Slartibartfast Posted March 29, 2017 Share Posted March 29, 2017 Yeah, I know, another "what part should I buy" thread. But at this point I'm just confusing myself, and I'm hoping the hive mind has what I'm looking for. My idler arm and centerlink are worn out. Those for sure need to be replaced. If budget allows, I may replace TREs and ball joints at the same time. And I'd rather not do this twice, so I've been researching the various parts on the market. I'm seeing a lot of support for Moog, but also a lot of complaints that they've gone downhill recently. I have seriously considered the 2WD HB swap to get rid of the dogbone, but it sounds like more trouble/bumpsteer than it's worth given that I'm not running a lift or planning to. So I'm thinking stock configuration + IAB. What have you guys used and how's it held up? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RIPB.88 Posted March 29, 2017 Share Posted March 29, 2017 I've run all moog parts with no complaints. Everything has held up well so far. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adamzan Posted March 29, 2017 Share Posted March 29, 2017 If you wheel it at all, no brand of centerlink will hold up. That being said, it will last a lot longer without a lift. Moog parts at one time were good, but now I find are trash. To be honest I've been buying AC Delco parts as of late. The quality is way better. If you can, try and find the "Sankei 555" brand of steering parts. They're pretty much OEM. Don't replace parts that don't need it. On my 94, which is now approaching 270,000 miles, I have only changed the TREs once. The lower ball joints are not hard, but annoying to do. Make sure you get greaseable ones for those. They will last a lot longer. The cheap parts store ones lasted me a year tops. Uppers, well I replace them yearly due to the suspension lift forcing them to the end of their travel so I just got whatever lifetime warranty ones I could find locally. I find that the CL when worn will take out the idler quickly. With my lifted truck, the CL and Idler would be slightly loose even after a couple days of daily driving to work. I upgraded to the grassroots one and now I have not had an issue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gamellott Posted March 29, 2017 Share Posted March 29, 2017 I have found, even at good parts stores with good parts like TRW and MOOG, that they will get whatever part that fits into the box from different manufacturers/suppliers. I went rounds trying to find a matching set of ball joints that weren't absolute garbage and of similar construction as OE. Bottom line, You don't always get what you want.... the first time around. I'm not sure who the original manufacturer of the drag link I put in, but the tow was way out of whack after I replaced it. You may have to get an alignment after you're done or maybe you can eyeball the tow as I did. But then, If you're talking about replacing the TREs, then you'll need to get the tow adjusted anyway. After replacing your ball joints, it would be a good idea to get it checked... Stuff you may already know... Just typing away and.... I'll stop now... That being said, the factory style idler arm, although wimpy, is rebuildable by simply replacing the bushings and can save you some dough. Automotive Customizers (4X4parts.com) offers an idler arm brace that's apparently pretty good to stiffen the wimpy OE one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slartibartfast Posted March 30, 2017 Author Share Posted March 30, 2017 Thanks, I'd forgotten the IAs can be rebuilt. I'd also forgotten the bushings in there are plastic. Looks like these guys have a bronze kit, so I might just spring for that to give the thing a chance. I've got a hokey homemade brace on there now but will definitely come up with something better when I rebuild the idler. Are the Grassroots links still available? I've read a lot of positive reviews but I can't find their web site. The Sankei and the Delco stuff looks good but man, they're proud of it! Sounds like the Sankeis end up in Moog boxes sometimes, though (whatever fits in the box like gamellot said). And yeah, I'm not even looking at the non-greaseable ones. Speaking of which, I notice the OE Nissan stuff has little screws on it where the grease fittings should be. I can just swap those for zerks, right? I wouldn't mind getting a little more out of the joints that aren't shot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adamzan Posted March 30, 2017 Share Posted March 30, 2017 Thanks, I'd forgotten the IAs can be rebuilt. I'd also forgotten the bushings in there are plastic. Looks like these guys have a bronze kit, so I might just spring for that to give the thing a chance. I've got a hokey homemade brace on there now but will definitely come up with something better when I rebuild the idler. Are the Grassroots links still available? I've read a lot of positive reviews but I can't find their web site. The Sankei and the Delco stuff looks good but man, they're proud of it! Sounds like the Sankeis end up in Moog boxes sometimes, though (whatever fits in the box like gamellot said). And yeah, I'm not even looking at the non-greaseable ones. Speaking of which, I notice the OE Nissan stuff has little screws on it where the grease fittings should be. I can just swap those for zerks, right? I wouldn't mind getting a little more out of the joints that aren't shot. I have the bandit 4x4 bushings in my idler. They work well. But you need to use an oem nissan idler, an aftermarket one, even if it looks the same, will not fit. Okay, I should have shut up about grassroots, looks like they're not around anymore. Check your PM's Yeah they are expensive, but after learning the hard way about cheap @!*%, I'm only buying it once from now on. Yes you can swap the zerks, I had done that on my oem upper ball joints and tie rods. I'm pretty sure the dealer used to remove those and grease them during service, way back when, lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Precise1 Posted April 12, 2017 Share Posted April 12, 2017 Grassroots centerlinks are NLA? That sucks, because it was to go to part for durability. Those, and an AC idler brace would have been my reply... Those bushings seem like a good replacement, but I think they are terribly expensive (normal plastic replacements are 1/4 the price), and I question using a high hardness nickel/bronze material without knowing the hardness of the idler arm shaft. You might find that the bushings have long wear, but when they need replacing, the idler arm does as well. (I have experience with this material in mold applications) I'd think oilite bronze or even the oil impregnated UHMW PE would be good candidates instead. I should have a lathe this summer, so maybe I'll get to experiment... B Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adamzan Posted April 13, 2017 Share Posted April 13, 2017 B, if you need them I have a brand new set of idler bushings you can have to use as templates. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Precise1 Posted April 13, 2017 Share Posted April 13, 2017 Adam, the metal aftermarket ones, or the stock plastic ones? If the metal AM, yes I would like dimensions, but the stock, no point. For the former, I'd just send you calipers and teach you how to use them... Let me get the lathe first. B Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slartibartfast Posted April 13, 2017 Author Share Posted April 13, 2017 The bandit bushings got here a couple days ago and are waiting for me to get around to installing them. I'm hoping the bronze is better equipped to handle the twisting force the idler has to deal with, hadn't thought much about the wear properties though. I haven't heard any bad reviews and will definitely post an update if they eat the shaft. Hopefully the addition of a grease fitting (you get a zerk! And you get a zerk!) helps keep things happy. Thanks for the email address Adamzan, I contacted the Grassroots guy and he said he'd check and see if he had any left. That was about a week ago, and I haven't heard back yet. I may just pick up one of the Delco ones. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adamzan Posted April 13, 2017 Share Posted April 13, 2017 I emailed him too and he says he has a few small and large taper ones left...But no Xterra ones (I was inquiring for my Xterra). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adamzan Posted April 13, 2017 Share Posted April 13, 2017 Adam, the metal aftermarket ones, or the stock plastic ones? If the metal AM, yes I would like dimensions, but the stock, no point. For the former, I'd just send you calipers and teach you how to use them... Let me get the lathe first. B I have a set of calipers, probably not as good as yours, but they probably do the job. I have a set of stock plastic ones, and I ordered a set of the metal ones the other day... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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