cole_ford

hey guys. After doing my ball joints this past summer, I took it in for an alignment and they told me they couldnt do it cuz i needed a new idler arm, but they wanted almost 300 bucks to do it. Well i know the guy that was the service man behind the desk, and he said its a pretty easy job, so i said i would do it. but he also said as long as the trucks driving straight, not to worry about an alignment as long as i dont rack the miles up too much. well anyway, im trying to find out which one I need. Not sure if anyone can tell me, but i thought Id give it a try. Am I gonna have the 2.48 or 3.43 in bolt pattern? Why would they have two different sizes on an f 150? Does the size matter on the GVW? I found an idler arm on ebay for about half of what i will pay at a local store, or the dealership and i dont want to order the wrong one. Is there anyway to find out other than crawling under the truck?


thanks!

torkum

You've discovered what I think is the biggest mystery of our trucks, the 2 different idler arm sizes, nobody has the answer. You would think the longer would be on 4x4s and the shorter would be on the 4x2s but I have seen and heard both ways.
Just measure the distance between the 2 bolt holes and you will have on or the other.

cole_ford

oookkkaayyyy. lol. That sucks. Thats exactly how I would have thought it was. I may wait now then because its pretty cold out here today. But then again.....it may only take a few minutes. Thanks for the help buddy.