so i've done some research and am now even more confused....

what i'm wondering is: while trying to improve my steering, what parts should i be looking at to fix/replace?

is it the idler arm that needs attention? or the bushings?

 

front wheel bearings, steering stabilizer, bushings, and idler arm. id be doin those first.

 

grab the tire at the 3 and 9 position and push, pull, turn, and move it in any way possible. have someone look at the steering and see whats moving, what bushings, tie-rods, pitman arm, etc is moving that shouldnt be.

 

ok, i guess i should mention that i just did the wheel bearings, so that's out. steering stabilizer was new in april (OME). so i guess i'll check out the wheel movement. i have a feeling that it's in the idler bushings.....is there any was to upgrade these or is OEM the way to go?

 

i jsut replaced mine with an OEM style replacement from Advance Auto. I know that Total Chaos has a idler arm gusset or somthing like that.

 

Downey makes an idler arm brace.
Pretty much a must have if you take the vehicle off road at all, after you replace the bushings if they're bad:







Fred

 

hey Fred, how much does one of them run you?

 

$49.95 + shipping from Downey.



Fred

 

i have been chasing a loose feeling and found it. the fool who did my alignment for got to tighten the adjusting sleeve on the outer tie rod.

 

yesterday i went down to some trails after school before work, and was having to deal with the wheel shooting side to side more than i noticed last time, prolly shouldnt of been pushing it that hard either tho...

 

oooh that sucks. at least you found it!

UPDATE: i messed with the adjustment screw on top of the steering box and it's 100% better. but my q is, how do i tell if the bushings are bad on the idler arm? and what i meant to ask is should i get OEM bushings or go with aftermarket? i though i'd seen a thread on that a few months back.....

thanks for that pic FRED i've been thinking about getting one.

 

Yes there is as a matter of fact. These are solid manganese bronze idler arm bushings, with tap and zirk to mod the arm and bushings to be lubable. I have some and they are worth every penny of the $60 I paid for 'em. I also have installed a custom idler arm brace that I designed myself(superior strength to any on the market). My idler arm, upgraded stock unit, is every bit as durable the TC unit IMO. At a WAY lower cost. Very satisfied.

Want some?Click here.

 

o thanks so much mudhippy! that's the kit i was suggesting....can you post pics of your brace as well? i'm interested.....

 

Here's that thread it has pic of the brace ver.1.0 on the first page, ver.2.0 on page 2.

 

hey that looks real good! are you opposed to someone copying you? if not, could you give me the specs?

 

No I couldn't care less really. I've done some more tweaking on it, call it ver. 3.0. I cut a little more material from the elbow to clear my 35" tires while making a hard left turn. Like an 1/8", nothing huge. Also ground a little off where it was hitting the steering(idler)arm stop on the frame rail.

It's too cold to go take measurements tonight. I'll draw something up for ya tomorrow and post it up for whoever wants to see. I've been needing to update that other thread, so I'll post it in there.

 

that's awesome. i really appreciate your help.

 

Funny this comes up......The steering has felt funny for a while now, so seeing how I had to replace the stabilazer end links, up on the stand it went.

About 6 mo ago I finally got around to having the center link recall done.......guess what I found .......


EVERY SINGLE NUT WAS LOOSE !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Gotta luv the dealers haft wit techs for that one !!!!!!!!!

Could be something as simple as this........

 

mud hippy, if you see this, how in depth is the process of installing the bushings? how much time should i allow?

i bought the bushings and the downer brace the other day.

 

yotasavg - when you messed with the adjustment nut on top of the steering box...how exactly did you do this? where is it and how hard is it to get to and everything? I've had loose steering for quite awhile. I've personally replaced the tie rod ends, pitman arm, and idler arm and while it helped a lot, i'm still not satisfied.