BlazeN8

Idler Arm Upgrades

The 86' 4 Runner's Idler Arm is getting worn out and the steering is getting rather sloppy. The Idler Arm Gusset I built has kept the pivot bolt, that is welded to the base of the arm, from bending; but the plastic internal bushings are worn out.

Photo 01 A typical Stocker Idler Arm
Photo 02 The Blazeland B.S. Idler Arm w/ Gusset....and worn out internals
Photo 03 A few of the various idler arms in the Blazeland Museum.

BlazeN8

The first gusset I built worked well for a while but the internals were worn out to begin with. Hey you can't build a prototype out of new one! One mistake I made was getting the arm too hot with the welding. It cooked some temperature sensitive material in the ball joint area that connects to the centerlink. I took this thing apart so you guys can see whats inside and to show the basic geometry of the gusset. Basically its triangulating the force on the arm making it much stronger. Its no longer just a cantileaver its now a triangle.

Photo 04 BZ_No1_A
Photo 05 BZ_No1_B

BlazeN8

The second design was much simpler to build so I built three. Its just a 2x2 1/4" angle and some 1-1/2" 1/4" flat stockI Currently have this design on the 4 Runner and Fordota and the one you see here as a spare. These have held quite well. It is quite a bit stronger than stock neither have ever bent. Once again these were used from the beginning so they were always marginal in being nice and tight. If I remember correctly these were all bent slightly to begin with. I straightend them and built the gussets. Ran them for a few years.... all good!

Photo 06 BZ_No2_A
Photo 07 BZ_No2_B
Photo 08 BZ_No2_C

BlazeN8

A few of the guys I run with out at Ocotillo Wells (The Slaw Doggs) recommended I try the Moog (part # K9424) Both Todd and Keith have had good results on there 1987 and 1988 4 Runners, so I am going to give them a try. I ordered one at Kragen / O'reily Auto Parts. It was quite pricy at $130.99 but the design was quite different from stock and it looks substantially stronger.

Photo 09 MoogVsStock
Photo 10 Moog (notice the greese fittings....Nice)
Photo 11 The box end that the Moog came in.

Limited Lifetime Warranty...Yep! The last Idle Arm I'll have to mess with! And Best of all look where its made! Made in the good old USA!

BlazeN8

Idler Arm Installed

Like I said before the 86 4 Runner's idler arm is getting worn out and the steering is getting rather sloppy, but the Fordota is way worse. So before the Superbowl party I threw the new Moog Idler Arm on the Fordota. The Fordota is the rig going to see some action at the King of the Hammers this week so it takes priority. If the Idler Arm holds up the 4Runner will be next.

Photo 01 Tools- 17mm and 19mm sockets and wrenches, a puller, some pliers and a few extensions.
Photo 02 All bolts removed and ready for the puller
Photo 03 Out with the old

BlazeN8

Photo 04 In with the new
Photo 05 Installed
Photo 06 Overview

Now off to the Superbowl Party!

ckblum

Hey Nate are you gonna be offering that Deaver pack as part of your LT kit at any point? Or are we just gonna have to get that separately from Deaver?

JamesD

Nate, those idler arm gussets do not work. I bought one from Downey and put one on a brand new idler arm and the idler arm did not even last a year. I'm very interested in the Moog updated one and will be keeping an eye on this thread to see if that really works.

James

BlazeN8

If I were to offer the MiniPack iI would just be acting as a middleman in the transaction and as such need to mark up the price. Just contact Deaver directly, they will hook you up!

BlazeN8

Yeah I bought an Idler Arm Gusset from Northwest Offroad a few years back. It held up but I took it off and put it on my Brothers truck and made my own for my truck and 4 Runner. The gussets do keep the shaft from bending but the internal plastic bushings still wear out. I almost took apart the Moog to see what was going on inside and I even put a wrench on it but the bolt was torqued way more than I was willing to bust some knuckles trying to get off. I wonder if it has roller bearings or brass bushings inside? So far its been working nice! I am heading down to Baja on Saturday. I am Pre-running the course for the Baja 250 in the Fordota. I and am a chase truck for the race next Saturday- Team Psycho. It should be a good test for the Moog as well as a bunch of other stuff. I am excited for the trip.

usmcracing

Nate,

How do you think the deaver mini pack will work on a SAS'd 4Runner with rear spring up front? I'm going to be swaping in a chevy 4.3 and I was also wanting to get alittle more lift up front too.

I'm also PMing you about your long travel IFS kits.

Thanks

Steven

crazytoyota4x4

Hey Nate just wondering how your trip to mex was? Hows the course look? Post some pics of your trip if possible. By the way your kit f'n rocks, keep up the good work.

