Removing the pitman arm from your Chevy K1500 requires a pitman arm puller as the arm-to-sector shaft clearance is extremely tight. The arm is not quite a press fit, but it is so tight that you cannot drive or pry the arm off the steering box. You can heat the arm with a torch to expand it, but you will still need to press it off the shaft with the puller. A pitman arm puller can be rented at most auto parts stores if you do not have one.
Locate the pitman arm under the front of the truck on the driver's side. The tie rod is attached to the lower portion of the pitman arm and the steering box sector shaft on the upper portion.
Remove the cotter pin from the tie rod end with a pair of pliers and discard it. Place a socket and ratchet on the tie rod nut and rotate it counterclockwise, removing the nut from the tie rod end.
Place a tie rod separator between the tie rod end and the pitman arm. Drive the separator in with a hammer, forcing the tie rod end out of the pitman arm. Lay the tie rod aside.
Locate the nut on the end of the sector shaft at the top end of the pitman arm. Place a socket and breaker bar on the nut and turn it counterclockwise to free the nut, then replace the breaker bar with a socket and remove the nut from the shaft.
Place the two arms from a pitman arm puller on the pitman arm directly below the sector shaft. Turn the shaft in the center of the puller clockwise with a socket and ratchet, forcing the pitman arm off the sector shaft.
