Well, I have new wheels that I am going to throw on there soon, as soon as I get some money for tires

I will have them look at the idler arms when I do the tires.

Thank you everybody for helping me out with this problem, it was driving me nuts and I didn't know what to do.

 

I think when he mentions "other side " he means the bottom of the idler arm.

 

I guess the question is, how bad were his idler arm bushings to start with??

 

when I say both sides, I am referring to driver's and passenger's.


my old idler arm, you could wiggle it up and down about an inch. The ES bushing idea came to me while at autozone. So I bought a set, did the procedure, and the car turns wonderfully. I am VERY pleased with it.

 

My idler arms went bad.... just grab the tire and see if you can rock it back and forth (that's one way to tell) another way is to grab the arm itself and try to rock it back and forth... that's how the alignment guy showed me my passenger side one was bad.

 

Well, I the left tire didn't wobble at all when I grabbed it while it was up in the air at the muffler shop. If the right idler arm bushing was bad would it move when I shook the left tire?

 

The previous owner of my 85 GS replaced every single bushing in the suspension and steering with polyurethane bushings, with the exception of the rear sway bar bushings. It corners wonderfully, but still has that floaty feeling when going straight at speed- and wind makes it much worse. This can only be the steering box.

 

I'm in that boat too, though I've replaced my front suspension/steering components with all new pieces and just the other day on a brisk drive the steering is still to flipping lose.

Another thing that worries me is that he compares it to the rack & pinion kit, so from that I'd asume that the R&P kit is not worth the time nor money.

 

Driver's side is the Pitman arm, unless I'm sadly mistaken. I don't see how you can replace the bushings in the pitman arm.

Anyhow, if compressed polyurethane is good how about nylon? Delrin...? Better yet, replace all this monkey motion with a set of small tapered roller bearings for frictionless, ridgid mounting.....

Sanspistons for better steering

 

Contact jeremy on the forum, happened to him and he thought it was his struts, man what a waste of time and money changing them.

 

I have the whole ES bushing set, so I will do everything at one time.

Again I appreciate everyone's input, this is one of the few topics in which there has been no flamage or idiotic posts.

 

I think they kill and eat their flaming idiots on this forum..... A little barbecue sauce and a dash of pepper........

 

By the way, Mazdatrix has the idler arm bushings for around $6 each. They say you need two. FYI.