generally speaking...how much might this cost ? The guy @ Big O, said ballpark approx. $500. I looked on line and parts are about $ 60 total.

Does this sound right ?

 

thats crazy. yeah parts arent that much. youll need a pitman arm puller. unless youre really lucky and can get it off with a hammer. the idler is held on by two bolts. and you need a pickle fork to disconnect the idler and pitman arm from the drag link. again possible with a hammer. in a shop they shouldnt have any problem knocking that out in less then a hour. i can do it in around a hour on the garage floor taking my time. i dont know where the hell they got 500 from. worse case scenario you might need a alignment too

 

did you ever get it done? i remembered this post as i was doing a pitman and idler arm on a 95 tahoe. they are kinda a pain but still not 500 dollars worth. theres a crossmember directly under the pitman arm bolt. but you just take the three bolts out the gear box and tip it sideways. really only ads maybe 3 more minutes

 

while i never read this thread 'til just now, i sure hope he didn't drop he coin @ that shop for it.

word of advice to the OP............whenever repairing steering or braking components, always replace with the parts with the best components you can find. if it means waiting another week to get some more cash to install a Moog or Spicer component vs some off-shore-China-crap, then wait-so long as it's safe to do so.