When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
Anyone know if this idler arm looks original? Notice the grease zerk is on the side rather than the bottom. It certainly looks rough, and I'm hoping it's the cause of my steering slop.
All you need to concern yourself with is ONE THING:
Does it have "slop"?
Yes: Maybe it's the cause of overall steering "slop".
No: you do the math.
When you have your assistant shake the wheel back and forth, do you see "slop"? If you do, then, there's slop. If not, then, ... you do the math. All depends on what you see.
It's EXTREMELY NASTY in any case. Looks like that poor vehicle could use a tip to the quarter (dollar? debit card?) car wash. Take along acoupla cans of engine degreaser, NOT the "foamy" kind; just, the kind that's diesel fuel in a spray can. CLEAN THAT S*** UP so you can see what you're doing and don't have to undergo a Level 5 decontamination after every time you work on it.
Looking at how many millennia of FUNK have built up on it though, I'm suspecting that launching a pre-emptive first strike on it, BEFORE you out of the blue hit a curb or guardrail or something, might be A Good Idea.
All you need to concern yourself with is ONE THING:
Does it have "slop"?
Yes: Maybe it's the cause of overall steering "slop".
No: you do the math.
When you have your assistant shake the wheel back and forth, do you see "slop"? If you do, then, there's slop. If not, then, ... you do the math. All depends on what you see.
It's EXTREMELY NASTY in any case. Looks like that poor vehicle could use a tip to the quarter (dollar? debit card?) car wash. Take along acoupla cans of engine degreaser, NOT the "foamy" kind; just, the kind that's diesel fuel in a spray can. CLEAN THAT S*** UP so you can see what you're doing and don't have to undergo a Level 5 decontamination after every time you work on it.
Looking at how many millennia of FUNK have built up on it though, I'm suspecting that launching a pre-emptive first strike on it, BEFORE you out of the blue hit a curb or guardrail or something, might be A Good Idea.
yeah there is some slop. Steering box, inner/outer tie rod ends, and rag joint have been replaced. I do already have a replacement idler that I bought from Rock Auto, I was just curious if this one was factory (car has 165k). It looks like the center link must have been replaced by the previous owner, although that doesn't mean anything.
I'm not sure why that thing has so much grease caked on it when nothing else under there looks like that. Somebody overlubed it I guess. I haven't worried with cleaning it because was planning to replace it anyways.
Just finished replacing all this on mine, so anecdotal information I guess: all my slop was in the tie rod ends. Either way, it's another $25 or so to replace and it's just 2 bolts so I'd recommend replacing it. Note: if you do replace you'll want to mark where the original is and put the replacement back in the same location (it's an adjustment point). Otherwise it won't be aligned with the steering box and can cause binding issues.
mark where the original is and put the replacement back in the same location
^^^ This ^^^
There's considerable tolerance in the mounting, to account for variation in the construction of the chassis (the "frame" and the K-member, both). Both the steering gear and the idler arm are supposed to be mounted such that their more vertical shafts are parallel, and then they must be slid up/down into the location such that the inner tie rod end on their own side is exactly directly in line with the lower control arm bolt. This is so that as the CA articulates, the tie rod articulates exactly the same, otherwise you'll end up with some kind of weird "bump steer". You can put a socket on the control arm nut to help with getting them perfectly aligned, if it's ever been disturbed. I'd strongly recommend checking that regardless.
Not sure if there's really any side to side adjustment, but I put a piece of painters tape down the side just in case. The top is dead even with the edge of the body plate. I discovered the seal between the center link and the idler is deteriorated and falling apart, so it looks like I'll be replacing the center link too.
To follow up, a good way to check that you got it back right is to put a level on your center link before and after replacement. It should measure out the same both times.
The center link in these cars is seriously a maintenance item. It fails / wears out more than any other steering part. Seems worst at the Pitman arm joint (can't imagine why) but the idler arm one isn't immune.
Definitely pays off to grease all the joints - center link, tie rod ends, and ball joints - every couple of oil changes.
I got the center link and idler arm replaced. The car drives fine and tracks perfectly straight, but oddly my steering wheel is at about 1 o'clock position now. It was perfectly centered before, and I didn't mess with the tie-rod sleeves.
I got the center link and idler arm replaced. The car drives fine and tracks perfectly straight, but oddly my steering wheel is at about 1 o'clock position now. It was perfectly centered before, and I didn't mess with the tie-rod sleeves.
That happens, it’s rare that they’ll be straight after replacing all that. Funnily enough mine was at about 1:00 before I did all my replacements and is now at true straight 🤣
Look up how to center a steering wheel on YouTube, it’s fairly straightforward. Easier to see it done than to try and type it out.
