[GirlfriendYJ]

i am having some retarded issues here...

i am trying to drill a YJ pitman arm to fit in a 5/8 bolt for my HEIM joints...cant get through this thing...did the first half alright...but now i am on the second part and not getting anywhere...there is more material the deeper i go because of the TRE...blah blah blah

do you think i just need a drill bit?

someone recommended a masonary bit?

any other tricks???

thanks...k

 

[GloNDark]

Drill press, low speed and cutting oil is what finally drilled my previous pitman arm out. Worked great. Much better than laying under the POS trying to drill it with hot drill shavings falling on you.

 

[GirlfriendYJ]

im thinking the arm isnt gonna wanna come off easy...

if possible i wanted to leave it on...that would work though...

i forget when i put this on how hard it was to get off....just taking the nut off and getting a puller? or more to it?

thanks for the quick reply...anyone else?

 

[Puffdragon]

you should drill from the smaller end to the bigger end of the taper. Otherwise, you will fry your Drill bit.

 

[mudtruck44]

you should drill from the smaller end to the bigger end of the taper. Otherwise, you will fry your Drill bit.

Fo sho!

 

[GloNDark]

you should drill from the smaller end to the bigger end of the taper. Otherwise, you will fry your Drill bit.

DOH! I forgot the most important part. On my buddies jeep we were able to cycle the steering all the way to the left and just barely get to it from the top.

As for pulling it off, you need a pitman arm puller. I've never had any luck getting the arm off with out it.

 

[GirlfriendYJ]

i would have done it from the top but it didnt look like i could get the drill in there....

i guess i will try again tomorrow and see if i can fit it in there...

 

[Eskimo]

pitman arms are EASY with impact tools.. Ig to a cheapy pitman arm puller from northern tools (like harbor freight) for $6, and it works fine for my pitman's that have been on for 30 years...

 

[randii]

Ideally, you might want to actually ream the hole to the exact size of your fastener. Drill bits can drift, and imprecise holes can wobble.

Ideally,

Randii

 

[rockmup]

Ream it to size. Drill bits do not drill round holes, they are three sided. Drill it undersize from the bottom side and then finnish it with a reamer. If you back cut the flutes it will cut like butter.
Good luck

 

[mjcj7]

Sometimes pitman arms are a whore to remove !!
I broke three pullers once on an old cj7.
Put as much pressure on the arm as you can (with ratchet or impact wrench) then give it a good smack with a hammer on the side and they pop rite off. Well the last couple I took off did.

 

[TN William]

I must be lucky. I drilled mine this week and it took less than 5 minutes. Good quality bit and s-l-o-w drill speed. Drilled from the bottom and it went right through.

 

[stumpjumper]

i'd recomend a countersink bit,i had to use one for mine.it bored the hole out like butter.you can get them just about anywhere.hardware stores,i think i got mine at sears.they are only like ten bucks maybe fifteen.

 

[rockmup]

ok I've got to ask. What are you doing with a countersink?

 

[GirlfriendYJ]

Ideally, you might want to actually ream the hole to the exact size of your fastener. Drill bits can drift, and imprecise holes can wobble.

Ideally,

Randii

i am using heims...not tierod ends....no point in reaming the hole

hmmm...maybe just have to pull the thing...

 

[Maine Jeepah]

AFAIK a reamer IS the proper way to enlarge an existing hole.
They are pricey though.

FWIW I drilled mine out on a drill press....from the small side.

Get a puller, hit the sector shaft with PB blaster for a few days, and tighten the puller as much as you can without breaking it, and hit the arm with a BFH or a air hammer.

Try not to heat it you'll kill the lower seal.

MJ

 

[GloNDark]

autozone rents the pullers. Grab the puller, yank it, drill it, throw it back on. It will be a much better hole for the bolt to go thru. Randii is right, any wobbling and it will eventually stress itself and break.

 

[ROKTOY]

i am using heims...not tierod ends....no point in reaming the hole

As Randii mentioned, a reamer is the way it really should be done. The bolt should not be a drop-in fit when done. Should be no play and almost a snug slide in.

Jay

 

[TNToy]

I agree with everyone whose posted so far. If you are NOT going to ream it, you can come close with a drill press by drilling it 1/8" or 1/16" undersized from the back, and then making one nice, quick pass from the rear.

IMO, Reaming may not be nessecary if you have a drill press and a vice bolted down to the saddle so nothing can shift. If you drill it out with a hand drill, you're just asking for trouble down the road.

I'm guessing also that you've just been drilling as fast as the hand drill can go, and cutting it dry? I don't even need to see it. It's not debateable: your drill bit is shot. Look at the corners of the tip - are they just slightly chewed/rounded? Thought so.

Drilling through steel at high speed creates lots of friction, which means heat. You end up work hardening the material you're trying to drill, becuase the heat is doing a ghetto-fab job of tempering the pitman as you go through... this is almost certainly why it's gotten so hard halfway through.

A buddy of mine was drilling a 3/8" steel plate for a winch mount. He killed two drill bits and fried his hand drill after half an hour on two holes. Brought it over and I slapped some cutting oil on the bit, and drilled right through it like it was wood at 650 RPM. :grinpimp:

As far as taking the pitman off, go rent a pitman arm puller from autozone. If you have air tools, it'll likely come right off. If not, spray it with penetrating oil before you leave for autozone. Come back, torque the hell out of it with a breaker bar, and hit square on the top of the puller's bolt... tighten some more, and repeat. This works for me pretty much every time.

 

[randii]

...If you are NOT going to ream it, you can come close...
Yeah, that's about right. That's why I kept hammering that word, IDEALLY, in my first post. Drill bits drift, regardless of how many points or flutes they have, or how rigid the fixture is... it is just their nature.

Ideally, steering should be tight and free of any slop. Ideally, it should be engineered to STAY that way. Drop the $50 or less that's required and have a shop ream the hole to size -- or better IMHO yet, use a tie rod end (TRE) that is designed to match the taper that is there. Any good parts store will have a dimensional cross-reference section in the back of a TRE catalog.

Still ideally,

Randii