hello o all my yota brothers bfore i start heres the rig my 87 4runner bj spacers, clearanced cv's, high angle ball joints 1"diff drop,4" lift bilstein 5100 shocks w/custom upper mounts,v6 torsion bars,33" red labels...bounus points if you can tell whats different then any other 4runner out there in the second pic.






ok now on to the task on hand as all of you know the stock toyota idler arm is junk iv bent more than i can count and cracked 2 braces so i decided i needed to do something about it.i looked at the chaos idler and thought dam almost $400 bucks and still no roller type bearings just bronze bushings.and it still left the center link with the ability to counter rotate and change geometry.so i made my own.i started with this bad boy as my main shaft and bearing assembly oh and the bearings are timkin and easy replaceable part #.





got it on ebay for $60 it was intended for a swing out tire carrier capable of carreing a 35" tire plenty for what i needed
more picks of when i got.





then decided on 1/2" hiems on the other end there common and reasonably priced. hiems $25 each weld in bungs $6 each





and so i started.heres the base plate i hole sawed so the bearing sleeve fit perfect .then another with it tac in place






i used 1 1/4".250 tubing for the arm section wanted to put a hiem under and over the center link but tie rod cleance hinderd this so i put both over the top with a solid spacer to keep the hiem angle from changing due to steering forces .the result was the center link dosnt rock back and forth changing the steering toe.firt pic is a tac up.second is tubes welded and third is after t took 1 1/2" wide plate and rapped it compltely around the arm and shaft then welded it please pardon my welding my regulater took a day off and im runnin flux core.






after all that. i added the third bolt on top of base plate then full boxed and welded base section.added a angle gusset to top of arm assembly cut to lower arm at an angle to make more clearance and get it above my skid plat angle that way my skid plate will take the hit not my idler arm.and finely welded everything up.





ok and heres the final product. this has zero steering slop and almost no toe change through its suspension cycle.it feels so dam crisp its like a dirt bike point and shoot. i like it!!!!!!.heres a comparsion to the strongest stock one you can buy(late 90"s v6) and mine.






and some pics for clearance at full chock left and right i got no binding or rubing anywhere and i didnt loose any travel or steering range.






so all in all a success i already had to steel laying around
so i figured this cost me just under $200 bucks to build thats almost $200 less then the closest comparable part the tc arm at $400 and only bronze bushings.and the only perishable part is the hiems which are less to replace than a stock idler arm!.my next item to address is the tie rods and center link.im goin hiem inners and fj80 outter tie rod ends with dom adjusters then im gonna plate and gusset the center link alot like the one tc sells.heres some final pics for ya



t

 

No roll bar.

 

Very cool idea, good work and thanks for sharing!

Are the V6 torsion bars actually different? I seem to recall the anchors are different but not sure about the actual bar diameter.

 

The v6 torsion bars are a little bit bigger not alot but a bit i sheered a t bar socket so when i went to a junk yard to get a new one they only had a v6 so i pulled the t bars as well i figured i had to pull them out to get the sockets out why leave them and make it easier for someone else. When i got home i relized they where a little bit larger in diameter.so i swaped them it rides i bit better of road.

 

Dude that is a sweet idea!

 

turned out nice.

i like your front bumper and skid, did you fab or is it bought?

 

Get me measurements if you can

 

for the bonus points: the rear end (body) is cut for more ground clearance in the bumper area.

 

Very nice job right there

 

you could market and sell that.

 

Brilliant! I'll remember this once I finish my front end setup. I agree about selling them, I'd buy one.

 

I would like to do some testing before considering selling to make sure there are no unforseen design flaws

 

At the risk of sounding ignorant, and definitely not being sarcastic... but what are the advantages over such a sturdy system vs. the stock set-up? I'm trying to understand where the idler arm is deficient.

 

That thing is fricken ultra-mega overkill badass!!!

I see it. But I don't know what to call it. You underbobbed it? Or something...

The stock idler arm is barely good enough for a stock truck and occasional mild to moderate offroading. If that. To put it another way, there are no advantages to using the stock setup. An idler arm upgrade is almost always in your best interest...if you wheel your rig at all.

 

You're not sounding ignorant. The idler arm is one of the weaker links in the IFS. You're only as strong as your weakest link...

If you're geared and locked up front with any tire bigger than a 31, you're going to roll through idler arms like their nothing. Which is why most upgrade to brass bushings and brace them. Total chaos offers a chromoly construction one but its 400+ dollars. Custom ones like this one are helpful to the market.

 

I do moderate offroading, I haven't really noticed an issue with my steering other than you can steer when jammed in by a rock.

What exactly are the benefits of the beefy-er set-up??

 

That's one badass idler arm! Saved in the memory bank for a future upgrade!

Won't leave you stranded.
The idler arm is what holds up the passenger side of your center steering link and kinda keeps things in place when you steer, so that the geometry of center link and tie-rods work properly. It receives a lot of force when your steering takes a jolt, like when you hit a rock offroad. Multiply that force with large offroad tires and repetitive jolts when driving over rocks and you'll really notice when it starts to get sloppy. over time on a street-only rig, a stock idler's plastic bushings can wear out and get sloppy, which lets the idler bend or break. if you break this on the trail you're kinda SOL because the steering link will be unsupported and the geometry will be all jacked up and literally not be able to steer straight. beefing up this part is the only real solution. the available upgrades to strengthen this part are: beefier stock idler (like the FA5040 idler), FA5040+SDORI brass bushings, idler arm brace, TC idler, and now this awesome home-fabbed version.

Like others have hinted in this thread, the idler is only one component of the IFS that needs to be beefed up if you plan on beating on your IFS rig. Next items would be the tie rods, center link, and the steering stabilizer shock.

 

thanks everyone for chimming in on gevo's behalf i couldnt get to my computer till after work,well gevo as stated above the weakest lint in the ifs is the idler arm. you should back your truck up agressively then park.and you will see a akward pitch to your tires this is the slop we are talking about.now imagine that same slop while trying to negotiate a dangerous side hill offroad.kind scary to think about.i bent my last idler arm .in under 4 months 3/4"of an inch that was enough to take my steering toe way out of spec.that combined with the sloppy bushing and were talking a drifting truck going straight.i choose to build my own because i couldnt afford the $400+ tc arm and i didnt think that a bronze bushing kit and brace would take the abuse after i add a blaze land long travel kit.it makes the front track 6"+ wider and with that comes more stress on steering componts.im not building a rockctrawler by any means.my needs are for more of a medium ground clearence daily driven prerunner with the abilty to flex enough on moderate trails with the added bounus of 4wd.so a well built jack of most trades.4wd prerunner. hope this helps ya out.your definetly not ignorant because you asked a honest question in the search for knowlege.ignorant people assume they know whether there wrong or right. please feel free to ask anything you like the guys and i are here for your support.thats why we have a comon place to gather and exchange ideas. get help and help out.its what yota tech is about.as always thanks for reading. -Devin

 

Excellent work. It makes me feel so inadequate when I see fabrication like this. Really nicely done.

 

Wow... 6 years later and I had totally forgotten about this thread. I started my own custom idler arm build thread and am in the process of design iterations and ordering parts now. The question of "why this is needed" is no longer a question... lol. I have learned many a things. I had totally forgotten about this thread and I thought of a similar setup. I'm excited to make some progress and share and compare results!