modot66

so i just was aligning my tires after putting on 33's and noticed a ton of slop in the infamous idler arm. haven't looked at it for a few months and have wheeled it. last time i replaced everything about a year ago i put in the autozone arm and brass bushings from SDORI. when i was moving stuff around with a crowbar i noticed by lower BJ's were pretty much blown and my idler arm had slop also.

am i crazy? i though the brass bushing was supposed to resolve the idler slop issue?

also of note...i have 1.5" upper BJ spacers

been messing with this dang idler arm a few times. thinking about buying the total chaos.

thoughts?

Yotard

My guess is that your bad ball joints caused excessive torsion on the idler arm and wrecked the bushings. I have been running the same system with 32s for 2 years and wheeling in the Tahoe forest without any issues. I changed out the ball joints when I put the BJ spacers in even though they seemed fine.

modot66

with your NWOR truss, did you install that on the stock idler arm? i usually use the autozone one and wondering if it will fit. i will search as well

Yotard

Yes I put it on the stock arm, I believe they say on their website that it only fits the stock arm. I copied the SDORI bushings with my own. I have a mill and lathe in my garage so I made my own bronze bushings.

angrybob

I have the exact setup you have and have had no problems. My setup is more than a year old and I have bent the idler arm from wheeling with no damage to the base / bushing. I simply got a warranty part and swapped out the arm only.

My guess is the same as above with some other reason or high load than bushing performance.

MudHippy

You're not crazy...AFAIK.

Though, even I wouldn't say that brass/bronze bushings totally resolve the idler arm slop issue. I will say that they'll FAR outlast any non-metal bushings as far as limiting slop. But for more severe use...you'd better have some kind of idler arm truss/brace too. And/or plan on replacing the bushings when needed(if they wear out before the arm also needs replaced). You'll still be replacing them FAR less often(than if they were plastic).

And if that ain't enough to cure your problem...then yeah...buy a TC IA. If you can justify that as being a "cost effective" solution.

My questions are...if they're so durable/worth their weight in gold, then why do they sell "rebuild" kits(replacement bushings/bearings) for them? And/or...how often are you likley to need one of those? Do you really save any money running one of these things? Or would it be cheaper if you just stuck with replacing the stock-type idler arm, bronze bushings, or brace/truss if/when needed?

modot66

yeah that's what i'm leaning towards. $35 autozone idler arm + $80 idler brace + brass bushing $35 = $150. i could buy two of each and still not even crack the cost of the total chaos. i'm sure it's nice but if i'm going to put down money like that it will be towards an '83-'85 front axle and a SAS rainy day fund.

would be nice to not keep breaking idler arms and ball joints!

Yotard

Make sure that you replace the ball joints with 555. I got them from NWOR when I ordered the truss from them.

NickMiller

I'm actually looking for a brace as well... Does anyone know how much the NWOR brace costs?

donomite49

i spent the dough and got a chaos idler arm, and let me tell you it weighs about four times as much as the stock arm.
i don't see it ever wearing out, if it does there are bearings to replace so it's pretty much a lifetime part.
that being said it should be as much as it costs lol...
i guess you get what you pay for.

modot66

hey man, clicked on your youtube link, nice engine! how hard was the 3.4 swap? did you upgrade the diffs & brakes as well? i am seriously considering a 3.4 since my 22RE has been rebuilt to the max and is starting to knock.

any tips for the swap?

Yamiryder

Where can i get brass bushings and an idler arm brace?

donomite49

it is a lot of work, it took me about three months, but i went the extra mile with a custom exhaust crossover underneath and just tried to do everything right since i plan on keeping this truck.
but i will tell you, it is so worth it imo, the 3.4 is an awesome engine, and i have'nt even charged it yet..
i upgraded the front brakes to v6 oem (front) and trail gear rear discs. stops about as good as my daily driver, an acura integra.
the diffs are stock for now, i will be doing long travel suspension, probably total chaos front and a T100 rear end with deaver springs with shock towers inside the wheel well?? to leave as much bed intact as possible.
that means fiberglass fenders and bedsides.

read jason d's stickie in the 3.4 swap forum, he did a 4 to 6 swap. good info there and mtn goat's swap thread.
if you do the swap get a complete donor it will be so much easier and cheaper too.
look up ORS (off road solutions) website you can read up on the swap and download instructions too.
toy only swaps in oregon does harnesses and swaps, look them up too.
do your research before you dive in but if you get it done you will love it, i do mine. let me know if i can help i will try lol...

donomite49

i think 4x4wire has an article on that iirc.

Yotard

You can get the brace from Nwor but only for the oem arm. You can get the bushings from sdori but only for the aftermarket autozone arm. That is why I made my own bushings for the oem arm

snobdds

You want to make some more brass bushings for the OEM arm and then sell me some...?

Yotard

The short answer is no.

Long answer is that 1' of bronze bar stock is $65
Setup time + cutting time plus clean up time probably 3 hours total and I bill out at 75 an hours shop rate. Total cost to you would be 290 so 300 with shipping.

SDORI sells them for 35 for the autozone arm. Just the material cost alone for me is between 7 and 10 per part that would mean I would have to make them on my manual machine in 20 min not possible with set up and clean up time in there too.