[moneyvango]

What would be the cause of my 97 Safari AWD "eating" idler arms? I had new ones put on at 318K miles,needed new ones at 340K miles, and now with 366K miles on the clock,I have been told that I need them again.My GOOD mechanic told me this as well as the crew that 'thugged' my wallet on my recent brake line job.The tires don't show signs of abnormal wear(Kellys all the way around) and it tracks straight.I'm replacing them FOR SURE along with the ball joints; the passengers' side looks kinda crusty.But back to my question-why are my idler arms only lasting an average of 24,000 miles? :feedback:

 

[Gary]

We have found that only the Moog brand name ilder arms last long term.

 

[gtkane]

Yup. Moog.

 

[moneyvango]

What would be your take on TRW??

 

[Gary]

Well let me check. :think: :think: Yeppers we said Moog. oke: oke: :rofl: :rofl:

 

[StanVan]

I'm with you guys on this one. But shouldn't the stock ones last closer to 40k? I went through 2 sets on my '93 before I got clued in on Moog, and I got 40 -45k out of the stock GM ones. And when I got my 2000, it was almost to 50k before the first replacement. 24k seems a bit short to me.

 

[Gary]

It is likely to buy such cheap ilders that they don't even equal the stock ones.Therfore the short life.The only true fix long term is a rack and pinion steering swap.Moog has got a history to last the longest for idler arms.

 

[Matrixx]

Over the years of owning my van, I have replaced my idlers as well. My take on the idlers wearing out so quickly on these vans are,
1- Located in a very poor spot so the weather attacks them constantly IE: Rain-Snow Salt. They are very exposed to the elements.
2-Warped rotors play havoc on idler arms and I feel is the first and foremost cause of idler arm failure.

When the back drums aren't adjusted properly (every 5000 miles) then this puts more load on the front rotors and if the rotors aren't made of good quality steel, they will warp in short order. The constant Pulse from the now warped rotors when the brakes are applied resonates through the front end parts and finds the weakest link to punch out which is usually the idler arms. In a way this is a good thing, idlers are easy to replace and no alignment is "usually" required. Like I said, it's just my take on the idler arm issue. Take Care

 

[ScottS]

It seems 25k-30k is the norm. New idlers may not wear as fast because everything else is new too ? As the whole system gets worn out, the idlers must take the brunt of the punishment.