Outer Limits 4x4 Board

Frank,

Has any one in your Pajero club every tried to flip the tierods out from underneath the knuckle?

I am going to try and do that this summer, maybe sooner if I can source spare knuckles.

I figure it might help with the bind I am having, at the same time if it messes with the geometry too much it is going to make my life hell on the street, it will want to wander every time I hit a dip or a bump.

I have to figure something out, I keep bending those stupid idler arms!!! I am sending one of them out to get looked at. I am thinking a pillow bushing between the arm and the body of the housing wont allow it to bend up. Or it might bend up and bind on the bushing.

I cant keep breaking these parts, I have gone through about 400 USD worth of idler arms over the past two years now.

Doug, I don't know anyone here who has actually done it (plenty of talk though).
I was about to do it but decided to do the SAS so I never had to chance to see what handling changes there would be.
I would check your draglink mine was only slightly bent (couldn't tell in the truck) but on a flat workbench you could see the very of slightest bows.
Once the idler shaft bends it will kink the draglink this pulls on the left hand tie rod shortening it's operating range causing the bind then breakage.
If you replace the idler arm and not the draglink the idler arm shaft will quickly bend to the old position and the cycle repeats itself.

The center link was just replaced, the one I pulled out wasnt bent according to my straight edge.

I cant see a bend in the center link causing a upwards bend in the idler arm, not denying there is a connection, but it seems like they are related instead of being causal.

I would agree that the idler arm bending would bring the centerlink with it though.

If the center link was bent a little the pitman and idler arms would point in a little towards each other, but there are still two balljoints connecting them to the centerlink, so at worst in my mind the alignment might get messed up.

Also I have done some hard wheeling with the idler arm bent, and the tierods never snapped.

Maybe with the front locker this will all be a thing of the past, since I will have more traction, I just hate this problem.

SAS mate
J Top

Doug, somethings not right with yours.
In 4 years with a 65mm torsion bar crank running 31-33"s no bent idler arm etc but within 3-4 months of running 35"s my first bent idler arm then the tie rod breakages.
I certainly wouldn't be doing a tie rod flip until you nail this.
Something is wrong with your front end geometry to bend them that regularly with 33"s no-one else is having a dramatic problem like this.
Maybe a custom 4140 idler arm shaft, if that fails then I agree with J Top = SAS

$$$$$$

If I go sas I am going to find a clean high mileage genII to do it on. My truck is pretty buggered up, it would be nice to start from scratch.

I am sure in a couple of years there will be a good number of genII's with blown engines and no rust out in the west of the US where they dont salt and it doesnt snow much.