BlazeN8

Thanks Crazy! Yeah, the Blazeland kit works well. It held up really well in San Felipe. I did a good deal of Pre-Running. The trip was 825 miles round trip. 228 miles were in the dirt at 16 psi. The only issue I had was the rear traction bar hitting the front eye mount of the leaf spring. It hit a few times when hard bottoming, a small dent and some chipped paint. The whoops where brutal this year and some of the washes had been scoured free of sand from the recent storms. I am so glad I had 4WD and Low Range.

Here are a few pics:

Photo A: At the Radioactive hotel
Photo B: Outside the Rockadile on the Malacone
Photo C: Sunrise on the way back home

BlazeN8

Race day was a blast to watch from where I was pitting. The quad finished but the Blazer was DNF.

crazytoyota4x4

228 miles in the dirt at 16psi........sounds like its gonna hold up fine to everythnig I can throw at it, as I can only afford to break once a month.....lol. Cool beans man. Next month hopefully the ground will thaw and I can get some video of your kit in action at the local dirtbike track.

BlazeN8

Most of the 228 miles was in 2WD. I had the Downey cable locker converted V-6 "e-locker" from a Tacoma LOCKED in spool mode. I once dug in deep in some soft stuff. I should have been aired to 8 psi in this kind of sandy wash, but I don't carry on board air to air back up. I was stuck good once, but no big deal, I got out of the truck, locked the hubs, hoped back into the truck, shifted it into 4WD, and simply Blasted out. Shifted back into 2WD, got out of the truck, unlocked the hubs and Blazed on in 2WD! If I got stuck in 2WD it was no big deal I had 4WD to back me up. I gotta say 2wd with a locked rear and V-8 power is just too fun! A waste of gas, but what a rush! I need a video!

stock as possible

[quote=BlazeN8;51356381]Stock as possible,

The MiniPack is available now for trucks and 4 Runners years 1984-1988 for sure, my friend Todd is picking up a set for his 1988 4 Runner next week. I'm sure Jeff would be able to build the other years too, it just might take some design work. Give Deaver a call, mention Blazeland and Yotatech! If you need someone to pick-up a core set of leafs and do the legwork to design for your particular year contact me offline. I am 20 miles from Deaver. I'll get some articulation pics and specs when I get back from King Of The Hammers the week after next. I am taking the Fordota to this event (just as a spectator).
quote]

Just a quick highjack Nate. I emailed Scott in Sales & Marketing with Deaver about a Mini Pack for the 3rd gen pickups. He said they could manufacture one in about a week for $225 if anyone's interested. Since the mini pack itself only adds around 2", this seems like the perfect route if you're looking for restored ride height and articulation for a saggy pickup rear.

Thanks for the lead Nate!

BlazeN8

Stock as Possible,

Cool that your considering the mini-pack for your third gen. The mini-pack rides really nice. I had Deaver build me a mini-pack for my 1986 truck that has a Downey 3" lift spring. It came out so nice I had them build a second one for Alberts "Mantruck" Albert installed it on the Mantruck last weekend so I wouldn't be surprised if he doesnt update his build thread. Deaver has the ability and know-how to build all sorts of leaf sring stuff. Just "Leave it to Deaver"

BlazeN8

Well now that I am back from the Baja 250 and settling back into things, back to the 4 Runner build. Here is the recap- the Deaver Mini-Pack was installed, the extended length shackles installed, and the Bilstein 5100 Series shocks for the lifted 4x4 (Part # F4-BE5-6583-H5) were bolted into the stock shock location. The problem with the stock location for the shocks is with the extra travel the shocks are about an inch too long and bottom out on themselves. This is not a design flaw on Bilsteins end, as this shock was intende for a 4" drop bracket kit which in most cases utilized 4" rear blocks with the stock leaf springs. Well in my case I am getting 3" of lift without blocks. As a result at full stuff it goes right back to the same location as a stocker at full stuff. When measuring the shock mounts under these conditions: extension=24.5 and compression=15.5 Thats 9.0" of travel. A non-lifted shock is fine on compression but at extension is not long enough. Its probably not possible to find a shock that will fit the specs. What needs to be done is relocate the shock mounts further up on the frame by a couple of inches. Unfortunatly unless you have a body lift on a 4 Runner or are willing to cut through the floor it would be difficult to do. The solution, since I am running 3" wheel spacers in the back to match the front track width increase why not go outside the frame rails into the wheel well, there is room! So thats what I did.


Photo A1: Overview side view
Photo A2: Close up
Photo A3: Wheel removed close up

BlazeN8

Here are a couple of other views. Notice that I had to modify the U-bolt axle plate on the driver side. The passenger side required no modification just needed to turn it around 180 degrees. I'll get back to the axle plate modification in a minute. The measurements from the shock mounting brackets now are 25.5 extended and 15.5 compressed = 10.0" of travel. The shock has 10.5" of travel so its only got 0.5" of room to grow. But the main thing is its located within the range without limiting or bumping on itself.

Photo B1: Font view
Photo B2: Underside view