Idler Arm Bushing Help

[davidvend]

I took my 1960 in for a front end alinement and the mechanic told me the the Idler arm was sloppy and moved it a little while I watched it and it did move. I ordered a set of Idler Arm Bushings and I removed the old bushings but they are nothing like the ones I ordered. The ones I ordered have steel sleeves with rubber inside. My bushings are steel and they have grease fittings and spacers on my bushings. The Idler Arm came off by just pulling on it and the steel bushings just pushed out of their holders with my thumb. I think they just need tighting or do I need to replace the original? bushings with the new style? I believe what I have is the original style but I don't know what to do Replace with the new bushings or just tighten down the old bushings?

[davidvend]

Well I put the Idler Arm back together with the original parts I took off, tighten it up the manual reads it should be 100 lbs and now their is no play in it. Should I be concerned in the future I am driving this comming weekend about 300 miles and I want no steering troubles. Could this just be a loose Idler Arm that wasn't put together correctly? Any thoughts would be apprecated.

[stu454bb]

Funny you ask about Idler arm bushings. I too have just got my new front end kit and discovered the rubber replacement bushings for the idler. My original setup is like yours, Steel bush with grease fittings. Mine too has a small amount of play. So hopefully someone will steer us the correct path, Stu

[Dakota Boy]

Those rubber pieces are not bushings, they are just seals to keep the grease from falling out of the bushings. If you have a steel bushing with rubber inside it, I'd say you got the wrong part. There was no rubber inside mine when I had it apart last winter; just co**** threads that the idler arm threaded onto. Here are some pics:

[partsetal]

The original idler arm bushings are the steel sleeve surrounded by rubber and another sleeve. What Dakota Boy has here is a "problem solver" made by several companies to eliminate the slop in the bushings and give a tighter steering 'feel'. These usually used ball bearings which were more precise and turned easier. Perhaps the bearings or races have worn, causing the play you see now.
Carl

[jopizz]

These are the correct bushings. As Carl mentioned they are rubber sandwiched between two layers of steel and are quite a bear to install.

[davidvend]

Jopizz, I recieved the bushings you have pictured is this the best setup for the car? Do I need to order a new Idler Arm & to fit these new style bushing or will the original arm fit these bushings? The manual states that the bushings should have 85-100 lbs of torque I have tighten the bolts with no slop on them anymore and not the torque specified in the manual I think they would be to tight and bind. My bushings are a little bit different than Dakota Boy my grease fittings are on the bearing side and not the top of the bushing the top of the Idler Arm are a nut and cotter pin.

[jopizz]

These are the correct original style bushings that came from the factory. If you have the factory idler arm they would fit. There are replacement idler arms so yours may have been replaced. I've never tried anything different so I can't say if this is the best. The true test is to drive the car and see how it feels.

[davidvend]

I will take it out for a drive today and see if its any better than it was. Thanks for all the help,- David

[Dakota Boy]

The parts I have on my car look just like the parts in the exploded diagram in my Ford shop manual.

Is it possible that power-steering cars had these different bushings with the rubber inside?

My car does not have power steering.

[davidvend]

Now the next question is how tight should the Idler Arm be tighten with the problem solver bushings? just to get the slop out or real tight? As the manual reads it should tighten to 85-100 lbs torque. When I disasembled the bolts they were just a little snug. Should I replace the problem solver bushings with the original style bushings which I have purchased? What should the correct "feel" in the steering be like? I have driver my car for 18 years and its always been a pleasure to drive and steers nice and smooth with no shaking. I just have the problem with grooved roads and the car follows the lines with the blias tires which is normal to me. Thank You all for the information I haved recieved.

[Guest]

Idler arm ...

Mine had the problem solver setup in it when I took it apart and it was totally shot. After pricing it I decided to go with the original bushings and a new arm. The first set I ordered the bushings were loose on the arm the second set same story, so I made some shims out of stainless shim stock to go between the arm shafts and the inner bushing. Steering resistance is up ever so slightly (I actually prefer it to the stock feel) but it drives sooo much better, no more wander bird. Mike

[stu454bb]

So to the people who have installed new ''original style'' bushes, is steering good and feel tight. Or do these bushes allow slop in the steering. Stu

[partsetal]

For those with the 'problem solver' idler arm kits, I found an installation diagram in a McQuay-Norris box. These kits come up occasionally on ebay.
Carl

[Astrowing]

My steering is very good now with no wandering or slop, but I did replace everything at one time by dropping the entire assembly so can't comment on just the idler arm. I could take the old idler arm apart without tools if that tells you how loose it was though.