Changing the bell crank on a P-30 chassis

[30yrnavy]

I have a 97 Winnebago Warrior on a P-30 chassis. As in most cases with this chassis the bushings in the driver's side bell crank are worn and causing sloppy steering. I'm replacing it with a Super Steer bell crank. I got one from Precision Frame & Alignment e-Store in Elk River, Minnesota for $265 and $14.25 shipping. I attempt most repair tasks myself before resigning to pay someone else to do it. I guess it's an ego thing, along with trying to save some money. This is one of those one hour jobs that's turning into one week. Does that ring a bell with anyone? I started out buying a 1 1/8" socket (largest I had was 1") so that I could torque the nut on the new bell crank after I had it installed. That's called getting the cart before the horse. Note: I haven't removed the old bell crank yet. Next I go to Harbor Freight and buy a pickle fork (wedge) to wedge the relay arm off the bell crank. The pickle fork inside width was 15/16" (tie rod wedge). Now I'm ready to begin the one hour task. I turn the front wheels to the far left and lock the wheels to have plenty of room to work. I remove the bell crank nut with a large adjustable wrench. Things are going great and I have a smile on my face. Now all I have to do is put the pickle fork between the bell crank and relay arm, take a couple swings with my four pound sledge hammer(which I also bought for this task) and the relay arm will pop loose. What? The pickle fork is too narrow! Realized the pickle fork I needed was a "pitman arm wedge" which has a 1 1/8" diameter. Didn't have one and they cost much more. But I do have a grinder. Proceeded to grind the inside of the tie rod wedge to make it 1 1/8". Piece of cake. Placed it between the bell crank and relay arm and it fit perfectly. Now all I had to do was make those two or three strikes with the hammer and loosen the relay rod. I'm still happy...saving money doing it myself and can't wait to tell my wife that I saved about $70 (minus the $22 for the tools I had to buy). I pick up the hammer to make the first swing. That's when I remembered I have a bit of arthritis in my right elbow. But I'm a man, I can do it. After about the first 2-3 hard swings I was able to hit the pickle bar. As a matter of fact, I hit that pickle bar head-on about 10-12 times before my arm gave out. The relay arm didn't budge. I removed the pickle bar and looked at the wedge end. It was getting smashed up and I knew I'd never buy a tool like that from Harbor Freight again. It may as well have been made of aluminum. What to try next. Went to Autozone and rented a Pitman Arm puller for $14. If I didn't break it I could get my $14 back, or I could just keep it. Finally, a solution to removing the relay arm. Got home, got under the motorhome and wouldn't you believe it, the puller wouldn't fit around the relay arm. My smile is now gone and my wife is silent...lucky for her. What to do today? Take the socket and puller back for refunds.  I'll have to eat the tie rod wedge, but I'm sure I'll need the four pound sledge hammer sometime again in the future (couldn't get the scratches out). Found a place that will do the job for $70 (so they say) on Monday. Geeze...I hate having to do that. But right now I'm going to take a Motrin for my sore elbow.

 

[Water Dog]

Great story Bill, I'll bet every one on here has been somewhere near that kind of situation more than once....part of the adventure you might say. A little trick on front end parts I learned many many years ago is "oil of wintergreen". You used to be able to buy small bottles at the old Rexal drug stores. It's been so many years, I'm not sure if it's still available. Anyway the shop I used to work for would keep some in a warmed pressurized sparay container just for that. (I've used it cold as well) you just spray or dump it in to those parts, then wait about an hour or two...then use the pickle fork. In my experience, it didn't take much of a hit afterward. Anyway, for $70 I think I would let someone else get the broken knuckles.

 

[30yrnavy]

Dennis, Thanks for jogging my feeble memory. I've never heard of the stuff you mentioned but I do have WD-40 which I use quite often to loosen rusty bolts and such. I ripped out the rubber grease seal between the bell crank and the relay arm so I could sprayed a bunch of WD-40 in there. Then I rented a good quality Pitman Arm Separator from Autozone. After the WD-40 had a chance to soak for a couple of hours I put the separator in there and gave it 3-4 good hits with the sledge hammer and the relay arm popped loose! The rest of the job will be easy. Fortunately, I hadn't returned the 1 1/8" socket for a refund. I hope to finish the job tomorrow if it stops raining long enough. My elbow is sore as hell though!

 

[Water Dog]

From what I've read on the forum.....you can fix anything with WD-40....! lol

 

[34footer]

Yes, Oil of Wintergreen is still available at your local drug stores. I bought mine at
Rite-Aid. WD-40 works great also for many things. ;D
J

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

Sounds like one of my projects. I enjoy doing repairs myself, but a 15 minute job always ends up 2 hours and an hour job is a full day - or two.  And like you, I'm fed up with cheap tools. They always break or bend and I end up buying the good one in addition to the cheap one. You'd think I'd learn after 50+ years, but I still hate to spend big bucks on a tool I'll only use once.

I got a deal on a Harbor Freight oil filter wrench several months ago. They had a big one for the huge filter on my Cummins ISL ON SALE! Changed the oil a couple weeks ago and applied my shiny new wrench. Gave it a tug and it popped apart at the welds on the band that goes around the filter. Of course, I had long ago thrown away the receipt, so that was $7 down the toilet.  I got out my trusty old strap wrench and 1/2" ratchet and had that filter off in about 3 minutes. I kept the broken filter wrench hanging in my shop to remind me that cheap tools are a waste of money.

 

[Water Dog]

"My elbow is sore as hell though!"

They say wintergreen is good for muscle and ligament aches also, but I'm not sure I would try WD-40...

 

[30yrnavy]

But those cheap tools look so pretty when they're new...and you can't beat the price. Each time I buy one I say to myself...this ones gotta work. Once in a while I'm able to complete a job with one. I too hate paying a lot more for a tool that I'll probably use only once. One thing I did learn from this task...next time I need a special tool I'll check with the parts houses first to see if they have one that I can rent and return for a full refund. I like Garys' idea of hanging the cheap, broken tools in the garage as a reminder. I'm going to start with the tie-rod separator. Who knows I may need to try it again just one more time in the future before I have to give up and get a better one! I know...I'll lend it to my neighbor who's always borrowing my tools. I just hope I don't end up with too many of those tools hanging on my wall. I'm going to Rite-Aid today to get some of that Oil of Wintergreen. I've already accidently sprayed or splashed enough WD-40 on me that I know it doesn't help sore muscles. Sounds like you can kill two birds with one stone with that Wintergreen.