ewong

Basically

- drill center link hole to 5/8"
- Torque bolt btw idler and center link to 100ft-lbs (as per TC)

enjoy

Total Chaos King Kong Idler Arm vs OEM




BTW

It needs a dust cap. Im gonna try a milk jug cap...




It has a 4th bolt.
Somtimes this bolt interferes with the ARB bumper. TC will make one where the bracket is lowered. Me thinks they should make em all lowered and add a washer...




Here it is installed - Purty.







Old Heckthorn steering stabilizer. Note that the nut is based from hitting the pitman arm turn stopper




OME has no nut on that side - better clearance

thook

What kind of suspension kit is that with the dual shocks? I've never that kind of "arm" they appear to be mounted to (?) up top.

BTW, looks like rust loves you.

dlbrunner

NICE!!!

I really want one of those

norcalsvx

looks like the downey kit maybe

ewong

thook:
>What kind of suspension kit is that with the dual shocks?

Its the old skool Downey dual kit.

Installed circa 1990 when I was way younger and dumber and things like remote res shocks were "unheard of" on anything short of exotic race trucks.

I would go LT today.
Im planning on LT... just havent gotten the $ to get to it yet.
The truck is a "recreational" truck. Its no longer a DD.
Two kids kinda eat up any spare $

norcalsvx:

Get the weld on forward bracket.
Or you WILL be getting the weld on forward bracket.
Its not a question ow when - its how soon.

thook:
>BTW, looks like rust loves you.

1989 - last of the Gen1 4Runners.
Original owner.
360K on the odo
Driven to NE ski areas every winter from 1990 to 2002...
Lots of road salt...

Brenjen

The TC arm is a monster, the only drawback is the cost & the fact that you have to drill the drag link. That means if you ever DO bend or break it the only one that will fit in it's place is the TC arm.....If it weren't for the drilling I'd have one with a cheapie spare.

ewong

>ever DO bend or break it

I never BROKE or BENT an idler arm - just bushing wear and sloopy steering.

Me thinks if you DO break it - you have other problems than just and idler arm...

YMMV

thook

Thanks Jay and ewong. How well does it work for you? Not that I'll be getting one (or anything like it) anytime soon (!!!$$$!!!), but I'm curious. I think before I do go with something like that, I'd get a truss made for the backside of the control arms. I'm more curious to see if it would help my vehicle hold alignments any better. Country roads are hell!! At that point, I may even get some supportive measures welded to the idler arm. Maybe by then, I'll have a welder...

That's alot of miles on a vehicle, man. Congratulations. I plan on mine going atleast that far....shooting for more. Speaking of which.....don't know if you'd remember....a while back you and I had sorta discussed the issue of rings (in some long forgotten thread) and whether or not I'd need them and actually when. I'd debated the idea and said something to the effect of "Well, I take really good care of my vehicle....and blah, blah, blah"....lol. Well, you were right. I now have new rings in my '86. Plus, new bearings, seals, repair sleeves....yada, yada. Anyway, just givin' credit where credit's due...

(And, btw, how'd you know? )

Brenjen

Hmmm, then it would've been cheaper for you to go the bronze bushing route for $65. Several people claim to have bent them & some even say they have snapped the head off of them before. I never have because I am new to Toyota's & haven't really off roaded my 4Runner yet & won't until I can lock & armor it. I stuck a set of the bronze bushings in last week (I think...maybe the week before) & they were too tight so I had to dremmel them a bit, I''ll see how they work soon enough.

ewong

I dont doubt that the bronze bushing route is cheaper.

Im older (remember - I'm the original owner of an 89 4Runner).
With kids - TIME costs more then money.
I expect to never replace or deal with an idler arm ever again

BTW - I used to replace the plastic bushings on a regular basis.

If the brace isnt stuck to the arm - its a 30min deal - you dont even have to unbolt the arm from the relay rod OR unbolt the housing from the frame - just pull the top nut and push the shaft down from the housing......

I just got no time any more...

I havent gotten the truck re-aligned yet - its off

It SEEMS to have less slack than the worn one

Brenjen

Me too, meee too. I'm 40 with two jr. high & sr. high school aged daughters. I expect these bronze replacements to keep until the truck rots out from under them, if not I'm definitely going with the TC arm since I want a TC genII caddy kit w/uni-balls anyway.

joshuapc

what is the purpose of the tc idler arm? strength?

ewong

Strength (wont bend/break as easily as a stock arm - including the "braced" stock arm.

Durability

The "ball joint" is now a replaceable bearing (me guesses its a unit bearing but Im not sure)

The upper part is now a HUGE bronze sleeve.
The arm loads the center of the sleeved section - not the end. Think of it as double shear versus single shear.

Its a "race truck" part...

And most important - it looks bling

joshuapc

sounds like a good investment. hows the double shock set up handle?

ewong

I would NOT call it an "investment".
It sure wont be worth much for retirement.

Its a "truck toy".

The double shock hoop is OK for stock torsions.
Its not so good for the 300M torsions that I have - wrong valving.

If I were doing today - Id go LT and coil over with a bypass....

The biggest problem is that there is no room in the OEM upper arm to get a bigger shock in there...

Brenjen

norcalsvx

looks good start saving for a LT kit-

joshuapc

whats an LT kit?

Aywilkerson

I got to replace my idler arm it knoks like crazy going down dirt roads and pot holes, does anybody make something similar but"budget". I have a lockrite locker in mine now and go through some extreme angles. so i need to get all my steering parts Beeffed up.

norcalsvx

LT is a long travel kit (http://chaosfab.com/)