Greetings Folks,
Well, I spent sometime on the phone today with Raybestos inquiring about the 92 Pickup 4x4 Idler Arm FA5040 or 450-1109 or K9242, etc. Nothing! No one knows the Diameter of the shaft. It is my opinion that parts are collected from other suppliers I.E. Sankei 555 and others, then assembled by Raybestos as FA 5040 or other numbers and no knows the diameter to the shaft. All of the arms that I could find were likely the smaller ones. I doubt that a parts store would let anyone pull the top cap off and measure the diameter. It seems that the 20mm (.786") shaft is no longer made.
Does anyone have another idea about this. I'd like to install the bronze bushings on the larger shaft. The Total Chaos Arm is just to expensive for my needs.
Ideas??
Cheers, chiefmanymiles
92 extra cab 22re 4x4 with 375,000mi.

 

Buy it, pull the cap, measure, re assemble, return if wrong.

 

You were more then likely talking to a person pulling up information on a computer . That most likely never saw a idler arm in person.

Then you gotta know the big auto parts vendors put parts out to bid the lowest bid to there specs wins.

Most often for a set number of pieces .

I sure that # was in Auto Zones stock at one time with the larger diameter shaft the same number now could be the smaller shaft.

If you want heavy duty you need to pay the price .

 

I reckon your right.

cheers

 

Call up SDORI as they make the brass bushing for that idle arm. They will know.

 

If I understand correctly. 4Crawler has acquired SDORI. With all due respect to 4Crawler he has written me saying the FA5040 20mm (.786) arm is out there. However, he doesn't seem to have much information to help you find it. The gentleman that posted to just buy it take the cap off, measure then reassemble and return if not the right one. Question? how to get the cap off without buggering it up?
Yes, I agree. If you want heavy duty you gotta Pay.

 

pretty sure the FA5040 can be bought at AutoZone. At least that's the first place I recall everyone getting them from. I don't recall Raybestos being a brand that supports this part - it is Duralast, McQuay Norris and Beck Arnley are the brands I remember having the correct dimensions.
more info here: http://www.4crawler.com/4x4/ForSale/IdlerArm.shtml
to get cap off, use a thin blade/screwdriver to get under and carefully pry it off.

 

Update. Autozone lists the FA 5040 as FA1739 which 4Crawler lists as one of the arms not supported in his list of arms that can be fitted with bushings.
Any more ideas out there folks.
Cheers

 

More update...
Anyone have experience with Carquest Idler arm 450-1109 or 450-1091? The 450-1091 is listed as fitting 4WD with manual steering. The 459-1109 is listed as fitting DLX 4WD with power steering and SR5 all? Anyone have a clue what the difference might be? The image of the 450-1109 looks suspiciously like a Sankei 555 arm. Ideas?
Cheers

 

You can never go by pictures in online catalogs .

 

True. I did go to Carquest and look at the 450-1109. It did have Sankei 555 on it. No the 450-1091 I don't know yet. Gonna find out.
Cheers

 

Greetings Folks, Here's an update on the quest for the mythical real McCoy or rather McQuay FA5040. I bought what was supposed to be an FA5040 from Autozone. It isn't! Cheap made in China part with the same number. I carefully pulled the cap off and measured the shaft. It is small. Like under 19mm. Grrrrr. Guess, I'll return it. It definitely appears the larger (20mm-.786in) arm just isn't available. I've looked at 4 parts stores in my area Carquest stocks the Raybestos 450-1109 and 450-1091. The 1109 has the Sankei 555 stamp on it. The 1091 does not. As a side note, Raybestos and McQuay-Norris are part of a group called Affinia Group which is also some how connected to Federal-Mogul. So there is lots of part sharing going on. O'Reilly has another cheap China made arm that oddly enough has a grease fitting on it. Napa, same story. So, I'm at an impasse on this project. 4Crawler says on their site that arms are out of stock and if they can't find a supplier I'm likely to run into the same problem. I'd guess the market for 4Crawler bushings isn't brisk. One last place to try is the Toyota dealer.
Ideas? Anyone?
Cheers

 

I have been struggling for a few weeks to find a "real" fa5040. w/ 20mm shaft

from 4crawler site-
http://www.4crawler.com/4x4/ForSale/IdlerArm.shtml

Idler Arm Model Cost/US$ Shaft Dia. Shaft Dia. Supported
McQuay-Norris FA5040 $60 - $70 0.786" 20.0mm Yes
McQuay-Norris FA5040GL
for Right Hand Drive $60 - $70 0.786" 20.0mm Yes
Duralast FA5040 $60 - $70 0.786" (some) 20.0mm Some *
Napa - Altrom/Ultra-8 ATM-1032403 $85 0.786" (some) 20.0mm Yes *
Duralast FA1739 ??? 0.786" - varies 20.0mm No
Moog K80536 $100 0.767" 19.5mm No
Napa - NCP2683702 $119 0.767" 19.5mm No
Beck Arnley 1014228 $125 - $150 0.767" 19.5mm No
Dealer/OEM $160 - $220 0.767" 19.5mm No
Sankei 555 $160+? 0.767"? 19.5mm No *
Napa - ATM-1032403 (sold for 2WD & 4WD) $71 0.703" 17.9mm No *

as you can see, the factory pieces will not have a 20mm shaft either. Not sure what I'm going ton do at this point yet. Both of my factory arms are not rebuildable due to corrosion/ wear at the bottom of the shaft.

