Total Caos Idler ARM vs. Idler arm Brace/TRUSS
 

Ok here is my question...

The TC idler Arm is BULLET proff...But at $350 its way too much I could almost hang a solid axle at the price...

I can get brass bushing for $33 bucks shiped and the truss/brace thing shipped at $93=$126 dollars

Will bushing and a brace hold up like the TC arm???


Does the brace protect the arm from bending???

or does it act like a skid plate???

I have read and been told Auto ZONE makes a strong one for like $60 then put brass bushing in it and call it good...and bushing at $33 im looking under$100 bucks...

What is my best bang for the Money??? and the TC arm is out of the question I cant justify spending $350 for steal its a RIPP OFF...

Please let me know what your imput is??????????

really depends on what kind of driving you do or what your plans for the rig are. is it mostly street/weekend wheeler or are you wheeling a lot and pushing the limits of your IFS? what usually kills the idler arm is big heavy tires, turning at low-speed/high torque situations, like while offroading or lots of twisty roads. with the 31" tires you have, you should be good with the brass bushings and brace. the idler arm brace/truss is exactly that - it's designed to *help* keep the idler arm in its proper geometry when the steering arm is putting force against it. it's not designed to act like a "skid plate". it does help, but the brace can still give way or bend, allowing the idler to break or bend as well - there are a few pics floating around if you search for them. if you had bigger tires (33-35") and wheel the truck all the time, or even just want the extra insurance, then you would probably benefit from the TC idler vs what you might spend if you have to replace the idler a couple times.

I currently have 31" tires and still have the stock idler and don't have brass bushings or the brace, although I should. I plan on going up to a 33" tire very soon, so I will definitely be looking into some more beef especially since i'm planning on wheeling the truck more. I might end up just going with the TC idler arm because I know for sure that this truck will retain IFS with the possibility of going LT in the future.

So to answer the question more clearly: Idler brace/brass bushings would be smart for basically any truck that sees dirt. TC idler would be for those who wheel more than your average weekend wheeler or those who are pushing the limits of the IFS.

The car is a dd and weekend wheeler. I get 22-23mpgs city/hwy. My ultimate goal it's to have a nice fuel economy rig that can also be wheeled hard and drive to work in everyday with good gas economy... Auto sells a lifetime warranty idler arm $51 I will put bushing for $33 then maybe a brace but at that cost I'm close to the 350 tc arm...

...or try and find someone with an old Downey brace...

I would (did) go with a brace and bronze bushings. Will it be as strong as the TC arm? No, but for the difference in price I feel that mine is pretty damn tough.

Do you have the cash? get the 400 dollar TC Idler arm.

Lacking cash, but still want some ease of mind? get the brace.

autozone arm, sdori bushings with a brace. Break more than 1 of those set-ups then it's time to get the TC arm.

I have always wondered though, how is it possible to bend/break an arm and not bend or pop TRE's. Leverage I guess, but one would think the TRE's take just as much force as the arm. :think:

here is my Downey brace and you can see the bronze bushings if you look close, this combination feel pretty stout.
Attachment 188749

I solved the TRE problem XXX is talking about also, heim joints are much stronger.
Attachment 188750

yotarob2005

did u have to custom make that tube to hold those helm joints in?

Thats no tube, it is solid, and yes I had to custom machine everything except the hiems and misalignment spacers.

Total chaos sells Heim TREs, by the way.

Thanks for all the imput I just hate continually pumping money into this 4runner I like to wrench on it more than wheel it but even then so it costs...I will but the auto zone arm brass bushing and I reay want to fab a brace...

Anyone fab a brace???

What kind of steering rods are those? With my lift I can see the gyometry is off and I want to fix it. I'm about to order the TC idler arm and want to beef up as much of my IFS as possible without going long travel or SAS, for now.

Thanks!!

custom heim joint tie-rods - says it right in his signature line :)

Derp, cheers bro. I even saw that he fabbed them up after rereading. The TC ones are really expensive, I wonder if I could make myself a set. I'll be getting the TC Idler arm though as I doubt I could make that but a rod, after a bit of trial and error why not?


Anyone else made up some and took photos of the process?


Edit///


Double derp, he has a build thread.


Anyone else do it? As I write this my buddy pointed out there is a massive machine shop in this mine and they could build the rod in minutes.....


Now I just need those joints and a suitable rod.

Do I just make the the same size as stock I wonder?

length will be pretty much the same, but everything else is beefed up because otherwise, what's the point of making them? if you search for other custom tie-rods you'll see DOM tube is used as well as heim joints or even FJ80 tie-rod ends. shouldn't be too difficult, but most don't do it because of cost, inconvenience, and lack of IFS support. also the problem is that once you start beefing up the idler and tie-rods...how much are you willing to spend beefing things and where does it stop? this is why many guys just can the IFS and go solid axle.

I'm about to order the TC idler arm so might as well get some tie rods made up. I figure I can do it for way less than the TC ones that are $400!

I don't mind spending some money beefing my IFS up a bit as it's a full bodies rig so will not go mental rock crawling in it. If I decde that's what I want to do I'll go buy a beater and rat bag that and not my expedition 4Runner.

I'm sure by the time I'm done it will be a very capable truck anyway. Also a tow truck pulling me out of the bush is more costly than strengthening my steering is. I live up near the arctic, everywhere I go is way remote.

Make what? The brace/truss? You can buy one of those, and the bronze bushings, already made you know? That TC idler arm is way more than is required in almost all cases. Pretty fat waste of $ for most folks. Considering the ease with which the stock idler arm can be modified to be nearly as strong as it is, and be plenty strong enough in almost all cases.

So, as you can see, I'm a fan of the bronze bushings + idler arm brace/truss method. Gee...I wonder why that is?

:laugh:

Even with 35's?

Where should I look to research this method? I thought downey is out of business?

There's plenty of information to be found about this method. Most of it's here...search

Here's some places to get the parts.
http://www.northwestoffroad.com/part...components.php
http://www.sdori.com/SDORI_Products.html
http://www.4crawler.com/4x4/ForSale/IdlerArm.shtml
http://www.custommachiningusa.com/specialty_items.html

And yes, especially, with 35's. :great: