Fiddling with the steering today and noticed some play in the idler arm where it fits onto idler lever support. Tried to tighten (fiddle) with hex head and now I have a gap between idler arm and idler lever bush (hex head). Pics probably show it better.
IMG_4265.jpeg (1.68 MiB) Viewed 224 times
I believe there is a left hand thread where it goes into the idler lever support (part bolted to sub frame).
IMG_4265.jpeg (1.68 MiB) Viewed 224 times
I think I need to unbolt the idler lever support from sub frame to tighten up the left hand thread? Or do I need to remove the idler arm off the steering rod?
New ones aren’t dear Stephen, if you’re mucking around with it, and they do tend to wear. It might be a good time to replace it. Car Parts Plus at Lonsdale would probably have one in stock. If not then half a day away.
FB ute fixer upper, EK van on rotisserie
getting my FB ute on the road
EK van on rotisserie
The internal and external threads in the idler arm bush are of opposite "hands": one's left-hand, and one's right hand. Wait . . .
(Re-reads posts)
Yes, you're aware of that.
You'll need to take the idler arm and support off the car as an assembly (undo steering linkages, unbolt idler arm support).
Then you can attempt to wind the idler arm and bush another full turn onto the support. Go gently, because you'll be squeezing grease out.
But if it's up-and-down motion at the end of the idler arm that you're trying to get rid of, all Holdens have some clearance between the idler arm bush and the support. Otherwise the steering risks binding. I'm going to advise against replacing the idler arm bush and support, because I doubt you'll see any meaningful improvement in free play with new parts.
One of the old-timers says that when idler arm play became excessive, he used to take the support down to an electroplater's and get them to copper-plate the thread (but this was on taxis).
And play in the idler arm was one of the stock "fails" for registration inspections that garages used to hit me with in the 80s and 90s. They'd grudgingly let the car through when I told them, "sure, I can replace the idler arm support and bush, but I can almost guarantee the new parts will have the same free play as the old."
Took the idler support arm off the sub frame for a better look. I’m no Holden expert but I reckon the part below is not original!
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Winding the bush onto the idler support arm feels a good fit. So greased up the parts and reassembled as per manual. There is play where the idler arm goes into the steering rod so another job to look at that one day.
