I just purchased these support brackets from Cognito. Looks like a set of box end wrenches is the best tool for the job. Can anyone tell me the size of the nuts which hold the the pittman and idler arm on? These far exceed the wrenches I currently have. Also, any idea what the corrrect torque on these are? Will probably have to judge it, there is no way to get a torque wrench on this.--Thanks Ken

IIRC, 1 5/16 inch for the pittman. I didn't have a wrench that big, so had to run out and get one. Wasn't cheap buying it by itself, especially considering how often it is going to get used.

Idler wasn't near as big.

1 5/16" works for the pitman, use a socket with a breaker bar to loosen.
Trick to getting at the pitman nut is, 3 bolts on power steering box, remove bottom 2 & loosen the top one, then you can rotate the box upward towards the rear of truck. just be careful with the steering linkage when rotating, try not to push to far
torque-pitman arm nut-184ft. lbs, I have never got to that, think 172 was the max
steering box bolts--95ft lbs
Idler arm nut--70 ft lbs.

Noreaster,
Thanks for the tip. It looks like the pittman has to be placed back and aligned in its final resting position to be able to torque down the bottom bolt so the brace is finally aligned correctly. If this is the case, I'll have to find a 1 5/16 box end wrench to do this. Perhaps someone who has done this can chime in. Your tip for removing the bottom bolt is a good one.

Thanks Ken

Ken, I didn't have to move anything while installing the pitman support. I just put the wrench on, removed the nut, installed brace, and then replaced the nut. Maybe I got lucky, in that I was able to get that big wrench up there, and have room to turn it?

I also didn't use a torque wrench when putting the nut back. SOTP, just tightened it back as tight about as tight as it felt it was when I removed it. Been on over a year now with no issues.

Just my experience, not my recommendation.

I'd also recommend checking the pitman/idler arms for slop prior to installing the supports. While the supports will take the slop out of a worn set of joints, it would be best to start with a fresh joint w/o slop...