MudHippy

Thanks. I was pretty proud of that weld myself.

MudHippy

Put the slightly altered brace on today, pics of what it looks like before I go install. Test run scheduled for the near future. Failure=Total Chaos, I am DONE fiddlin' with Toyota idler arms.


(blue threadlocker if your wonderin')

dirtroads_33

Congrats on your 1000th post. Maybe you should treat your fingers to a manicure or something. On second thought scratch that idea.

MudHippy

Thank you very much for noticing. I consider it an accomplishment, of what I don't know. But, I done somethin' here, surely.

Oh yeah, been wailin' away at the keys way too much. Need to get out and drive my Toyota more instead.

Gotta do a little more grinding on that brace there. I'll do that tonight, go drive it tomorrow.

Wheelingnoob

Any update on how the bushings are working??

I just killed another idler arm, 2 days after putting on a brand new Toyota one and Downey Bracket.

At this point its try the bushings and see or go TC idler arm.

Jeremy

davenjai

seafarinman

I had a NWOR IFS idler arm brace once. Was pretty stout and survived my abuse until it was removed for my SAS. It was mounted on a new factory idler arm since I went and learned the lesson about cranking t-bars too much-I destroyed the pitman, idler, and upper and lower balljoints. I am glad that I don't have to worry about that stuff now.

vwfastg60

your going to brake the joint on the relay rod next.....Ask me how i know!
If your lucky you will clean out the pitman arm in the same snap. I will get a pic of the truss i built. I used 1/8inch and it bent so im going 1/4 and trussing the joint on the end and the pitman arm.

MudHippy

O.k. then. It's been 6 months and I've had time to thoroughly evaluate the durability of these things. Sorry to take so long to get back to you all. I wouldn't want to endorse a product I wasn't sure was of the HIGHEST quality available for my fellow YTers and all other 4wd Toyota enthusiasts worldwide, should they find this in their web searching. So, without further ado...

My conclusion based on several many hours of trail time and lot's of street driving = Good stuff...I like them ALOT! They've performed FLAWLESSLY. I gave them as my torture as me and my truck could muster. Meaning, I ran it and them through the ringer in the last 6 months, including bending my trussed idler arm(untrussed portion of the arm, not the truss or the shaft with the bushings)with them installed. They've remained fully intact with NO noticeable signs of wear. I kept them/the shaft fully lubed at all times with a high-quality EP grease(Lucas Oil product)which did it's job well too. I have a tendency to "over"-lube everything on my truck, so shooting the idler arm with a pump or two of grease every week keeps my mind at ease, needed or not.

Also, I immediately observed a slightly crisper, more responsive, feel to the steering when I installed them. I've gone through a dozen or so pairs of the plastic ones, and none of them brand new felt as nice as these. And, instead of losing that "fresh" feel of new bushings after a few months, or 1 wheeling trip in my exp., these feel brand new still(and still BETTER than new plastic bushings IMO)after 6.

(Bottom line)
I would recommend them to anyone needing a *lifetime replacement for their stock 4wd 89-95 Pickup & 4Runner(Hilux/Surf)idler arm bushings. As these are intended to replace OE factory part #90386-19005. They are NOT compatible with pre-89, 2wd, or after-market idler arms that don't also use bushings with that same part # or it's equivalent(Beck/Arnley part #1014513).This is unconfirmed data, but does reflect my personal knowledge and experiences with Toyota idler arms. I still need to get hold of a #90386-19005 bushing to measure for cross-reference. So don't be too suprised if the ones you get don't quite fit your particular idler arm(meaning, I don't know which ones they do fit for sure myself yet).

*That's from the guy making and selling them, not me. BUT, at this point, I would tend to agree. I don't see mine wearing out any time soon anyway. DEFINETELY $ well spent in my book. Sure, plastic bushings are MUCH cheaper(~$4), but, replacing them on a monthly basis however... I find myself not missing it that much...nope, not much at all.



P.S., I don't care what bends or breaks next. Odds are I've already broke it or bent it one way and had to bend it back the other anyway(i.e. bent the relay rod, the frame, the unbraced end of the idler arm, the steering shaft that goes to the gearbox, snapped the shaft inside the idler arm, snapped off the steering gearbox upper frame mount, so on and so forth...). I'm not real careful when it comes to bending and/or breaking stuff. Happens often, but I got a 10,000lb. winch, a welder, a torch, a hammer, and an anvil.

Can you say "Getter Done!"?

