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[chrisgixer]

Some of us have had issues with steering idlers failing early. On examination, the parts are fairly easy to separate. So the though occurs, could a poly sleave be manufactured and retro fitted..?


I'm guessing it would have to be a fairly hard shaw rating to allow a machined part to be pressed in, as opposed to a moulded part which would be tricky. Or trickier at least.

[Kevin Wood]

Don't see why not.. Checked mine the other day. Absolutely solid at 159k. I don't know what everyone else does to them.

[Andy H]

My gut feel is that you don't want any give at all.

Bronze bushes reamed to give a snug fit or needle rollers would be more appropriate in my opinion.

[05omegav6]

Don't see why not.. Checked mine the other day. Absolutely solid at 159k. I don't know what everyone else does to them.

You and me both 

Some of us have had issues with steering idlers failing early. On examination, the parts are fairly easy to separate. So the though occurs, could a poly sleave be manufactured and retro fitted..?


I'm guessing it would have to be a fairly hard shaw rating to allow a machined part to be pressed in, as opposed to a moulded part which would be tricky. Or trickier at least.

Had a thought on this... I vaguely recall 'Captain String' in the States separating his into three parts...

If the thickness of the sleeve is about a matchstick size, it should be possible to cast a new insert in situ

[chrisgixer]

As always, its a compromise between comfort and accuracy. No rubber bushing, would mean very accurate steering, but transmit every single bump through the chassis rail and steering wheel.

Some shock absorption will be needed. 

[05omegav6]

Hmmm... I wonder about that... after all there's no such liner on the pitman arm as far as I'm aware

Subjective question, was my car particularly harsh to drive

[chrisgixer]

Hmmm... I wonder about that... after all there's no such liner on the pitman arm as far as I'm aware

Subjective question, was my car particularly harsh to drive

Two words.

Tyre pressures.

[Andy H]

As always, its a compromise between comfort and accuracy. No rubber bushing, would mean very accurate steering, but transmit every single bump through the chassis rail and steering wheel.

Some shock absorption will be needed.

I don't agree.

The steering idler is just mirroring the steering box on the other chassis rail. No give in that unit (or there shouldn't be).

The design of the power steering box is quite effective at preventing harshness reaching the steering wheel and there are already far too many sloppy linkages in the system 

[05omegav6]

Hmmm... I wonder about that... after all there's no such liner on the pitman arm as far as I'm aware

Subjective question, was my car particularly harsh to drive

Two words.

Tyre pressures.r

They're lower than thery might have been , but was referring to the suspension side of things...

[Nick W]

As always, its a compromise between comfort and accuracy. No rubber bushing, would mean very accurate steering, but transmit every single bump through the chassis rail and steering wheel.

Some shock absorption will be needed.

Considering how thin the bush is, 'some' is all you're currently getting. Removing compliance like this is a good way of breaking something else which isn't designed to take such loads. I've done this sort of thing with Capris: using poly bushes in the TCAs(wishbones on an Omega) and rack clamps means you wear out the internal bushes of the steering rack much quicker, and they're already a weak point. So you replace those with bronze, and find that the rubber coupling between the rack and the column starts to tear,. Hopefully, you notice this early because the column bush fails before you lose all steering! Replacing the coupling with a poly one makes for a nasty drive, and it's not unusual  for the rack tube to split. I've even heard of one car with a cracked crossmember as a result of all this.

As we're talking about at least 10 year-old cars, with mileages around the 150k mark, having to replace an idler is just a normal wear and tear item, and should be good for the life of the car.

I think it would be more productive to replace the vertical rear bush with another front one, both acting in the same plane and axis. But that would require extensive re-engineering of the wishbone and subframe, neither of which are particularly practical, especially as it all works OK when fresh, it's just lacking in durability.

[chrisgixer]

Hmmm... I wonder about that... after all there's no such liner on the pitman arm as far as I'm aware

Subjective question, was my car particularly harsh to drive

Two words.

Tyre pressures.r

They're lower than thery might have been , but was referring to the suspension side of things...

Firm but with more travel. Some roll. Or more roll than mine anyway. But yours has self levelling.

[chrisgixer]

As always, its a compromise between comfort and accuracy. No rubber bushing, would mean very accurate steering, but transmit every single bump through the chassis rail and steering wheel.

Some shock absorption will be needed.

I don't agree.

The steering idler is just mirroring the steering box on the other chassis rail. No give in that unit (or there shouldn't be).

The design of the power steering box is quite effective at preventing harshness reaching the steering wheel and there are already far too many sloppy linkages in the system 

There is also quit a large rubber damper between the steering box and column.


Trying to find my thread with pics of the idler in bits, but google seems restricted for some reason.

[05omegav6]

Apologies Nick, as I seem to have mudied the water somewhat
The front of my car is completely polybushed, with the notable exception of the top mounts. The point I was trying to make, was that it doesn't make the car significantly harsh to drive...

Therefore, if the hard vinyl sleeve in the steering idler were replaced with the same substance I made my diff mounts from, it wouldn't make a noticeable difference to the feel of the steering. Especially as there is no such damping of the pitman arm

Hmmm... I wonder about that... after all there's no such liner on the pitman arm as far as I'm aware

Subjective question, was my car particularly harsh to drive

Two words.

Tyre pressures.r

They're lower than thery might have been , but was referring to the suspension side of things...

Firm but with more travel. Some roll. Or more roll than mine anyway. But yours has self levelling.

Exactly, see above for the reason behind the question

[chrisgixer]

As always, its a compromise between comfort and accuracy. No rubber bushing, would mean very accurate steering, but transmit every single bump through the chassis rail and steering wheel.

Some shock absorption will be needed.

Considering how thin the bush is, 'some' is all you're currently getting. Removing compliance like this is a good way of breaking something else which isn't designed to take such loads. I've done this sort of thing with Capris: using poly bushes in the TCAs(wishbones on an Omega) and rack clamps means you wear out the internal bushes of the steering rack much quicker, and they're already a weak point. So you replace those with bronze, and find that the rubber coupling between the rack and the column starts to tear,. Hopefully, you notice this early because the column bush fails before you lose all steering! Replacing the coupling with a poly one makes for a nasty drive, and it's not unusual  for the rack tube to split. I've even heard of one car with a cracked crossmember as a result of all this.

As we're talking about at least 10 year-old cars, with mileages around the 150k mark, having to replace an idler is just a normal wear and tear item, and should be good for the life of the car.

I think it would be more productive to replace the vertical rear bush with another front one, both acting in the same plane and axis. But that would require extensive re-engineering of the wishbone and subframe, neither of which are particularly practical, especially as it all works OK when fresh, it's just lacking in durability.

The rubber is dimpled. So the dimples wear and give play. If poly, lubrication won't cause failure. I don't think its wise to stray too far from the original design.

It's purely a durability issue tbh.

[05omegav6]

So a replacement sleave moulded in situ might be viable then