pitman arm puller at Autozone

[mrbreezeet1]

So I brought and paid for it on line, just the cheepie $10.00 one.
Good for pulling small bearing and the like.
Said it was in stock.
I get up there, he id giving me this one in a dirty greasy box.
I said what, is it used.
He says all smart like, "Tool rental item" (This was the manager)
So I thought OK what the hell.
Then the end where the point was, was kind of messed up, I told the other guy that was waiting on me to order me one.
I thought that was sort of BS.
I paid for a new one, I should get a new one.

 

[jacked_72]

It is. Return it and buy a new one. I used the HF version last night and it worked fine.

 

[Ign]

We broke one years ago in the first day. Manager refused return w receipt, said we had used air tool on it. Can't remember if we did, probably.

It was clear to me after that this style cannot be strong enough for pitman arms (I know OP said small bearings, could work for that). I ordered the Snap On/OTC style after that and never looked back.

 

[alvoski]

Former manager at Autozone.

That tool is one of the loaner tools. Specialty tools that autozpne rents out to people. The stock number is the same as the new tool.

Sometime I would get a customer who wanted a new tool to actually buy and keep. Some of the tools are on the self in the tool aisle. Any others can be ordered. Or you can call around to have a store transfer one to your local store. We would occasionally get new tools in the loaner stock.

 

[Harry_Bahrrs]

Buy the one from Advance. Im sure its the same one that Autozone sells under a different brand name anyway. The $15 tool form Advance pops out out tie rod ends all day - like nobody's business.

 

[mrbreezeet1]

It is. Return it and buy a new one. I used the HF version last night and it worked fine.

I never took it, I had him get me a new one for today.

We broke one years ago in the first day. Manager refused return w receipt, said we had used air tool on it. Can't remember if we did, probably.
Really should be able to use an Impact on it, but probably not the most heavy duty tool made....

It was clear to me after that this style cannot be strong enough for pitman arms (I know OP said small bearings, could work for that). I ordered the Snap On/OTC style after that and never looked back.

Former manager at Autozone.
I understand what you are saying, will just be for light duty things.
That tool is one of the loaner tools. Specialty tools that autozpne rents out to people. The stock number is the same as the new tool.

Sometime I would get a customer who wanted a new tool to actually buy and keep. Some of the tools are on the self in the tool aisle. Any others can be ordered. Or you can call around to have a store transfer one to your local store. We would occasionally get new tools in the loaner stock.

Yeah, they did not have the $10.00 one on the shelf. But it did say online it was in stock. I had borrowed it last week to pull the bearings on a jointer cutterhead. Worked quite well.
Tried to use it on a craftsman motor (The loaner one) but the reach was a bit too short.

Buy the one from Advance. Im sure its the same one that Autozone sells under a different brand name anyway. The $15 tool form Advance pops out out tie rod ends all day - like nobody's business.

Could very well be. Oh well, already brought this one.
BFH pops tie rod ends out too....lol.


This one from Grizzly is said to be decent for bearings and pulleys and the like.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00C7UFFQK/?tag=atomicindus08-20

 

[mrbreezeet1]

The one they ordered for me was from tool loaner program too.
It was worse than the 1st one.
They were going to make sure they got me a brand new one, but I paid the difference and got this one for $30.00.
Better suited to my uses.
http://www.autozone.com/autozone/accessories/OEM-Jaw-puller/_/N-255s?itemIdentifier=141513

 

[Buckgnarly]

The one they ordered for me was from tool loaner program too.
It was worse than the 1st one.
They were going to make sure they got me a brand new one, but I paid the difference and got this one for $30.00.
Better suited to my uses.
http://www.autozone.com/autozone/accessories/OEM-Jaw-puller/_/N-255s?itemIdentifier=141513

You're pulling pitman arms with that!?!

 

[mrbreezeet1]

So I brought and paid for it on line, just the cheepie $10.00 one.
Good for pulling small bearing and the like.

 

[theknurl]

You're pulling pitman arms with that!?!

exactly......look in the OTC or Snap On catalogs for what a real one looks like

Harry_Bahrrs;
there's a big difference between tie rod ends and pitman arms as to force required...

