Idler Arm hit the bad nerve
03-22-2016, 05:36 PM
#1
Registered User
Thread Starter
Idler Arm hit the bad nerve
Got a Duralast FA5040 and the bushings from 4crawler a few months ago and finally had the time today to install it. Well it didnt go so well for me.
Pulled my old one that done all but fall into a hundred pieces first. Got the bushings and the new arm and headed to the shop to put it together. Tore down pretty quick and got the bushings pressed in easily, then the trouble came!!
Started in with the shaft and it wasnt no where near as big as the bushings
So i had to fetch the plastic bushings from the garbage and put it back together and one the truck so i could use it this weekend for opening of Turkey season.
What gives here? Manufacturers saving money? Bad run of parts?
Needless to say the lower radiator hose is leaking at the stainless pipe thats going to the radiator. Found this after the idler arm but had to fix a leaking injector is what started this fiasco. Not a good evening for me!
Pulled my old one that done all but fall into a hundred pieces first. Got the bushings and the new arm and headed to the shop to put it together. Tore down pretty quick and got the bushings pressed in easily, then the trouble came!!
Started in with the shaft and it wasnt no where near as big as the bushings
So i had to fetch the plastic bushings from the garbage and put it back together and one the truck so i could use it this weekend for opening of Turkey season.
What gives here? Manufacturers saving money? Bad run of parts?
Needless to say the lower radiator hose is leaking at the stainless pipe thats going to the radiator. Found this after the idler arm but had to fix a leaking injector is what started this fiasco. Not a good evening for me!
Last edited by Regency; 03-22-2016 at 05:39 PM.
03-22-2016, 06:44 PM
#2
Only some Duralast FA5040 idler arms are supported.
http://www.4crawler.com/4x4/ForSale/IdlerArm.shtml
You didn't do your homework. That's what gives.
http://www.4crawler.com/4x4/ForSale/IdlerArm.shtml
You didn't do your homework. That's what gives.
03-22-2016, 06:53 PM
#3
Registered User
Thread Starter
I remember seeing that but you wont know until you get the part in hand. But still, what drives a manufacturer to have different variations of the same part? Thats what i meant by what gives here.
03-23-2016, 07:06 AM
#4
Different applications use different size shafts. They may look similar and even have the same part #. But they just aren't the same part. It's up to you to tell the difference, and know exactly what you're buying. That's why so much care and attention to detail went into explaining these facts for you. It's as thorough an explanation as it could possibly be. The who, what, where, why is all there in black and white.
(*) One thing to beware of is that sometimes, you'll get an arm in a box marked "FA5040". But be sure to check for a genuine FA5040 arm before taking the box out of the store. The genuine item is marked with a single "L", as noted below. The genuine arm is also in a nice shiny black clean finish. The imitation "iak9424" arms are in a rough dark gray finish, like they were taken directly out of the sand mold and into the box.
Also, some Duralast FA5040 arms have a casting mark of "iak9424 L (click for picture of stamping)" instead of the plain "L" on the genuine FA5040 arm (click for picture of genuine FA5040 arm). This "iak9424 L" arm has an undersized shaft, comparable in diameter to the 2WD arm and appears to be a lower quality part. So be sure to check for that when you get the arm. Best bet is to pick one up at your local FLAPS where you can open the box at the counter and verify you are getting the genuine article before leaving the store. Note that some parts catalogs list a Duralast FA1739 arm for certain model years. This arm while the same overall mounting dimensions as the FA5040 arm, has a lower quality casting and the arm shaft diameter is poorly machined meaning that it is difficult to get the bronze bushings onto it. So ignore the parts catalog recommendation and go with the FA5040 part. And this also applies to the Napa-ATM-103-2403 idler arm, if it has just the "L" casting mark, then it is likely the "good" version, otherwise, it is likely the undersized version.
Also, some Duralast FA5040 arms have a casting mark of "iak9424 L (click for picture of stamping)" instead of the plain "L" on the genuine FA5040 arm (click for picture of genuine FA5040 arm). This "iak9424 L" arm has an undersized shaft, comparable in diameter to the 2WD arm and appears to be a lower quality part. So be sure to check for that when you get the arm. Best bet is to pick one up at your local FLAPS where you can open the box at the counter and verify you are getting the genuine article before leaving the store. Note that some parts catalogs list a Duralast FA1739 arm for certain model years. This arm while the same overall mounting dimensions as the FA5040 arm, has a lower quality casting and the arm shaft diameter is poorly machined meaning that it is difficult to get the bronze bushings onto it. So ignore the parts catalog recommendation and go with the FA5040 part. And this also applies to the Napa-ATM-103-2403 idler arm, if it has just the "L" casting mark, then it is likely the "good" version, otherwise, it is likely the undersized version.
03-23-2016, 07:50 AM
#5
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Thread Starter
Bad for me that i was not anywhere around at the time the part needed to be picked up and i didnt think about the castings and i could not get the part in hand for another week. Stores around here do not stock this item so it had to be ordered.
It will not happen again though.
It will not happen again though.
03-24-2016, 03:08 AM
#6
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Duralast isn't the manufacturer, they are the supplier. The supplier gets parts from the cheapest manufacturer, reboxes, marks up, and sells them. The manufacturer could be any one of many, maybe dozens, of places around the world. The manufacturer only needs to make the parts interface with the frame and the center link. The stuff in between is up to them. At one point, Autozone was getting idler arms which happened to have a larger shaft diameter than others. But those no longer seem to be made by anyone. The manufacturer probably changed the design to save a few bucks. Oh well. The original FA5040 is gone. The part # still exists but it's not the same as what it used to be.
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