Mr. Pickles Posted January 29, 2010 Share Posted January 29, 2010 (edited) Hey all, Well my idler arm grenaded and made itself know yesterday, lots of slop up and down, side to side, and the plastic bushing(s) inside were blown apart. I swapped it tonight, but have a question. I've haven't really payed attention, but is this amount of twisting movement of the center link "normal?" I don't recall paying much attention to the movement in the past, and the lower ball joints, tie rod ends, and center link are all about 10 months old (new upper BJ's will be in shortly) and the pitman arm and box are solid. I'm thinking its ok, just checking. p.s. the creaking sound is not the truck, its either the jack or my knees I forgot this camera has sound. Edited January 29, 2010 by Mr. Pickles Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesRich Posted January 29, 2010 Share Posted January 29, 2010 I would say yes it's normal. The way it is designed it almost has to twist like that. They should have put the inner tie rod end a few inches down the center link rod instead of the doge bone style. But hell it's been working this long like that. James Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Posted January 29, 2010 Share Posted January 29, 2010 (edited) Absolutely in no way is that "normal". It should not twist. Look how far your wheel can turn before the steering linkage does. If both sides are as bad, you potentially could have 2-3" of play in your steering. How would that be alignable? That play is 99% the reason why your idler arm crapped out on you. Get her changed out Mr. P! Edited January 29, 2010 by Simon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adamzan Posted January 29, 2010 Share Posted January 29, 2010 That is how mine used to be...Not very fun to drive on the highway... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Pickles Posted January 29, 2010 Author Share Posted January 29, 2010 The thing is, there's not really any play, especially compared to before replacing parts. It goes down the road fine too, nothing spooky. As of now, that idler is 12 hours old and the center link and all the other steering parts are about 10 months. I don't get it... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
packie88 Posted January 29, 2010 Share Posted January 29, 2010 that just doesnt look good. and thats alot of play. Adam what did you do to fix yours pickles ive got two spare idler arms and a spare CL that if you need let me know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adamzan Posted January 29, 2010 Share Posted January 29, 2010 that just doesnt look good. and thats alot of play. Adam what did you do to fix yours pickles ive got two spare idler arms and a spare CL that if you need let me know. I replaced every single part at the same time with lifetime warranty units so I can just swap them as soon as they have play. Also I think he runs bigger tires and wheels more than I do. There was a guy on cntc who said his brand new idler arm had play right out of the box... To me it looks like your centerlink is worn out But what do I know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Posted January 29, 2010 Share Posted January 29, 2010 Its definitely worn out. It should not twist. The fact that your tire moves without the centerlink or the idler arm moving means there's play. No 2 ways about it. The tires SHOULD NOT EVER turn without the entire steering system moving with them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kingman Posted January 29, 2010 Share Posted January 29, 2010 X10000. My old truck had that same play in the centerlink when I shook the wheels side to side, and it transmitted to a lot of slop and play driving down the road. It wasn't dangerous, yet, but it didn't give the most confident feeling either. I'd swap that out for a HoHaa unit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MY1PATH Posted January 29, 2010 Share Posted January 29, 2010 I'd swap that out for a HoHaa unit. X2 HooHaa CL is awesome and if you pair it with the dual steering box mod I'm working You'll never have to replace a CL or IA again. http://ruggedrocksoffroad.com/forum/index.php?topic=908.0 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesRich Posted January 29, 2010 Share Posted January 29, 2010 (edited) Ok guys forgive me I have not removed my center link yet to inspect it. I have been searching info on center links and now I see that the end of the center link may look like a ball socket (or tie rod end) but it is a rotating only type joint. (or at least used to be blond) So yes now I agree that twisting is not normal. Well damn, I guess I need a new center link too! James Edited January 30, 2010 by JamesRich Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Pickles Posted February 4, 2010 Author Share Posted February 4, 2010 (edited) Ok, so this has been bugging me but I haven't had the time to check. Tonight I jacked, supported and verified the front end on both sides, and I'm sure now that the other side in that original vid was either catching on the ground or jack stand, causing that twist. Here's a new vid and things seem just fine in my book with both tires verified moving freely and clear. Its not the best one-handed vid, but things are all moving on the same plane this time around. Talk about a blond moment... Edited February 4, 2010 by Mr. Pickles Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R3DN1CK Posted February 4, 2010 Share Posted February 4, 2010 so what was the diff between the two vids? the first one looks like something is horribly wrong and the second vid looks ok... