Brand new idler arm, lots of play

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mopower440

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Rebuilt the whole front end of my '72 dart and the idler has all this up and down play in the mounting bracket.. I can wiggle the wheel back and forth and make the idler move up and down within its mounting bracket..i know this can NOT be normal..I have a video but dont know how to get it here..i tried to do it like i would to add a photo but said the file was too large.
 
Did the new idler come with any shims or spacers? Some do. Did the old idler fit tightly in the bracket? If it didn’t, the bracket itself may be bent. Did you compare the new idler arm to the old one? Quality control on some of the new reproduction stuff is pretty bad.
 
looks like 2 styles, do you have a through nub at the chassis end or is it flat? If its moving up and down, it it moving on the mount bolt or within the bearing end?
 
I had a early build 73 that would eat Moog idlers . Always used the washers included. Guy at the parts store started getting familiar with me. The very last one i put on was finally a good one that lasted . Never figured out why they kept going bad. Crossmember wasn't bent and it didn't have header contact. Moog makes excellent stuff but that always bugged me.
 
pishta said:
looks like 2 styles, do you have a through nub at the chassis end or is it flat? If its moving up and down, it it moving on the mount bolt or within the bearing end?
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Its moving up and down on the bolt between the bracket..like its not thick enough or needs a shim. I bought it from rock auto
 
Well, RockAuto has good and let's say not so good parts. On suspension, steering, and brakes I would not go the cheapest way.
 
wonder if you'd have better luck with the lower pic "Mevotech" model. Can you put a washer in yours and shim it up?
917_XRF%20CHASSIS_K7042_1__ra_p.jpg


s-l500.jpg
 
OL DODGE said:
I had a early build 73 that would eat Moog idlers . Always used the washers included. Guy at the parts store started getting familiar with me. The very last one i put on was finally a good one that lasted . Never figured out why they kept going bad. Crossmember wasn't bent and it didn't have header contact. Moog makes excellent stuff but that always bugged me.
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Moog may have made “excellent stuff” in the past, but it’s been a few years since I’ve seen a moog part I would install on my car. Their bushings don’t fit, their ball joints and tie rod ends range from loose and sloppy to ridiculously tight, they’ve recalled stuff and changed factory locations. Nope. I wouldn’t let someone pay me to run Moog parts now.

I’ve had excellent success with parts made by Proforged. I don’t have an idler from them, but their lower ball joints and bushings are good, and better than their Moog counterparts.
 
This isn't a recent problem. Back in the 1980s I put a new idler arm on the GTS. Within a few miles (maybe when installed) it was sloppy. It was probably a Moog, but may have been McQuay-Norris...
 
Jim Lusk said:
This isn't a recent problem. Back in the 1980s I put a new idler arm on the GTS. Within a few miles (maybe when installed) it was sloppy. It was probably a Moog, but may have been McQuay-Norris...
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Bad parts is bad parts. Seems like they used to make more good than bad, but like I said it’s been a few years since I saw anything Moog I would even consider putting on my car.

For the OP, it would be helpful to know the answers to the other questions. It doesn’t matter where the idler came from, did it match the old one? Did the old one fit?

Can you post a picture?
 
Are you torking to specs? I didn't and it loosened up. FSM on my 68 I believe was 65Lbs ?
 
I found that I needed to use washers to shim it tight. The pivot bushing was fine, it just had too much free play on the bolt. And to answer the question, yes, I have a 67, but it has a reinforced 68 K-frame so has the through-bolt idler.
 
mvh said:
I found that I needed to use washers to shim it tight. The pivot bushing was fine, it just had too much free play on the bolt. And to answer the question, yes, I have a 67, but it has a reinforced 68 K-frame so has the through-bolt idler.
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ya, looks like a washer to shim it may fix it, the bushing is fine. As far as the old one, it was worn out so i didnt pay much attention to it.
 
mopower440 said:
ya, looks like a washer to shim it may fix it, the bushing is fine. As far as the old one, it was worn out so i didnt pay much attention to it.
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Always best to be in the habit of comparing the new parts to the old parts, worn out or not.

In this case, if the old one fit you'd know for sure that the bracket was ok. In a side by side comparison, if the new idler body was shorter you'd know you either have the wrong part, or would need a shim. Or if the old one was shimmed you'd know that's probably what you'd need to do on the new one. A quick side-by-side could have answered a lot of your questions right off the bat.
 
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