I use a pickle fork on tie rods, use a puller on pitman arms
I use a pickle fork on ball joints too

don't forget, you're changing the tie rod ends/ball joints for new ones and you don't want to screw the steering box up

 

[Denwad]

current autozone employee here

they are actually two different tools. There is one on the shelf that comes in a plastic blister pack for 10$

then there is a loan-a-tool that comes in a cardboard box for 15$

it sounds like what happened is you bought a tool that showed as 1 QOH when there actually wasn't one ( inventory discrepancy, or shrink ) and the manager was probably trying to smooth things over by offering the loan a tool instead.

Or he doesn't quite know what he is doing.

Our store will order you a new tool if you want to keep it. We've even had people loan out a tool, realize they want to keep it, and then order a new one which we swap out.

 

[ex-x-fire]

This is what a typical pitman arm puller looks like.

 

[Harry_Bahrrs]

exactly......look in the OTC or Snap On catalogs for what a real one looks like

Harry_Bahrrs;
there's a big difference between tie rod ends and pitman arms as to force required...

I use a pickle fork on tie rods, use a puller on pitman arms
I use a pickle fork on ball joints too

don't forget, you're changing the tie rod ends/ball joints for new ones and you don't want to screw the steering box up

Im not trying to argue or disagree with you as my experience is limited to the handful of cars that I've done over the years. But these two have worked great for me in my recent experience with tie rods and ball joints:

For outer tie rods, the Autocraft AC3370 pops them out with ease:
http://shop.advanceautoparts.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_pitman-arm-puller-autocraft_10449354-p?searchTerm=puller

For lower ball joints, the bigger version, Autocraft AC567 has worked awesome for me:
http://shop.advanceautoparts.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/PartSearchCmd?storeId=10151&catalogId=10051&pageId=partTypeList&suggestion=&actionSrc=Form&langId=-1&searchTerm=puller&vehicleIdSearch=284603&searchedFrom=header

These two are $15 and $18 respectively at Advance. For a DIY Joe, I would recommend taking advantage of one of Advance's 40% coupons and throwing these two in the tool box. They will easily pay for themselves after a couple times of use.

 

[pepi]

You're pulling pitman arms with that!?!

I thought the same thing, must be a joke in there somewhere I have missed.

 

[mrbreezeet1]

current autozone employee here

they are actually two different tools. There is one on the shelf that comes in a plastic blister pack for 10$

then there is a loan-a-tool that comes in a cardboard box for 15$

it sounds like what happened is you bought a tool that showed as 1 QOH when there actually wasn't one ( inventory discrepancy, or shrink ) and the manager was probably trying to smooth things over by offering the loan a tool instead.

Or he doesn't quite know what he is doing.

no, they had the one on the shelf for $15.00.
The one in there tool loaner shelf was the $10.00 one, it had the number on it. Same with the one from the other store.
They were in a (dirty) box.
Can you imagine a place ordering a tool, and the other store sending a used one.
The point was all smashed down on the 2nd one, the one the other store sent.
She ordered me a brand new $10.00 one, but I decided not to get it, and got the one linked to above.
Remember, I wanted this for motor bearings and motor pulleys.
I very seldom ever needed a puller for tie rod ends or ball joints.
Pitman arms, yes, thats another story.

Edit, maybe it was the $15.00 one in the box, but I thought it had the $10.00 number on it. Now you got me wondering.
I do know there was a $15.00 one in a blister pac on the shelf.
They did not have the $10.00 one in a blister pac on the shelf. (Just the,well actually 2 different) $15.00 ones.
I might still go get the $10.00 new one they get in, just to have it.
She did say it was going on the tool loaner shelf.
almost like they do not stock the $10.00 one

 

[monster1]

I rented one to pull the pitman arm on my dodge 2500. Worked just fine even though all the forums said it wouldn't.

 

[BJ42LX]

This is what a typical pitman arm puller looks like.

Hey, I've got one of those. I guess I didn't know it had a specific use.