isomswim Posted April 15, 2019 Report Share Posted April 15, 2019 Bit of weird issue. I've been working on my '79 for what seems like forever. I'm starting to put the front axle, suspension and steering back together. I got a new idler arm for the steering but when I go to bolt it up I am contacting the control arm. I'm not sure if 78-79 has a different mounting point than 72-77/78. Anyone with a 79 got any pictures of the mounting and clearance of the idler arm. Quote Link to comment
2wheel-lee Posted April 15, 2019 Report Share Posted April 15, 2019 Front axle? Do you have pictures of what's going on? Quote Link to comment
Crashtd420 Posted April 15, 2019 Report Share Posted April 15, 2019 Do you have the old idler arm for comparison? Quote Link to comment
isomswim Posted April 15, 2019 Author Report Share Posted April 15, 2019 11 minutes ago, Crashtd420 said: Do you have the old idler arm for comparison? I don't, or can't find it. By front axle I mean that area of the vehicle. It's a 2wd truck Quote Link to comment
Stoffregen Motorsports Posted April 15, 2019 Report Share Posted April 15, 2019 I do know that the 720 has a steering box and idler arm that mount outside the frame. Is it possible you got the wrong one? Quote Link to comment
isomswim Posted April 15, 2019 Author Report Share Posted April 15, 2019 7 minutes ago, Stoffregen Motorsports said: I do know that the 720 has a steering box and idler arm that mount outside the frame. Is it possible you got the wrong one? No it's a completely different look and style that the 720 from what I can tell with a quick Google search. I have another one on order that is the "correct" number match for the year model but my other option is to trim the control arm 1 Quote Link to comment
isomswim Posted April 16, 2019 Author Report Share Posted April 16, 2019 (edited) Finally got home and got some pics of my dilemma. Every diagram or picture I can find says it should be bolted this way. anyone got anything else different. Been so long ago that I took it all apart. Edited April 16, 2019 by isomswim Quote Link to comment
Stoffregen Motorsports Posted April 16, 2019 Report Share Posted April 16, 2019 Well, it doesn't look right, that's for sure. It would be nice to have an original part for direct comparison. Quote Link to comment
620slodat Posted April 16, 2019 Report Share Posted April 16, 2019 I have a 1973 620, and the orientation of your idler arm looks like what I remember for the 1973. I currently have the tie rod and idler arm off so I can't do a direct comparison. Don Quote Link to comment
G-Duax Posted April 16, 2019 Report Share Posted April 16, 2019 My '73, for what it's worth... 1 Quote Link to comment
620slodat Posted April 17, 2019 Report Share Posted April 17, 2019 G-Duax got some real good pics of the 1973 idler arm and the clearances to the lower control arm. Plenty of space between the lower control arm and the idler arm, somewhere around an inch. Isomswim, how much space do you have between the idler arm and the lower control arm? How long is your idler arm? What is the length of the movable part of the idler arm from the collar up next to the pivot? From that same collar, what is the distance to the lower control arm? Can you get pics of where you measured from? Don Quote Link to comment
datzenmike Posted April 17, 2019 Report Share Posted April 17, 2019 The control arm doesn't look the same either. Home made?? Quote Link to comment
isomswim Posted April 17, 2019 Author Report Share Posted April 17, 2019 The control arm is Dorman I believe but for ball joint truck it doesn't look much different from others Ive seen. To me the idler arm itself just seems too long. Quote Link to comment
Stoffregen Motorsports Posted April 17, 2019 Report Share Posted April 17, 2019 Measure the C to C on the pitman arm. It should have the same measurements as the idler arm. If it doesn't, then the idler is incorrect. If the measurements are the same, then maybe it's an incorrect frame bracket or the holes aren't drilled correctly. 1 Quote Link to comment
isomswim Posted April 18, 2019 Author Report Share Posted April 18, 2019 So who'd a thought. Got another new idler and everything clears no problem this one stated in the sale on eBay that it was for the 78-79 trucks. You can barely tell the difference but it's just enough and makes a huge difference. 1 Quote Link to comment
distributorguy Posted April 19, 2019 Report Share Posted April 19, 2019 When you install it, do yourself a favor and put the upper bolt in from the outside of the frame, tighten both of them down, and weld the other nut to the new idler arm bracket. Since you need to drop the steering to remove/install the engine, this makes the job a little easier. 3 Quote Link to comment
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