Would bad idler/pitman arms cause 3 and 9 o'clock wheel play?
 

Hey everyone! New member here. Just bought a '97 Blazer LT 4x4 with 165k on it and I am really glad there is this forum. I have a question regarding play in the steering linkage. I just replaced both driver and passenger sides with brand new inner and outer tie rod ends along with adjusting sleeves and after installation I notice that there is still a ton of play when pushing/pulling each wheel at 3 and 9 O'clock positions. The 12 and 6 positions are solid when pulled so no issues with ball joints or anything. I actually only replaced the tie rod assembly on each wheel due to noticing the play at 3 and 9 beforehand and thought that would remedy the issue. Now i can actually still see a ton of movement on the center link despite the replacement. I have never owned an suv before so dealing with idler and pitman arms is new to me. I am wondering if both of these were bad, would that enable the wheels to have the play in them while performing the 3 and 9 o'clock test? Would they mimic the play indicative of bad tie rod ends?

Wear in any one of the steering components would cause play at 3-9 o'clock position. This includes the idler & pitman arm connections and both the inner & outer tie rod ends on either side. If the play is uniform, from one side of the vehicle to the other, I would suspect the idler/pitman arm joints and/or a sloppy steering gear.

Brock, did changing the pitman solve your 3 and 9 problem? I have a 98 with same issue, and getting ready to change tie rods myself. Would like to know what I'm in store for if that doesn't remove play. Would there be visible play at pitman (or idler) connection during 3 9 test? How long did it take you to change out the tie rods? Thanks for any comments...

@ Brock,, when your checking for that play in the front end, do you have both front wheels off the ground or one side at a time?if you jack up one side at a time, it will make it a whole lot easier to see where the play actually is, if you have to lay on the ground while someone strong enough can move the wheel back and forth while you look at the parts.. The idler arm should have no up and down play or the pitman arm joint.. The centerlink could also be bad.. where in central NY are you located? also you said theer was no play in the ball joints. these blazers are KNOWN for bad ball joints!! dont kid yourself into thinking they may not be bad,, when i found my ball joints to be bad was two ways, jack up one side at a time get the wheel about 2" off the ground -get a pry bad or something stong that wont bend and slip it under the tire, lift slowly with enough leverage ( you`ll prob need someone to do that also while you look underneath.. also when i shook my tire at 12-6 nuttin showed up till i moved the tire at like 11-5.. check both ways.. my lower ball joints were shot to hell, had all 4 replaced, the only thing left to change on mine is my Hub bearings that are whining like Amy Winehouse in a bar with no alkeyhall. lol, good luck let us know what ya find..

@ Pzaner,, Changing tie rod ends in a driveway without the proper tools can take forever, you need a tie rod breaker tool, a big hammer wrenches snips to remove the cotter pins if it has them on the studs. When i replaced mine on my 02 I wound up just replacing the centerlink also at the same time, it made it a hell of alot easier.. i did all four rods and new sleeves.make sure you grease up the new parts really good with good grease..

@swartlkk, Thanks for the advice. Changed out the idler arm because that was the only other steering linkage component that I could see that had any play in it and the play went away.

@Pzaner, I'll second what 2002XTREME said in regards to it taking forever w/out the proper tools. I wrestled with trying to get a puller around the inner tie rod stud forever because of little clearance and finally I managed to pop them out after having to literally cut the protruding part of the stud off to get the puller in there to turn. (not recommended) Better to replace the entire inner/outer/sleeve on each side as a whole vs. just inners or outers. That adjusting sleeve looks like it'd be a nightmare to unscrew one or the other out of it.

@2002XTREME, Thanks for the heads up about the ball joints. The originals (both upper and lower) had already been replaced by the previous owner as evidenced by nut and bolt mounting hardware vs. the factory rivets. I discovered later that on both lower joints, the mounting bolts were so loose that they were turning freely. I tightened them bastards up and the clunking I previously heard when driving forward or in reverse went away. I am not sure that because of the loose hardware bolts, if it may have caused severe damage to the ball joints but when testing it with one wheel only off the ground, I don't get any play from pushing/pulling at 6/12 or from using a pry bar under the wheel. My guess is they could be bad and tightening the hardware provided a temporary relief from clunking. It's hard to tell. I need to have it aligned so I am sure the alignment shop will tell me if they are bad. I live in the Utica area and all that road salt does a number on every car here after a few years. Wish they designed road-salt resistant models for us Northeasterners haha.