ticker Posted January 19, 2006 Share Posted January 19, 2006 (edited) Iv'e been having problems in my front end ie. getting a shaky wheel on the highway. I was pretty sure that is the bushings so the other day i started poking around and noticed the bushing between my idler arm and the pitman arm is shot on the drivers side. Can this be replaced or do you have to replace the whole assembly? I also noticed that the idler arms are different. can anyone tell me which is stock to a 95? Edited February 13, 2006 by ticker Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ticker Posted January 19, 2006 Author Share Posted January 19, 2006 (edited) heres a pic of the other side-thanks in advance ticker :bow: der- this is the one with the worn out bushing thanks again Edited January 19, 2006 by ticker Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
94extreme Posted January 19, 2006 Share Posted January 19, 2006 picture 1 is idler arm, picture 2 is pitman arm.. the center link is what's busted in picture 2. this is a pretty common weak link on pathy's steering.. causes wobble and feathering of the tires.... look around the forums and you'll find much discussion on this subject. even a recent thread.. must as well beef it up if you ever think of wheeling your rig. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sw Posted January 19, 2006 Share Posted January 19, 2006 i was about to say what mz said the joint on the centre link if you gonna fix that, make a brace for the ider arm at the same time, lots of us have done it. 88 got pics around somewhere of his. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ticker Posted January 20, 2006 Author Share Posted January 20, 2006 OK- I went back and looked today and it is definitely the centerlink that is worn out. So thanks for the tip I'll have to look into fixing that, Ive changed out the tie rods on my bimmer before so i'm sure i can do this. But when i looked again it still seems like there are two different idler arms on my truck. It is my understanding that the idler arm is bolted to the frame, no? And then the pitman arm is generally attached below that. I'm only seeing what I think is the idler arm attached directly to the center link. I put the pics side by side so maybe it is easier to understand what I'm talking about. I'm not trying to be argumentative I just want to understand my pathy better, Ive' never messed with the steering components before. thanks ticker Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
94extreme Posted January 20, 2006 Share Posted January 20, 2006 left picture is of the PITMAN ARM!!! otherwise you have them labeled correctly. as you noted in your first post, they are different. two different parts, performing two different functions. related but different. the CL is one piece/part attached at four different places.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Z_Pilot Posted January 20, 2006 Share Posted January 20, 2006 (edited) Which part of the centerlink fails, exactly? :confused: I know I have a probem concerning the centerlink (feathered tires, wobble, etc), and I am planning on ordering L&P's centerlnk, but I don't know where to look to see if my core is serviceable or not Thanks Z Edited January 20, 2006 by Z_Pilot Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Posted January 20, 2006 Share Posted January 20, 2006 It's the bushings in the centerlink that fail as far as I know. L&P will be able to service/recondition it as long as it's straight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
94extreme Posted January 20, 2006 Share Posted January 20, 2006 Which part of the centerlink fails, exactly? :confused: I know I have a probem concerning the centerlink (feathered tires, wobble, etc), and I am planning on ordering L&P's centerlnk, but I don't know where to look to see if my core is serviceable or not Thanks Z it's not servicable. L&P guys modify it. bushings in this case = the BJ looking thingys. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ticker Posted January 20, 2006 Author Share Posted January 20, 2006 :X doh-recieves slap to back of head. I apologize for being so thick about the pitman/idler thing. In a schematic I had seen of another car the idler and the pitman seemed to be attached having a set on each side. I just ran up the stairs hoping to get to this post to attempt to edit away my stupidity, anyway after consulting my haynes manual I see the error of my ways. I know I should have done that earlier so my bad it won't happen again. thanks again for the info ticker Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
94extreme Posted January 20, 2006 Share Posted January 20, 2006 dude, it's ok. that's what we are here for.. long time ago i didn't know the difference either.. you have to learn sometime.. i bet, in a few years you'll be giving out most of the advice... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ticker Posted January 20, 2006 Author Share Posted January 20, 2006 (edited) OK-One more question. Because of a strange noise coming from my engine I don't want to put alot of money into the pathy until I can get it diagnosed. I've posted about it here,http://npora.ipbhost.com//index.php?showto...t=0entry76948 and taken it to several shops but have never recieved a satisfactory answer. That being said, can i just replace the centerlink bushings as a temporary solution? I would love to upgrade especally if it is work I can do myself but Ill have to wait until I'm sure the pathy is going to be around for a while. If so where can you buy the bushings? I checed out AC last night and didn't see any. Rock On ticker Edited January 20, 2006 by ticker Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
