bikedave99

So my idler arm is floppier than a fish so I ordered the bushings from Toyota that they said would fit and tried to put them in last night. They are too big. I ordered part #90385-18068-bush, here it is with the dust seal:


According to 4x4wire, there are two bushings options, so I just had Toyota order me part #90386-19005. Supposedly this is for an 89-95 4runner but I'll give it a shot. I have an 88 xtracab and the idler looks perfectly stock. Anybody have experience with this or remember what your part number was for this generation?

Thanks

yotarob2005

You should consider getting some bronze bushings so that you never have to repair them again. They stiffened mine up alot.

xxxtreme22r

that's probably why they don't fit, they are for the 89-95, yours is an 88, to my knowledge these ones aren't rebuild-able. And it's the 89-95 that had the larger shafts.

MudHippy

All stock idler arms have bushings that are still serviceable with either of the 2 part numbers depending on their years of production.

However...

If 90385-18068 are too big, then 90386-19005 will be way too big.

Let me explain further. The stock 86-88 idler arms have an 18mm(.708")shaft and use 90385-18068 bushings. The stock 89-95 idler arms have a 19.5mm(.767")shaft and use 90386-19005 bushings.

So the idler arm you have, though stock in appearance, obviously isn't. The shaft must be smaller than 18mm(.708")if 90385-18068 are too big.

I know of 2 such stock appearing idler arms which it could possibly be. Both have 17.85mm(.703")shafts. And neither have bushings that are readily available, if at all. I wouldn't have a clue were you could find bushings for them anyway. And I'm probably the most knowledgable person on this site with regards to idler arms.

The idler arms I'm speaking of are:
Napa ATM(Altrom)1032403(.703" shaft)
RAYBESTOS 4501091B(.703" shaft)

The RAYBESTOS model 4501091B was formerly sold as Spicer Service Grade. And I believe that product is no longer on the market. Having been just recently discontinued around a month ago.

The Napa/Altrom unit may still be available. But whether you'll find anyone selling bushings for it is another matter. I kind of doubt it, but I can't say for sure. I've never searched for them myself, nor have I heard of anyone even trying.

xxxtreme22r

well I was half right. lol. but missed the fact the ones for his 88 was too big too and he ordered the ones for the 89-95 to try them.

glad to know mine is rebuild-able though, but I think when it's time for me to really change it, I will get the one from autozone as that one seems to be a better option at this point. Maybe find one on an 89-95 and pull that and use the sdori bushings and rebuild it. That is if I can confirm the OEM 89-95 is stronger than the autozone unit, but I think they are about the same and would just rather a new unit.

93yotaSR5

get some brass ones. ive worn out one idler arm already with em, and put em in the new idler arm now. they will outlast the truck

MudHippy

If the stock 89-95 idler arm is stronger it wouldn't be due to the shaft size, which is slightly smaller compared to the Autozone/Duralast/McQuay-Norris FA5040. 19.5mm(.767") vs. 19.96mm(.786"). So the SDORI bushings would actually be too big for either of the stock idler arms. From what I hear 4Crawler is also selling them now too.

And if you're willing to send the idler arm out for a custom fitting, I know of another source for bronze bushings. I, and atleast 3 other members here, bought some from custommachiningusa. But we all had fitment issues with those when we recieved our kits.

They were too big to fit the shaft on my stock 88 idler arm, which I solved by replacing the shaft with a larger one I made from a 3/4" grade 5 bolt. I have a welder, and it wasn't that difficult for me to accomplish. They fit in my housing perfectly, so that was all I needed to do. However, tc(user name)had troubles fitting his both into the housing(too tight)and fitting them onto the shaft(too tight). He fixed those issues by taking them to his place of business(works as a machinist in a machine shop), and turning them on a lathe to correct those aspects. yotasavg also had those same issues, which he solved in basically the same manner. I'm still not sure what Brenjen did, but his seemed to fit well enough to install them without too much trouble. I just don't know if he ever did end up modifying them, because of his concerns that they fit the shaft too tightly, or not.

That whole conundrum led to tc contacting that supplier and asking what would be the best way to assure that they'd fit. His suggestion was sending him the idler arm and he would then make custom bronze bushings that would fit it and send it back. Kind of a hassle, so that's never really become a popular option. And is also why SDORI chooses to make them to just fit one specific idler arm.

Here's the thread with all the details.
https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f116...ng-kit-114974/

xxxtreme22r

well that makes up my mind completely. AZ one it is.

modlite

The stock bushings on mine were extremely tight. I ordered the right part and everything and had to use the nut to get them to press in.

Then it was pretty hard to turn the idler arm, but I just figured that you want it tight and that's why we have power steering lol.

