A bad or failing pitman arm can cause your vehicle to not respond appropriately when you turn the wheel. Not only can it have lots of play, it can be highly inaccurate or seem to have a mind of its own while you are driving down the road.

Do pitman arms wear out?

The Pitman arm is used every single time you turn the steering wheel (whether the engine is running or not). ... The most common type of wear and tear for the Pitman arm is actually to the ball socket located at the end of the arm. Like all other ball joints, this one will eventually wear out and need to be replaced.

Does a bad pitman arm make noise?

Pitman wouldn't make a sound like that. Worst noise it would make would be a "clunk" sound when turning the wheel left/right, usually at a stop or moving very slowly. Your sound is more of a rotational noise somewhere in the driveline.