94extreme Posted January 20, 2006 Share Posted January 20, 2006 no, you gotta get the whole CL.. it's not serviceable.. stock one is $110 at advanced auto parts.. L&P is 250 plus core. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
k9sar Posted January 20, 2006 Share Posted January 20, 2006 do a web search for discount nissan parts and browse a few links. Rockauto, partznet, alloemautoparts, etc. all have similar listings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ticker Posted January 20, 2006 Author Share Posted January 20, 2006 Oh Well-thanks for the advice ticker Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ticker Posted February 13, 2006 Author Share Posted February 13, 2006 ummm yea-I had a thought this weekend. How dangereous is the worn centerlink? Money is tight right now and I was going to wait a bit and save up for the calamini. I was driving this past weekend and had this image of the pathy suddenly veering into oncoming traffic. (note to self-stop reading the newspaper) anyway aside from a little shake in the steering wheel i haven't noticed it causing any other problems Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrimGreg Posted February 13, 2006 Share Posted February 13, 2006 A worn ceterlink isn't a good thing, but it won't send you swerving into traffic. Really, the longer you run with it that way, the more wear you are imparting on other parts, but it isn't like a time bomb or anything. I bought a car once that the CL was totally shot, Tie Rods were shot also, but it drove just fine aside from a little play in the wheel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
94extreme Posted February 13, 2006 Share Posted February 13, 2006 it will wear your tires fast besides bj, etc.. = $$ in the long run. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vsicks Pathy Posted February 13, 2006 Share Posted February 13, 2006 You will notice worn steering components even more in 4wd and they will fail very quickly without much effort at all if you are off road. What GG said is correct. The longer you leave it, the quicker the other steering components will go. This is where I move from GG's thinking..... It can be a timebomb! especially if you take your Pathy off road on occasion. The tie rods and idler arm bushes are next to follow and once they go, you will run the risk of the car going places you don't want to. It will be fine on a smooth straight section of road untill an undulation or a bend. It can be scarey stuff as a few here on this board can attest to, including myself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrimGreg Posted February 13, 2006 Share Posted February 13, 2006 It can be a timebomb! especially if you take your Pathy off road on occasion. I wasn't saying it's cool to run offroad, just that normal road driving won't cause too many issues as it is now. Timebomb refferance was meaning that the steering won't just fall to pieces all of a sudden. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vsicks Pathy Posted February 14, 2006 Share Posted February 14, 2006 I wasn't saying it's cool to run offroad, just that normal road driving won't cause too many issues as it is now. Timebomb refferance was meaning that the steering won't just fall to pieces all of a sudden. Put that way, fair enough. I agree, if he is to maintain the status quo he shouldn't have much of a problem. No going off road or using 4wd until it is fixed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
94extreme Posted February 14, 2006 Share Posted February 14, 2006 it kind of depends on how worn it is.. i wheeled with mine for about a year.. maybe more.. it wasn't that worn... it took me that long to figure out it was the CL.. with mudders, i was getting bad shakes and the tires started to wear funky.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ticker Posted February 14, 2006 Author Share Posted February 14, 2006 Thanks for the quick response. It a relief to know I'm not in any immediate danger. Unfortunately, I have no plans to go wheelin' anytime soon. I hear you about it being scary sometimes, I nearly pooped myself the other day coming around a bend a little quickly and kind of felt the steering shift a bit. It was one of those poorly designed ones that as the road bends right it banks down(opposite of a race track) kinda throwing you towards the wall. The collection of broken trim parts and rubber/paint along the wall is indicative of how bad it is. The saddest part is they just built about a year ago. wohoo go tax dollars! Anyway I'll just have to deal with it for now, it's at the top of the fix it list so hopefully I won't do too much damage to the rest of the steering components in the mean time. thanks again ticker :cool2: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sw Posted February 21, 2006 Share Posted February 21, 2006 (edited) not sure how things are going for you ticker, but while i was out taking pics of the second battery setup i thought i would take some pics of the idler arm brace i talked about. just so people can get an idea of what im talking about and what they can put on their truck to help the steering issues we face. Edited February 21, 2006 by sw Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sw Posted February 21, 2006 Share Posted February 21, 2006 one more Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now