Idler Arm major play!

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plumkrazee70

plumkrazee70

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Do I just tighten this up? Or so I need a new arm?
It's a new. I noticed the noise when I pulled into the garage and had my son rock the steering wheel back and forth. Yikes!
 
Replace it, period. The MOOG idler and pitman arms are what I just put on my Duster 340.
 
It appears it is missing the center sleeve that encases the mounting bolt. The sleeve should tighten in between the upper and lower bracket "ears". There should be a washer on one end of the sleeve, also.
 
DustyEd said:
It appears it is missing the center sleeve that encases the mounting bolt. The sleeve should tighten in between the upper and lower bracket "ears". There should be a washer on one end of the sleeve, also.
Click to expand...

Thanks. I got a new one coming. :)
 
plumkrazee70 said:
I'll order one up. I'm pretty sure it's a new Moog. But that's doesn't mean anything anymore. I was going to try proforged.
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There are also some spacers that come with some of them for that very purpose.
 
DustyEd said:
It appears it is missing the center sleeve that encases the mounting bolt. The sleeve should tighten in between the upper and lower bracket "ears". There should be a washer on one end of the sleeve, also.
Click to expand...


Something is wrong there for sure! My 69 A has no washers, the inner sleeve should be hard captured between the K frame mounts! Assuming the inner sleeve is present, I would retighten that pass through bolt with some serious effort! Otherwise that Idler is Pure junk! There may be other issues your video did not capture as well!
 
I can't tell from the video if the idler arm is moving up and down on the bushing or if the washers are missing. You can determine that once it is removed.

Here is the link to my recent thread about defective idler arms:

Defective Idler Arms
 
Most often the idler arm comes with a shim for the between the idler and K Frame. You can only tighten it up so much before the upper and lower bolt hole no longer align or end up in a bind. It is S.O.P. to shim the idler on a 68-up idler arm. You don't want that thing floating up and down on the bolt.
 
iirc the metal sleeve is supposed to be hard captured between the 2 ears. If the metal sleeve is not rigid after you tightened down the bolt, it's not tight enough. It should not be that sloppy, especially the knocking.
 
So this a Moog idler and they don't come with shims or at least mine didn't. I ordered a proforged one. I'll keep y'all posted.
 
plumkrazee70 said:
So this a Moog idler and they don't come with shims or at least mine didn't. I ordered a proforged one. I'll keep y'all posted.
Click to expand...

I had to find a washer in the correct thickness to get it just right. I have 3 or 4 idler arms here and they are all slightly different.
 
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