idler arm help

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dan5354

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I am putting together the front suspension with all new parts. I just tightened up the idler arm from PST and it was basically locked. I took it off and checked it with the old one and it is the same, so I put it back on and hit it with a rubber mallet and it did break loose some. I can move it back and forth now but it's very hard to do. this isn't right - right? I am assuming that a new idler should go back and forth with minimal effort. Kind of a bummer since it's the whole mail order send it back for a new one in a couple weeks. Thanks in advance.
 
If your on the 67 barracuda, I think there a one year only idler arm, you may have the wrong one. Most of the front suspension on mine were one year only, good luck.
 
It's a 67 Barracuda - 1 year part. It is a PST idler with a tapered shaft - so it isn't binding on anything. The car was hard enough to steer with the old idler in it.
 
Ok, stud mount then.I have no personal experience with those.
And I read where you said PST. But when I bought the PST kit, in 99, they were Moogs. I find it hard to fault Moogs.For our cars, those are about the best out there.
Other (cheaper) brands are often very tight when new, requiring a great deal of effort, by hand,and mounted, to rotate. Then they loosen up real fast during the early part of their lives. And often die a premature death.
The Moogs can last for many years.And they are usually quite a bit easier to hand rotate(mounted) than the cheap stuff.
If yours is a Moog, I wouldnt worry too much. The old TRWs were pretty good too.
My 68up through-bolt design, loosened up after a few miles and then stayed that way for years.
Now, Im not saying yours is not, or is, defective. Im not there twisting it, and gauging the turning force. And if its too tight, you will definitely have steering issues.
 
I bought Moog everything else, but they don't list an idler for the 67. The one I got wasn't cheap (pricewise) even from PST. Classic Ind. has one that is a lot pricier, but it looks like the same unit as I got from PST down to the fiber type of dust washers. I did send an e-mail to PST to find out if it's defective or just like others have said just tight. It seems way too tight though. Thanks for your response.
 
Hey Jim thanks for the response, you say it's bad if it's not tight, but just how tight? Like I said it started out basically locked.
 
-The break-away torque is different than the turning-torque.Ima gonna guess that break-away could be several times as much as actual turning-torque Thats physics.
-It has to be tight to keep the right wheel on track with the left.
-A stud mount has to be tighter than a through-bolt, in the beginning of its life, to have a reasonable service life.
-Its been my experience that most joints seem to be tighter than I imagine that they should be. Thats perception. In practice, the better brands work fine after a short break-in.
-A too-tight idler will manifest, after the alignment, as a tendency for the car to travel in a straight line, requiring constant small corrections to actually drive down the road, straight or not. And almost every correction will immediately require a small re-correction. And the steering has a tendency to not self-center, after finishing a turn. This gets to be a PITA.Especially at highway speeds and on long trips.
-If it doesnt loosen up after a couple of hundred miles, and it becomes unbearable, the only cure is replacement.
-An idler-arm only replacement, shouldnt require a re-alignment.But I cant promise that.
 
Thanks AJ, I replaced everything so it will need an alignment. I even did the offset bushings for the upper control arm. PST got back to me and basically said to try it and see how it works out and they have made a note of the problem so I can get a replacement if necessary.
 
Well there you go. A company thats willing to make it right. If you remember, a report back would be nice in a couple of hundred miles. I hope you enjoy the extra caster as much as I do.
 
Hey AJ/FormS , the idler is going to be fine. As tight as it was by hand it's just fine when I bolted everything together and turned the wheel. Just some of my inexperience showing. Thanks for your help.
 
AJ/FormS said:
-The break-away torque is different than the turning-torque.Ima gonna guess that break-away could be several times as much as actual turning-torque Thats physics.
-It has to be tight to keep the right wheel on track with the left.
-A stud mount has to be tighter than a through-bolt, in the beginning of its life, to have a reasonable service life.
-Its been my experience that most joints seem to be tighter than I imagine that they should be. Thats perception. In practice, the better brands work fine after a short break-in.
-A too-tight idler will manifest, after the alignment, as a tendency for the car to travel in a straight line, requiring constant small corrections to actually drive down the road, straight or not. And almost every correction will immediately require a small re-correction. And the steering has a tendency to not self-center, after finishing a turn. This gets to be a PITA.Especially at highway speeds and on long trips.
-If it doesnt loosen up after a couple of hundred miles, and it becomes unbearable, the only cure is replacement.
-An idler-arm only replacement, shouldnt require a re-alignment.But I cant promise that.
Click to expand...

that sounds like the problem with my 72 duster going down the road. I took it to reliable alignment shop, they drove it, looked at suspension. told me the front end was safe, but joints too worn to do alignment, should replace first. I will jack it up and see if I can tell anything about the idler!!!!
 
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