:banghead:I've had 3 new idler arms on my scamp and it's the same thing, as soon as I drive it the driver side wheel will be straight and the passenger side will be turned to the right a bit, get back home and jack the car up and move the wheel by hand and the idler arm jumps up and down, the mounting holes are in good shape the bolt is a snug fit, the arm just slides up and down the sleeve. any ideals on how to fix it? thanks in advance.
stupid idler arm
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416stroker
Well-Known Member
The idler arm shouldn't be moving up and down on the sleeve.
TrailBeast
AKA Mopars4us on Youtube
They make a bearing kit for those so you can get rid of the rubber that allows the flexing.
69dart340
Well-Known Member
I just put a new moog idler arm on my dart. Did you put the washers on the top and bottom of the idler arm, or just put the arm in and tighten the bolt up?
The washers have an I.D. just big enough so they fit over the sleeve, effectively making the idler arm so it fits tight in the mounting spot so it has no room to move up and down.
The washers have an I.D. just big enough so they fit over the sleeve, effectively making the idler arm so it fits tight in the mounting spot so it has no room to move up and down.
yeah, I guess I get what I pay for, the first two had nylon around the sleeves but this last one was all steel or appears to be anyway, but it's built like the last two, as the sleeve sticks out of the arm maybe 1/2 inch and they have foam washers that go on the ends, and only one steel washer that the bolt will go thru but it won't slide on the sleeve.
Bingo, you beat me to it. The idler arm has two steel washers, one on top one on the bottom. All the space has to be taken up between the two tabs sticking out of your k-member. The nut and bolt will then tighten up and there will be no up and down movement of the idler arm.
67Dart273
Well-Known Member
No, depends on the design. The Moog one I have has the bearing per se is not dependent on separate washers. Once you clamp the center tube into the mount with the through bolt, "it's tight." The foam washers, on the Moog one, merely seal the grease on the ends of idler.
So you must be careful. I "had" one with nylon, and it was a real poor deal. It appeared to me that the hole deal clamped between the K member and acutally TURNED within the K member which would cause wear on the K itself. The Moog design does NOT do this. The extended central tube in the Moog one is clamped into the K, and does not move.
Well by his explanation of the arm moving up and down, he needs use washers to take up the slack,. Or this is what I gather from reading his post.
Some elcheapo mfgrs will omit the end washers from the replacement package expecting the buyer to reuse their original washers. They first assumed the original washers were present. Secondly they assumed the buyer would know they were supposed to be there and supposed to be reused.
There are also cases where just any available washer might be tossed in the package. Such is the case with front brake hoses. The Chinese throw copper seal washers in the package that wont fit the banjo bolt. So would they throw steel washers in the idler arm package that wont fit over the bushing sleeve ? Yep
They do make some fine firecrackers though. LOL
There are also cases where just any available washer might be tossed in the package. Such is the case with front brake hoses. The Chinese throw copper seal washers in the package that wont fit the banjo bolt. So would they throw steel washers in the idler arm package that wont fit over the bushing sleeve ? Yep
They do make some fine firecrackers though. LOL
garyfish340
Well-Known Member
If your's is what I had a problem with, you can buy the bearing kit, and it's just going to do the same thing. In my case when the idler arm was not maintained for a very long time the bushing inside went mushy. That allowed movement, almost like a jack hammer inside its k frame mount. I just removed the idler, Tack welded 2 thick washer to the frame. ( you'll be able to see were it started, and where it migrated to.) Than I replaced the idler, and the grade a bolt. It no longer used the bolt with the crown nut when I did it. I think I used the next metric size up it was almost identical looking, but had machine thread, with a nylock nut. That fixed it for good. Make certain to install the grease fitting, and maintain it.
that's what I'm going to do.
it has a grease fitting on the bushing end, and good advice thanks.
garyfish340
Well-Known Member
Any of the generic auto parts store arms should have sparer shims that come with it for the top, or bottom. I mentioned what I did ( above ) because I didn't read your post correctly. Be sure neither hole is oval out, you are mentioning a lot of movement. I don't buy into the whole bearing kit thing. It's another part totally exposed to the elements, with lots of moving parts that will need extra attention. If it worked so well why were they off the market for years. I mean all you have to do is remove the bushing, call up Boca bearing with the size bearing you need, and for $ 15 additional bucks, you have a bearing kit. But there's no way to put a boot on it to keep the nasties out.
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