I'm tempted, at this point, to measure the inside bore of my 2nd gen arm and go find a long 20mm dia. bolt to replace the pivot shaft for use with bronze bushings. That, or go with the $36 option with lifetime warantee and install with anti-sieze on everything so I can change it quick and easy.

 

Greetings, Returned the FA5040 arm to AZ yesterday. On the way home I had the same thought about having a machinist replace a smaller shaft with a larger one. I reckon that may be the only option. Now the question becomes what to use. What hardness does it need to be? Can a larger shaft be welded to it without damaging the joint that attaches to the traverse rod? Think I'm going to write 4Crawler and see if they would under take the project.
Ideas?
Cheers

 

I read a post somewhere (can't remember where) someone got a grade 8 bolt several inches long, welded it in "for all eternity" and added a zerk to the housing. He may have used the oem plastic bushings? I will try to find the thread.

 

https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f116...74/index2.html


it's MUDHIPPY's post. #39

3/4 by 8". no mention of grade 8.

 

I have bad news for you all, I think Duralast switched suppliers and is now getting their FA5040 from China. I don't know all the in's and out's of what is going on but I used to go to Autozone and order the FA5040 and get the "Mythical Creature" The last few times I have been getting something else like so many others have.

a

b

The latest Idler arm looks different and it came in a larger box. I had the old box so I compared the two boxes and read the labels. I noticed the larger box said "Made in China" but imported into Mexico. The smaller box didn't say anything about being made in China, just that it was imported to the USA from Mexico.

c

d

e

(Its sad the USA can't keep up with the might of China's low cost manufacturing. The imported stuff wins because we all want low prices, but I find it ironic the Mexico is falling behind on this one as well. I live less than 100 miles from the Mexican border and that close proximity should be a leg up on China in terms of shipping cost but its not! What is the deal with NAFTA? (North American Free Trade Agreement) Is it possible the junk we are buying now is imported from China into Mexico, who turns it around and imports to the USA. Seems like some one found a way around the system)

Anyway, enough about that, moving on to something constructive. I know the Ideler Arm is different as I don't remember these numbers in the casting on the old unit.

f

I popped of the dust cap and removed the nut.

g

h

i

j

The shaft was still tightly held in place by the captured washer so I used a ball joint puller and pressed it off.

k

With the washer removed the shaft slid from the housing. I measured it with dial calipers and it was .700 inches in diameter.

l

Now the moment of truth, will the Blazeland turn key Idler Arm Brace (iAb) fit the new Made in China Idler Arm?

Nope, it don't fit!

If I wasn't out of the laser cut pieces the Blazeland "iAb-DIY" would be a no brainer to fit onto this latest version. Since I have a few "turn key" iAb's in inventory, and I want to get this done today, I decided to cut off the lower tab and relocate it to the correct position. And here it is!

m

Now to re-assemble. Place the brace on top of the captured washer and then tighten the nylock nut. The nut wasn't very tight when I removed it, so it will go back as it was. If you over tighten the nut the rotation of the arm has too much drag.

n

o

p

And the last check is to bolt it onto the frame and attach the centerlink. All the clearances look good and it is operating correctly.

q

I'll make another fixture for welding and next time I order some laser cutting of 1/4" plate I'll be sure to build a dozen or so units for the Duralast FA5040-Made in China version. Just look for the markings ( IAK2494 L ) and you'll know which one to order.

 

I wouldn't get to caught up in the shaft size or the brass bushings. If your running a brace the shaft is no longer a cantilever, its a double sheer. The geometry is triangulated and we all know a triangle is strong, so a smaller shaft isn't a deal breaker.

And as for the bronze bushings they never did fit correctly and as such you had to adjust the pre-load of the nut by feel, then use a second nut as a jam nut to lock it in place. One hard impact and the bronze bushing would deform and it wouldn't spring back like plastic bushings do. Bending the shaft is the problem not the bushing material.

 

Greetings,
Well. Now I'm confused. All this time I had it in my head that the bushings were the way to go. Perhaps, I ought to just go back to plan B and get one of the better arms out there and be done with it. I use my truck to camp and drive to trailheads and other adventures. Not a serious rock crawler or anything like that. Nor is my truck modified. Well, better shocks and a added leaf spring and urethan leaf spring bushings. Just a little above average user. Least I forget. Snow and bad roads. We get those
here in western Colorado.
The pictures you posted shows the same arm that I bought at AZ and returned. There are others out there that are similar. ProForge is one of them and I'm thinking of ordering that one.
Any other advice is welcome.
Cheers

 

Yeah, it is all confusing! The thing that I can't understand is why would all these big time manufactures keep reproducing a bad design. IF Moog, Duralast, Three Five, etc were smart they would contact Total Chaos and make an offer to mass produce that design. I'm sure TC would welcome it if it was a profitable partnership and the consumer would be stoked on an awesome product at an affordable price. A big time manufacturer producing the TC unit in mass production should be able to do it and make it affordable. Seems like a beter way to go than rehash a bad design.

I am keeping the Idler Arm I tore into. The second one I ordered never left the store. I had the clerk open the box and as soon as I saw the identification numbers in the casting knew which unit I had.