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Posted February 4, 2010 Share Posted February 4, 2010 (edited) There's no stress on the front end now....so everything will move as designed. As soon as you stress it (read: put weight on it) the weakness in the CL shows itself. If AT ANY POINT the CL twists, it's shot. Jacking the front of the truck up and moving the steering components is not a good indicator of their functionality. What vehicle drives with it's front end in the air? You need to simulate driving stresses. Edited February 4, 2010 by Simon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adamzan Posted February 4, 2010 Share Posted February 4, 2010 Have someone else turn the steering wheel while the tires are on the ground. That was how I found mine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M in KC Posted February 4, 2010 Share Posted February 4, 2010 I'm going adamzan's route tommorow. After 200+K miles the original bits are all used up. I grabbed the left front a couple of weeks ago and thought the whole knuckle assemble was going to come off after replacing the caliper. It's just getting to under-responsive and crazy to drive on the road. But I will have a minty fresh front end by Saturday. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cuong Nguyen Posted February 5, 2010 Share Posted February 5, 2010 Bryan (grassroots4x4) is still out of the country I think. You can hit up richard (frontier2k1) over on NOAS or Nissan4wheelers for a modded centerlink if you're needing one soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MY1PATH Posted February 5, 2010 Share Posted February 5, 2010 Bryan (grassroots4x4) is still out of the country I think. You can hit up richard (frontier2k1) over on NOAS or Nissan4wheelers for a modded centerlink if you're needing one soon. He told me he'd be back 1st or 2nd week of feb IIRC, sent me an email while he was away, shoot him and email and see what happens. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Pickles Posted February 6, 2010 Author Share Posted February 6, 2010 (edited) Here's a vid going from side to side, on the ground with the wife turning the wheel, and just a tiny twist movement when switching side to side. Seems ok to me, and the truck drives just fine. What do you think? Its a pretty rouch shot, so I'll try again in better light over the weekend. In regards to the earlier comment when it was twisting and I thought the tire was hanging, that was because the drivers apparently was hanging up, while the passenger side I was moving back and forth hard was way in the air. I was thinking there was some binding because of that in the original vid. When they're equal (both in the air or more importantly, both on the ground), there's nice smooth side-to-side. Hopefully this mess is put to bed soon enough. Thanks for the suggestions on the aftermarket center link, but this one is only 10 months or so old with a lifetime warranty, so I'd go that route if I had to. Edited February 6, 2010 by Mr. Pickles Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MY1PATH Posted February 6, 2010 Share Posted February 6, 2010 (edited) It may drive fine and feel fine... Mine did with the stock CL, BUT when I upgraded It still was quite noticable. It was smoother, more responsive. Over all it was "wow didn't think it would get this much better than before" feeling. just my point of view... Edited February 6, 2010 by MY1PATH Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adamzan Posted February 7, 2010 Share Posted February 7, 2010 Thanks for the suggestions on the aftermarket center link, but this one is only 10 months or so old with a lifetime warranty, so I'd go that route if I had to. Mine doesn't twist at all when turning it like that. Couldn't hurt to bring the cl back anyways... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4xKory Posted February 8, 2010 Share Posted February 8, 2010 Just have to say I like the tunes in the first vid, good song! As far as I can tell from your third video, everything seems fine. And if it has no slop between the wheels (to check this I put it on jack stands and have one person hold one wheel and I push/pull on the other to give an idea to see if there is slop in there either in bearings, or linkage) I wouldnt worry too much. But as the other guys say, if your up to and upgrade Id go for that too. Im in the process of rebuilding the entire front end right now so Im having the same fun you are! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4xKory Posted February 8, 2010 Share Posted February 8, 2010 Oh, as a side note, because of tire size and/or suspension upgrades, you may experience different results on the angles of the cl and other components too. So one guy may see different results from another depending on that stuff. Just a thought =) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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