Hey guys,
I'm a newbie to this forum and was hoping that I could get some advice on a small front end job I set out to do this afternoon.
My relay arm (on the idler end) is badly worn. I picked up an arm from O'Reilly's and have the truck ('88 2WD pickup) up on stands now. It just occurred to me that I might need a puller to remove the arm. I thought I'd ask before I tore into it.
Any help would be appreciated.

 

welcome. Yes a puller would help a ton. It would be worth your time to go borrow one from the parts store instead of beating everything to pieces with a hammer, though that method can work....

 

94svt50-
Thanks! That's exactly what I was looking for. I'll swing by the parts store and pick it up. I've done most of my own mechanical work for years, but have never had a need to do any front end work.
Much appreciated!

 

You won't need a puller to remove the Idler arm from the steering assembly. Just take a hammer and hit the drag link (toyota calls it a Relay Rod) on the end until the idler pops out. In this situation you could also hit the idler arm since you are replacing it, but normally would would NOT want to hit it, since it would damage the arm.

We use this technique at work at I can usually get them to pop free with 3-4 swings with zero damage to the steering.

 

Guys,
Thanks for the advice. I picked up the puller from the parts store (no charge) and everything came off pretty much by the book. I probably could have gotten it off with a hammer, but there wasn't much space to swing in. No matter, it all went back together just fine. The truck steers far better now. I hadn't realized how much it had degraded. It was okay on the pitman end, but the idler end was trashed. I noticed on the new part that the ball on the idler end was REALLY tight. I couldn't move it by hand easily. I wonder if Toyota had problems with this part.
Anyway, thanks again!