm will come off the easiest. It looks like its kind of binding at both ends, but I dont think the pitman arm is bent or anything like that, the bottom of the car is restored, and looks just as good as the top of it. I thought this would be Fun, like when I changed the rear end bearings (which was actually fun, just tedious). Any other suggestions would be great, if it is something different than was already mentioned. thanks guys!!! You all are the best!!!

Gonzo!!

Rebelrob

Gonzo, I just did this last week. I could not remove the pitman arm from the steering box. SO.... I took the castle nut off of the ps valve in order to remove the pitman arm from the ps valve. Well it was on there good, but not seized since I installed a new ps valve about a year or so ago. I took out all but one of the frame bolts that hold the steering box in place. Then I got my pickle fork tool and shoved it between the pitman arm and the steering box where they come together as if I was trying to remove the pitman arm from the steering box. I gave it a few good whacks,, not very hard from the back side. Meaning I had the fork tool pointing at the front of the car as I was laying underneath where the dashboard would be. It popped the ps valve off of the pitman arm and I pulled the entire steering box out with the pitman arm attached. You can then remove the pitman arm once you have it out of the car.

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gonzo14

I havent heard of this idea before either, but it sounds good. From what you are saying, the vibration alone will pop it loose at the valve point. And this is by hitting the fork against the bottom of the gear part of the pitman arm. I never would have thought of that, but will try it and take out 2 frame bolts and leave the 3rd in. Does it matter which frame bolts to remove??? Thanks

Gonzo

Rebelrob

The one bolt keeps the steering box from moving/flopping around. Honestly this happened to me by mistake. I was doing my best to get that pitman arm off the steering box. I know it had been on there for probably almost 30 years so I figured it was siezed. After my failed attempts with the fork tool I went to go back to the ps valve and pitman arm and to my surprise it was seperated. See , I could not use the pitman arm remover tool from autozone, because my header tube was in the way. If your rebuilding the ps valve as well, u might not be so worried about marking it all up.

gonzo14

True, thats why I dont care what happens to the valve, since both are getting rebuilt. Thanks for explaining!!! And for the help!!! I will let you all know what method works after it is done.

Gonzo

SanDiegoPaul

I is an air chisel with a fork to remove these.

Roco71

This is one of the few things that has gone easily for me. I just used a pickle fork and tapped it twice with a real hammer(no rubber).

SanDiegoPaul

if yours came out that easily, it sounds to me that the taper – fit of the parts was not correct. It should not be that loose.

Roco71

Not loose… just did not take a lot of beating. Nothing like the shock mounts.

gonzo14

I think the "mini" sledge might work out better than the craftsman rubber mallet!! I just didnt want to harm things under their, since it was completely redone. I will try hitting it again tonight with the several methods mentioned, and report back to all of you tomorrow or Friday with the results. I will not give up until the front suspension completely breaks!!

"GIT UR DONE!!!" LOL

Gonzo!!

billsfan

I used a pickle fork with a 2 lb. hammer. In order to get enough room to swing the hammer hard enough, I turned the steering wheel all the way to the right, and got at the joint thru the wheelwell. Plenty of room to line the fork up and give it a good whack or five!.

gonzo14

WHACK!!! LOL Everyone is stating WHACK on this thread....LOL LOL LOL. It makes me wonder if anyone is really concerned about their car. "Hey, my kid got out of line last night, what should I have done"?? Reply: "Give him a good WHACK or two!!" "If that doesnt work, use an air hammer on him!!!" LOL LOL LOL

Just tryin' to be a comedian with those remarks!!

You guys gave me a lot of great ideas to try, and I really appreciate your hard work and this forum!!!

Gonzo!!

SteveG75

Yeah, it is a little tight in there. There is one sweet spot where there is enough room to get the separator on. (Remember to put the castle nut on backwards to protect the threads/locate the separator). Then I had to use an open end wrench to turn the separator. Now I use a ratchetting box wrench. There is no room for conventional ratchet/socket combo.

If you can find a lever type separator, they work a little easier.