Pitman Arm & Idler Arm Replacements

[ikbrown]

Hey All,

I changed the oil recently and noticed my front tires were wearing badly on the inside from too much camber caused by lack of an alignment in ... years. Anyway, had the car at a shop today to replace those 2 tires and also get an alignment but they said they didn't recommend having an alignment done since they noticed the idler arms and pitman arms were in need of replacing. Wheels had a fair amount of slop in them moving side to side cuz of worn bushings in those arms I'm assuming.

Question is, can you replace just the bushings in those arms or do you have to replace the whole thing as a unit?

From what I recall we replaced both of those when we did a front-end refresh like 8 years ago. The car is a fair weather cruiser/car meet fun toy so I haven't put a ton of miles on it since then - does that seem like a short time for those components to wear out?

Are there any aftermarket pieces that would be an improvement or is OEM replacements the way to go with these? Any help would be greatly appreciated!!

[BLK 68 R/T]

I don't know where you purchased your last pieces from, but if they are anything from a "kit" it seems to be hit or miss on what kind of quality you get. I installed a "kit" complete with bushings and stabilizer arm in my GTX and everything was wore out in about 3 years with minimal driving. The lower ball joints went first followed by the uppers and then the steering linkage ends. Best bet seems to be purchasing individually from a known quality brand such as Moog. I have also heard good things about the kits from Firm Feel although I personally have not seen or used one. Also would be worth checking the wheel bearings to make sure those are not the source of the "slop" in the wheel.

[ikbrown]

Thanks for the reply BLK 68 R/T. I did some searching today and looks like most are in the $200 range for both (via Firm Feel, Classic Industries, Jim's Auto Parts websites)

On Summit Racing's website though they have ProForged pitman/idler standard arms for $140/both or $180 for the quick ratio arms. That seems like the best deal and after researching online looks like they have good reviews as well. I'll be measuring my clearance tonight to see if I can go with the quick ratio arms or if I'll have to go with the standard ones. I have long-tube Hooker headers so I may not have the extra clearance needed.

The distance I need to measure is just from the back of the idler/pitman arms to the header yes? Because as I understand it from checking online the quick ratio arms will move that back closer to the header, requiring at least 2" clearance with the current setup in order for them to clear. Can anyone confirm?

[ikbrown]

Well, popped the hood to take a look at clearance for the pitman/idler and it's damn tight. Will have to stick with stock size.

Been searching the interwebs for advice on the removal/install - any tips from people that have done this before? It looks like most of it is fairly straight forward but that the pitman arm can be a p.i.t.a. to remove. I'll definitely rent one of the pitman arm pullers, possibly a fork for the idler arm removal.

Any tips would be appreciated! May try to tackle the job this weekend.

[HPP]

I'd get under the car to verify If they are bad. The pitman only has a single ball joint to wear so it is not often they fail. However, slop in the steering box can happen as well and could manifest itself as a worn pitman. Steering box mounting bolts can also work loose and allow movement, which would look like a worn pitman. The idler has a similar ball joint and a through bolt bushing. I've seen the bushing fail pretty regularly and lead to linkage slop that you describe, which would still require replacement of the idler although there are rebuild kits for these that replace the bushing with a bearing. Search Ebay as I think Rick E. from Mopar Action sells these kits there.

Removing the idler mean using a fork or separator to get it out of the draglink, then it just unbolts from the frame. The Pitman needs the same fork/separator to get out of the drag link, but then requires a puller to get it off the steering box.

[myk]

'OP are you running the stock exhaust?  I tried the fast-ratio stuff also, but the idler wouldn't clear the exhaust...

[ikbrown]

I'd get under the car to verify If they are bad. The pitman only has a single ball joint to wear so it is not often they fail. However, slop in the steering box can happen as well and could manifest itself as a worn pitman. Steering box mounting bolts can also work loose and allow movement, which would look like a worn pitman. The idler has a similar ball joint and a through bolt bushing. I've seen the bushing fail pretty regularly and lead to linkage slop that you describe, which would still require replacement of the idler although there are rebuild kits for these that replace the bushing with a bearing. Search Ebay as I think Rick E. from Mopar Action sells these kits there.

Removing the idler mean using a fork or separator to get it out of the draglink, then it just unbolts from the frame. The Pitman needs the same fork/separator to get out of the drag link, but then requires a puller to get it off the steering box.

Not a bad suggestion - the reason I am going the pitman/idler path is because that was the diagnosis that the tire shop gave me for the slop. I was getting new tires installed on the rears and an alignment but they brought me out to the lift, showed me the slop and said it was the pitman/idler arms that needed replacing. They didn't align the car because of the slop.

A good idea to take it up in the air and check out the slop myself to confirm nothing else is at fault.

[ikbrown]

'OP are you running the stock exhaust?  I tried the fast-ratio stuff also, but the idler wouldn't clear the exhaust...

No, I'm not running stock exhaust - I have long-tube Hooker headers. popped the hood and got under the car, there's no way anything bigger than the stock arms would fit. It's pretty damn tight with those headers!

[HPP]

I was getting new tires installed on the rears and an alignment but they brought me out to the lift, showed me the slop and said it was the pitman/idler arms that needed replacing. They didn't align the car because of the slop.

At least they showed you that. Some shops wouldn't, so that is a point in the positive column for them. Yes, I'd verify the steering box is properly torqued down and not moving and that the mounting plates are as firm as possible. If they are and you can see slop in the ball sockets or the idler bushing, then replacement is in order.

[ikbrown]

Allrighty, so I ended up ordering a ProForged pitman arm and Moog idler arm from Summit. It is in the shop today and they will be getting those items installed/checking to see if it needs any other steering components to hold alignment, and if all goes well, they will be doing an alignment as well. Hope she'll be back on the road and feeling tons better by the end of the day!

Thanks for the help and advice everyone

[BLK 68 R/T]

Check out this link, lots of good info on alignment specs. OE alignment specs don't work so well with modern tires.

http://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php/topic,116991.0.html

[ikbrown]

Check out this link, lots of good info on alignment specs. OE alignment specs don't work so well with modern tires.

http://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php/topic,116991.0.html

Thanks for the link, I actually found that thread and a couple others searching for alignment specs and used that to inform what the shop set it to. It's currently set at -.3 camber, .9/2 caster and .06/.07 toe. They told me they couldn't get more caster w/o compromising the camber and since my tires wore previously from camber I was fine with what the recommended.

My before camber and toe were pretty far off - camber was -1.5 and total toe was -.32in