Topic: 67-70 Manual Steering Idler Arm Mounting Arm -Re: Original Take Off Idler Arms

[rockhouse66]

The slot in the '67 and later idler arm bracket is characteristic of a manual steering idler.

[J_Speegle]

Mark Posted the following picture in the for Sale section and the following discussion took place so I moved it over to a more appropriate area

[J_Speegle]

The slot in the '67 and later idler arm bracket is characteristic of a manual steering idler.

Hmm not what I've be seeing - started this thread to continue the discussion away from Marks ad

[rockhouse66]

Jeff - I don't know how to respond.  The "no slot" is PS and the "slot" is MS.  Are you suggesting it is the opposite?

Here is an original MS one;

[J_Speegle]

Jeff - I don't know how to respond.  The "no slot" is PS and the "slot" is MS.  Are you suggesting it is the opposite?

Guess I feel the same way   but hoping we can get to the bottom of it through a discussion

But yes that is why Tim and I posted the way we did. Checked my pictures (have not gone through them all year but here are a few examples I found

What do you believe is the difference in the mounting bracket (angle, length....)  between the two arms?

Did find two like your picture but both were on 70 restored cars

[rockhouse66]

The bracket is quite a bit different (as you probably know).  The MS and PS arm starts as the same C7 casting but is machined differently to accept different bushing styles and diameters.  I studied this a while back and will have to look at my old notes (will be a few days).  The paint codes on the arms match up with the bracket style.  Pink is MS.

In the meantime, here are the brackets to illustrate the difference.

[Anghelrestorations]

Not sure if I follow the thread exactly here (for sale section?) but if you are looking at the differences between the manual and power steering idler arms they are indeed in the bracket that bolts to the body of the car as Jim suggests.  Here is a picture comparing two NOS pieces.  All the originals I have seen have the same.

[69bossnut]

Nice comparison Marcus. Actually the mounting arms are the same as far as the shaft that goes through the bushing. The manual arms & p/s arms use the same bushings that the mount arms go in. Only the bushing that the center drag link goes through is different. The arm itself is the same for either, just the mount arm & lower bush are different between the 2. I will take a pic of the 2 side by side tomorrow. Only have separate pics for now.

[specialed]

The manual steering idler arm has center slotted hole & pink code on arm & eng # on arm is different c7za # FOMOCO casting on assembly line  but some of the later service replacement arms don't have ford #s.

[Murf]

This discussion seemed to run out of gas.  Is there a definite answer to the slot/no slot question?  So what does an original idler arm for a 68 with power steering look like - the images in this discussion have me confused.  Help!  My arm is a replacement and will be replaced with the proper idler arm and after reading this I really have no idea which to look for - slotted or solid mounting bracket. Bushings are available and am confident the arm will be lurking somewhere if I knew what to hunt for.  Looks as if the solid mount is for PS - is that correct?

[rockhouse66]

John - I believe no slot is correct for PS and it will have the C7Z number cast in.

[Murf]

Today I drove 80 miles one way, nabbed a slotted type and spent the afternoon cleaning it up and pressing out the bushings.  It appears it is NOT the correct one for my 68 PS car. Grumble!  The arm has raised engineering number C7ZA-3355-B.  The bushing that goes on the stationary end is the same for either manual or PS.  One of the posts suggests the arm is machined differently for PS but the engineering number is the same for both - is that the consensus?  If the "arm" is in fact machined differently then not one darn part of the assembly interchanges except for the support end bushing.  Will go out and hunt a solid stationary end next week and the proper arm will probably still be hooked to it.  At least the correct bushings were ordered.  I feel pretty stupid spending so much time  on something that was not  correct, so off to the salvage yard again to share a morning with the insects and snakes and peer at rusted suspension parts hidden in weeds taller than me.  Thanks, Jim, for getting me back on track!

[J_Speegle]

This discussion seemed to run out of gas.  Is there a definite answer to the slot/no slot question?  So what does an original idler arm for a 68 with power steering look like - the images in this discussion have me confused. .................  Looks as if the solid mount is for PS - is that correct?

Same as the last one in 69bossnuts post above

[Murf]

Got it!  Located an original, pressed in the new bushings which were available from NAPA, and am happy.  The arm on the original was not debossed with an engineering number, just a faint debossed "188 " near the center link end of the arm.  The pinched end was still intact on the stationary end threads so I am sure the arm had never been changed.  The cost of the bushings was $26.00 if anyone is interested.  Thanks to all for the help, that had been an elusive part.  Jeff is correct, the idler arm is one of the first items to be replaced and even a trashed original is somewhat difficult to find.  Looked over a pile of at least fifty at Mustang Corrall in Edwardsville, Il before finding a candidate for a rebuild.  $20.00 for the core and an hour of sorting out arms to find the correct one. 

[67gta289]

John,

Are you saying that the core you found has "188" and not "C7Z..."?