A 1998 crown victoria with an aftermarket perfect circle idler arm installed.



A 2000 crown victoria with a badly worn stock original equipment ford idler arm installed.



A 1997 crown victoria with an aftermarket perfect circle idler arm isntalled



A 1998 crown victoria with a wornout aftermarket napa idler arm installed





A 1998 crown victoria with the idler arm removed



The idler arm & pitman arm removed and the center link hanging by the tierods.



Here's the stubborn idler arm from a 1997 crown victoria being pressed off the center link with a pitman arm puller







After the idler arm was removed from the centerlink, the sleeve was still stuck on the centerlink stud





So the remainder of the idler arm stud was removed using a hammer and chisel













The remainder of the stubborn idler arm sleeve is finally removed from the center link







A new aftermarket perfect circle idler arm can be installed



This idler arm utilizes a metal bearing at the frame junction point rather than a rubber bushing like the original equipment part.








The perfect circle replacement idler arm next to the stock original equipment idler arm















The new idler arm installed onto a 1997 crown victoria police cruiser



Most of crown victoria idler arms are retained to the centerlink utilizing a catellated nut and cotterpin like the tierod fastening system pictured here.



If the transmission fluid cooler lines in your crown victoria are badly worn, they may drag against the surface of the idler arm. This could cause poor returnability to center, or cause leaks in the lines from abrasion.








Here is the side of the passenger's front frame rail that an extension bar and ratchet can be placed into to hold the idler arm studs stationary





And the front passenger's frame rail from a different angle



You can spray penetrant oil on the idler arm fasteners from the top of the engine bay



For lubricating the aftermarket idler arm, mobil1 synthetic grease was used.



Here is the idler arm stud and nut from a 1997 crown victoria. This stud is supposed to remain stationary in relation to the frame rail, but things were rather corroded and the knurls on the idler arm bolt stripped off.







A closeup of the idler arm knurl area. When the knurls strip off, one can use a socket and breaker bar to hold the bolt stationary








Here's one of the catellated fasteners which retains the center link to the idler arm, and one of the nuts which holds the idler arm to the vehicles frame.





Here's an aftermarket dana perfect circle idler arm with the rubber bushing at the centerlink side



Here's the cotterpin which retains the idler arm to the centerlink and also the grease fitting for the idler arm bearing














Here's an aftermarket MOOG idler arm for a crown victoria













This unit utilizes a solid metal bearing at the centerlink junction rather than the rubber bushing pictured above. The metal bushing improve toe control to some extent, but also increase the load on the vehicle's frame in the idler arm area.

If this unit is installed at a commercial repair shop, a significant advantage to this design is that the centerlink junction can be installed at any orientation. With the rubber bushing, the rubber must be installed at a neutral untwisted position in order to have a good service life.











































There has been some talk about durability of idler arms.

The stock original equipment ford idler arm with rubber bushings at both junction points appears to have the longest service life out of any idler arm.

The idler arms with metal greaseable joints have a reasonably long life as long as you grease them regulary. But if you don't grease them periodically, the service life will likely be rather short.

Also, much of the ordinary car owning general public think that their oil change shop will grease their suspension components during the oil change. But most oil change shops today actually do not grease suspension joints as part of their oil/lube/filter specials. And if they do, they may use a dirty grease gun with significant debris inside which will shorten the life of the suspension joints. Some shops have also been known to use pneumatic air grease guns which explode the protective boot around the metal joint with excessive pressure.