Been good for a year now.

bikedave99

Thanks for all the good replies guys. Mudhippy, you are not giving me a lot of hope for just re-bushing my idler. Can you tell me what markings would be on a stock idler so I can verify that before I by the duralast or start shaving the bushings I have? The bushing did fit nice and tight onto the shaft/bolt.

bikedave99

Yeah, the new bushing I have are probably a full 1/8" bigger than the opening, I don't think they will squeeze in.

MudHippy

On the left is the modified stock Toyota idler arm from my 88 PU. On the right is the RAYBESTOS 4501091B/Spicer Service Grade.

Really? Now that's very odd. I haven't heard of this happening yet with the plastic bushings. That's news to me. As far as I knew they would all fit into any of the housings, stock or aftermarket. Even the bushings from the RAYBESTOS/Spicer idler arm fit into the stock housing easily. They just have too small of an ID to fit onto either of the stock shafts.

I can guarantee you then that no stock bushings are going to fit into the housing, if the ones you've already tried won't. Both sizes have the exact same OD, just the ID differs between them. So unless you get bushings specifically designed for whichever aftermarket unit it is, it's not very likely that any others will either.

Sounds like it's time to take a trip down to the local Autozone...

bikedave99

Well, I'm pretty confused now, cause my idler arm looks just like the stock one in your picture, at least to my eyes:
Looks like the same casting marks and shapes etc. The only difference I can see is mine seems to have numbers stamped on the flange an I can't see them on yours.

MudHippy

Yeah, that's a stock one. You should either shove those bushings you've got in there, or shave 'em down a bit if you insist. I bet they'd work just fine. Too tight is no biggie, they'll loosen up with time. I promise.

PS, you put the dust seal on upside down.

bikedave99

Ha ha, it's upside down?! I must have been angry and in a hurry or something! Thanks for all your help mudhippy. Ok, went and picked up the other set of bushings I ordered from Toyota and here they are:


Against all odds, their OD is actually a little smaller thAn the first ones I got. Not sure if you can see this inthe picture or not. So, I have a bit of hope they will fit... But just a bit! Oh, and a tip for anyone else replacing bushings: don't take the idler off the truck, just rebuild it on the truck. Much easier to torque on the bolts while it is bolted to the frame! Thanks again guys and hopefully it will work this evening. Or I'll run to the zone and get the duralast

bikedave99

Well, in conclusion, even thought my idler arm looked, smelled, tasted and felt like it was stock, it wasn't apparently. Neither of the Toyota bushing options worked, so bolted on the duralast from autozone.

GO_BLUE!

Any of you know where I can find a write up? I have a new AutoZone FA5040 idler arm for my '92 Runner and I ordered 2 bushings from SDORI. I'd like to tackle this myself... but could use a little guidance. Is there a write-up somewhere I am missing?

bikedave99

I'm not sure if there is a write-up on it or not, but it isn't too hard. While it is still bolted onto the frame, use a pickle fork that you can borrow from Autozone to separate the tie-rod from the idler arm. This is a pickle fork:


Then, use a screw driver to pry the metal dome cap off of the top of the idler arm assembly. Loosen the nut on top while it is all still bolted to the frame so you have something to torque against. Then just pull the whole thing off the frame. Finish removing the nut on top, and you can pull the arm out of the body and swap the bushings.

Here is the closest thing to a write-up I could find:
http://www.4x4wire.com/toyota/maintenance/idler/

4Crawler

iTrader: (3)

Yep:
- http://www.4crawler.com/4x4/ForSale/...ng_HowTo.shtml

angrybob

Hmmm...A year ago I bought an idler arm from Autozone and they gave me the McQuay-Norris FA1739 idler arm for $52. I just called them and priced out the FA5040 for my own info and it was special order and $112.

I asked the guy if the part was for both the 2WD and 4WD and he said they were the same part#. I'm not going to mess with it because its tight at the moment, but my guess is that it will have a short life since my 4Runner is a trail rig. If and when it goes, I'll check the shaft diameter and my guess it will be the thinner shaft diameter like the Napa ATM1032403 (sold for 2WD & 4WD).

Idler arm varieties & dimensions are here:
http://www.4crawler.com/4x4/ForSale/IdlerArm.shtml

I wish I would've found this info a year ago.

The takeaway - Autozone *probably* sells an inferior idler arm in the FA1739 by default vs. the FA5040.


EDIT - I couldn't leave it alone The shaft diameter is the same as the FA5040 (mine measured 0.787") and there is no "555" stamped on it. It is probably the replacement FA5040 for Autozone and now seems to be "4WD strength" from the 4Crawler link above. Yay. Does have plastic bushings though.