Shop says my idler arm is bad. Where the hell is this thing? It says nothing about it in the Haynes manual? Anybody have pics and a procedure for removing it. I really feel dumb here but suspension is not my thing...........
bsa

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"If they do not run, Then they will die." - Stonewall Jackson

'87 IROC, 355 TPI,700R4, Trick Flow Heads, Comp Cam, Comp 1.6 Rockers, Lucas 23# injectors, Edelbrock headers, Flowmaster 3'' exhaust, gutted cat, Mallory coil, Mallory HyFire IV ignition box, Mallory Sidewinder 8mm wires, Autolite platinum plugs, K&N filters, Transgo Performance Shift Kit, Corvette Servo, 2,000 Torque Converter

 

It's located on the right side (pass side) of the car - connected to the centerlink, or relay rod, as some people call it. All you gotta do is take off the cotter key and nut to the rod, and then the bolts go thru the frame - 2 of them. The tricky thing to reinstalling the new one is that it needs to be "even" with the pitman arm (connected to steering). There's kind of a trick to this, using your control arm bolts as reference points, in relation to the flat spots on your centerlink. What you're doing is adjusting the height of the idler arm. If you put a socket on the bolt that goes thru the control arm, it will be close to the flat of the C/L. You have to check your pitman arm side first, because it's non-adjustable, then adjust the height of the idler arm to the same height and torque it down. When you get a new idler arm, those directions should be in there. I might have you confused (I hope not)... then re-attach the C/L to the idler arm with the nut and kotter key. All this goes without saying that you need to put the car on stands and if I remember correctly, you'll have to remove the right tire to get to the bolts...

KAM

 

Thanks, I know exactly what you're talking about. I wonder why they don't put that in the Haynes manual.
bsa