MY1PATH Posted May 6, 2008 Share Posted May 6, 2008 (edited) There seems to be 2 Differant styles of Idler Arms out there. The OE style which appers to have a stamped uper section, but it can be braced for double shear strength. And the style made by TRW and MOOG which cannot be braced because the bolt cannot come out the other side because a grease port does. On the other hand the MOOG/TRW fully cast Idler arms seem a bit beefier and appears to turn on a larger diamer bearing surface. IN TRUTH THE MOOG / TRW UNITS ARE INFERIOR. THE DIAMETER OF THE BEARING SURFACE IS OF LITTLE USE BECAUSE IT IS NOT TALL ENOUGH TO PREVENT FLEXING. WHEN THE BEARING STARTS TO WEAR IT ALLOWS YOUR CENTER LINK TO FLEX UP AND HIT YOUR FRAME. Edited November 11, 2011 by MY1PATH Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yozsi Posted May 6, 2008 Share Posted May 6, 2008 (edited) the moog one is a piece of crap. looks like a ball joint style. totally worthless imo, go with a stocker. PLus you can replace the bushes in a stock idler arm. Edited May 6, 2008 by yozsi Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrimGreg Posted May 6, 2008 Share Posted May 6, 2008 I have actually heard that the MOOG arms are terrible, though the rest of their replacement parts are good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
88pathoffroad Posted May 6, 2008 Share Posted May 6, 2008 I wrecked a MOOG arm once. Took one day. After I pulled it off, it spun around on the bracket like a New Year's razzer. Totally not worth the hype or money. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Extreme90path Posted May 7, 2008 Share Posted May 7, 2008 I am happy with my calmini brace. The moog one looks like crap. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MY1PATH Posted May 11, 2008 Author Share Posted May 11, 2008 OE w/ brace it is then! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
88pathoffroad Posted May 12, 2008 Share Posted May 12, 2008 The Calmini brace is the strongest, best designed brace for the idler arm. The more common 4x4Parts.com L-style braces are still susceptible to bending. The big flat plate under the idler arm really reinforces the whole thing. When I get a chance I'm making my own Calmini style brace. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrazzyMax Posted May 15, 2008 Share Posted May 15, 2008 My copy of Calmini Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldSlowReliable Posted July 6, 2009 Share Posted July 6, 2009 I just grabbed a 4x4 parts brace, and it feels pretty beefy...although im not too worried about it...if i ruin an arm, just slap a new one on! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
helix66 Posted July 14, 2009 Share Posted July 14, 2009 I just grabbed a 4x4 parts brace, and it feels pretty beefy...although im not too worried about it...if i ruin an arm, just slap a new one on! I guess you already settled on one, the third, cheapest and strongest option is to replace the IA with a manual steering box, it works great and only takes a bit of modding and none of those options will be close to the strength it offers. Thanks to theKing & bodyman909 for this mod and helping my junk to be road worthy yet again! I have the now defunct L&P stage 2 steering setup (beefed up center link and double shear IA), the IA has bronze bushings that ride on the IA shaft and outlast the stock nylon version. The problem is that that they eventually wear out and no one seems to make them except for a handful of guys who have had local machine shops make limited runs, that translates to $50 plush S&H to you. For less than that you can go to your favorite local JY and spend $40 on a manual steering box, and a power steering pitman arm and be done with it forever...until you sas it! you will not need the IA brace and can sell your aftermarket junk to cover your costs. We went to a JY and got a manual box from a hard body, then we pulled a pitman arm off of a power steering box that was on a WD21 80s pathfinder (and keep the bolts too!). Before you install it you can take the box apart and remove what I believe is called the sector shaft (the part the steering shaft attaches to) as it isn't needed. TheKing welded up the hole left from removing the shaft but I'm sure you could silicone the thing closed to keep crud out. The manual box will bolt in place of your idler arm and the power steering pitman arm will replace the one on the manual box. The two holes at the bottom line up perfectly, the two upper holes need to be slotted, one at the top the other at the bottom. It's easy enough to do with a hack saw as the metal is soft. We used the bolts from the JY pitman arm, the original idler arm ones are too short. On the slotted holes we used washers, lock washers and nylocks to hold it on. Also you will have to unbolt the p/s line mount so that they can be laid flat on the frame rail away from the steering box you are installing. I had thought that my new ni$$an ball joints were quitting, but it was the IA slop, now it's all good! You will want to bring a pitman arm puller with you to make things easier, and don't forget to keep the bolts from the manual steering box! The final result: Top view (you can see the slotted hole on the right side): Top view of the driver's side power steering box just for comparison (why you want the manual steering box): Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slashjt Posted May 9, 2011 Share Posted May 9, 2011 OEM Idler arm, cooper bushing, Arm Brace (I made mine for like.. 2 bucks) That will last Forever Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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