P.P.S., On that note, my truss redesign is in the works. Probably similar to the first ver. on page 1 of this thread. Never fully tested itself, yet it had done exceptionally well in breif trials(better than the ver. in the pic above at least). Maybe it'll finally solve the arm bending issue. Wish me luck!

vwfastg60

good luck im working on building a truss for the ends that bolt to the relay rods and a set of DOM relay rods right now. My problem was with the brace the un braced part would brake and take out the pitman arm. Somewhere along the way i bent a tierod. I had to rebuild my truss cause i used 1/8inch plate and the stupid thing bent. Im doing all this so i can enjoy the truck for a while and still wheel sometimes while i gather parts for a SAS the IFS just is not cutting it anymore.

elripster

I have been looking into these bushings. Oil impregnated bronze is not "soft" when compared to the stock bushing, it is quite a bit stronger and I predict they will continue to work well for you.

Frank

tc

Still waiting on mine to come in the mail ...

tc

Well, I finally got them ... and they don't fit

Fortunately, the OD is oversize and the ID undersize, so I can machine it to spec. So, tomorrow, I will machine them myself, and call the guys and trade the ACTUAL dimensions they need to be for a refund.

I'm wondering if the V6 shaft is beefier than the 4cyl ...

tc

Machined the parts at work this morning. Here's the problem:

Looking at fitting the idler arm shaft into the bushing:

Idler arm shaft diameter 0.7635" - 0.7670"
(the base end appears to be corroded a couple thou)

Bushing inner diameter 0.7611" - 0.7629"
(the two bushings were about a thou different)

So at 0.005" different, it could have maybe been pressed on with heating the bushing and cooling the shaft, but it's not supposed to be tight like that.

I called and talked to Custom Machining, and they said when they have this happen, they ask the customer to ship their idler arm, and they adjust the bushings to fit the customer's arm for free.

Looking at fitting the bushings in the housing:
Housing inner diameter 0.9303" - 0.9314"
(the two ends were maybe a thou different)

Bushing outer diameter 0.9450" - 0.9460"

No way it fits in 0.015" oversize.

So, turned both the OD and ID down to where it fits pretty tight, will work nice when I get some grease in there. Fortunately, the grease grooves were deep enough that I didn't have to redo them.

aviator

Hmmm very interesting hippy I had to replace my idler arm last spring as the bushings on the one I had had worn and it was beyond repair. My mech. gave me a sweet deal on one he had that was still in OK condition but I think I may try the bronze bushings in the spring just to solve a problem permanently (which is what I like). Just out of curiousity did you locate the zerk on the back side to clear your truss or for some other reason?
Happy New Year
Aviator

edit: tc you say there was a problem with the fitment of the part eh?
did they give you any details on why there is a problem?

tc

They said there are so many different sizes and combinations that they couldn't possibly account for all of them, so they make them to what will fit the vast majority.

MudHippy

Shoot, I'm sorry to hear that tc.

I found the OD on mine to be a very acceptable fit. The weren't so tight as to need any more than a stiff thumb to install. But snug enough not too want to spin around during use. Seem to fit just as new plastic bushings do in my idler arm housing.

And the ID on yours was too tight? Dang, I might have been saved the hassle of having to reshaft mine if the ones I got were like that.

I'm not sure what to make of all this confusion. Are these parts manufactured to the right specs? Or is it that the idler arms are being produced with different tolerances?

Whatever the case, I hope it works out for ya without to much more hassle.

edit: yeah, you could have that right about there being many different sizes. Probably at least 1 or 2 that I don't know of. Gonna have to stop considering myself an expert on the subject too.

Yeah, the truss limited my options a bit. That was the only place left that I could get at with a grease gun with the thing still on the truck.

But I'm gonna have to tell ya to use some caution before purchasing them. I have had good luck making mine fit and work right. But, it sounds like tc's are even more off for his app. than mine were. So....

drew303

I applaud all the hard work and detail you folks are putting into your idler arms but I have to ask again (as someone already mentioned in this thread) why not stick w/ the stock arms and just replace them when the shaft bends w/ the lifetime warranty all the parts stores offer?

Thats my route at least. I replace mine every year or soon as I notice it beginning to bend. Easier than an oil change =p

I've just never heard of one actually breaking.

aviator

Personally I detest messing with things again and again when I can take care of it (argueably) once and for all. Also the idea of a greaseable component appeals to me and if it makes the steering tighter and more precise double bonus. I think before I spend the cash though I would disassemble mine and check measurements with a caliper then get them to check theirs if it will fit then I'd jump on it.

yotasavg

hey tc, while that sucks (for both of us since i got a set for xmas), i machined mine and they work fine. i've noticed tighter steering and i like them.

i wasn't planning on sending them back since i've made them work, but i talked with chad on the phone and he said we could work something out. what are you doing about it?? lemme know, thanks.