Failed Idler Arm at 48k miles - 2022 GMC 2500

UltimateToolReviews · November 6, 2025

Started noticing some wandering and drifting of the truck at highway speeds, kinda ever since I got the truck back in April of this year. Also the steering felt off and loose above 40. I installed a steering stabilizer kit in May as well, it helped a lot. But it got worse and like right turns felt tight and left turns felt looser. 2 Shops said it's 100%, no issues. I didn't believe it and swapped out the Idler arm and mount (it's all one assembly) myself in my driveway in about 20min. It's tight and doesn't wander anymore. Hardest part is getting all of the tools together. Also I got a quote from a shop for labor only to swap some parts, man these places are rip offs. DIY or nothing now.

The old idler arm in the pic didn't have any play up or down that I can tell by hand, but it does rotate very easily, the new one you can barely move it at all. I installed the MOOG K400018, the new part is way better built, I would never use OEM GM parts as they are failing fast and 3-4x more. Huge difference.

FYI, my truck is not lifted or leveled, running stock size Wildpeak AT4s so slightly heavier than stock tires. I tow 2 times a week and off road at least once a month.

Edited November 6, 2025 by UltimateToolReviews

JW2024 · November 6, 2025

I installed the Cognito pitman arm and idle arm support kit on recommendation of CJC Off-road. Supposed to keep that from happening.

UltimateToolReviews · November 6, 2025

1 minute ago, JW2024 said:

I installed the Cognito pitman arm and idle arm support kit on recommendation of CJC Off-road. Supposed to keep that from happening.

I tested the pitman arm and zero play there, so thats why I went with the idler arm for now. Are you lifted or leveled on bigger tires?

BuckWallace · November 6, 2025

Sheesh, was that shop quoting 15 hours of labor?!

JW2024 · November 6, 2025

22 minutes ago, UltimateToolReviews said:

I tested the pitman arm and zero play there, so thats why I went with the idler arm for now. Are you lifted or leveled on bigger tires?

I have an AT4X. Factory lift but planning on 37s.

UltimateToolReviews · November 6, 2025

2 hours ago, BuckWallace said:

Sheesh, was that shop quoting 15 hours of labor?!

My FIL said the same, all of that is a $600-800 job in my area. I think they raised there hourly rate to $400 an hour. Also they raised there alignment price $20 since April, they are a rip off now.

newdude · November 6, 2025

4.5 Hours per AllData just for the pitman arm, and that includes R+R of the steering gear to change the pitman.

$165/hr where I work, that's $742.50 just in labor. So that shop has to be around $214/hour labor rate.

Idler arm books at 1.2 hours labor.

Yea, for whatever reason this gen of truck seems to consume these more than the 15-19 trucks, and those use the same exact p/n idler and pitmans. My only guess is the added weight of the T1 HDs and larger OEM wheel/tire packages is accelerating their wear.

UltimateToolReviews · November 6, 2025

32 minutes ago, newdude said:

4.5 Hours per AllData just for the pitman arm, and that includes R+R of the steering gear to change the pitman.

$165/hr where I work, that's $742.50 just in labor. So that shop has to be around $214/hour labor rate.

Idler arm books at 1.2 hours labor.

Yea, for whatever reason this gen of truck seems to consume these more than the 15-19 trucks, and those use the same exact p/n idler and pitmans. My only guess is the added weight of the T1 HDs and larger OEM wheel/tire packages is accelerating their wear.

Do you think it's the weight/tires of these new trucks or GM cheaping out on parts? The new Moog part I installed actually had cotter pins on both bolts, the OEM one I removed doesn't. Also the Moog one felt far heavier. I dealt with some cheap parts on my Ram 2500 that were easy to replace as well, seems all the brands are racing towards the bottom in quality.

newdude · November 6, 2025

5 minutes ago, UltimateToolReviews said:

Do you think it's the weight/tires of these new trucks or GM cheaping out on parts? The new Moog part I installed actually had cotter pins on both bolts, the OEM one I removed doesn't. Also the Moog one felt far heavier. I dealt with some cheap parts on my Ram 2500 that were easy to replace as well, seems all the brands are racing towards the bottom in quality.

Could be a bit of both.

Quality is definitely a concern.

The wheel/tire thing, I just ran a bunch of the weights just now, probably not the impact I was thinking. The 2020-up for 18" and 20" options only gained 5-10lbs of weight per wheel/tire assembled. Yea, its 5-10lbs added un-sprung mass, but I don't know if its enough to cause it.

These did get heavier overall though. Its 400-900lbs depending on cab, engine, etc. over the previous generation.

Chuck FB · November 7, 2025

11 hours ago, UltimateToolReviews said:

Started noticing some wandering and drifting of the truck at highway speeds, kinda ever since I got the truck back in April of this year. Also the steering felt off and loose above 40. I installed a steering stabilizer kit in May as well, it helped a lot. But it got worse and like right turns felt tight and left turns felt looser. 2 Shops said it's 100%, no issues. I didn't believe it and swapped out the Idler arm and mount (it's all one assembly) myself in my driveway in about 20min. It's tight and doesn't wander anymore. Hardest part is getting all of the tools together. Also I got a quote from a shop for labor only to swap some parts, man these places are rip offs. DIY or nothing now.

The old idler arm in the pic didn't have any play up or down that I can tell by hand, but it does rotate very easily, the new one you can barely move it at all. I installed the MOOG K400018, the new part is way better built, I would never use OEM GM parts as they are failing fast and 3-4x more. Huge difference.

FYI, my truck is not lifted or leveled, running stock size Wildpeak AT4s so slightly heavier than stock tires. I tow 2 times a week and off road at least once a month.

What size of tire is on your truck as there are a few factory sizes depending on your trim and options. Because you bought the truck used its really hard to say how often the steering components were greased unless you knew and could trust the information from the seller but also if he was getting the maintenance done somewhere then all bets are off as to what is being greased if anything. All I can say is now that your the owner, to not skip out on "grease day" LOL.

I also have to wonder as Newdude has noted there seems to be a higher wear rate in the idler arm in the last few years, if that combined with your off road driving has accelerated the wear factor on the front end as typically the steering has to force a lot more on some off road situations to keep you pointed to where your headed, its not like cruising down a smooth highway mile after mile. Also try your best not to dry steer the truck on pavement, that can be a bit of a trying task in tight parking lots with big trucks like this !.

Pryme · November 7, 2025

9 hours ago, Chuck FB said:

What size of tire is on your truck as there are a few factory sizes depending on your trim and options. Because you bought the truck used its really hard to say how often the steering components were greased unless you knew and could trust the information from the seller but also if he was getting the maintenance done somewhere then all bets are off as to what is being greased if anything. All I can say is now that your the owner, to not skip out on "grease day" LOL.

I also have to wonder as Newdude has noted there seems to be a higher wear rate in the idler arm in the last few years, if that combined with your off road driving has accelerated the wear factor on the front end as typically the steering has to force a lot more on some off road situations to keep you pointed to where your headed, its not like cruising down a smooth highway mile after mile. Also try your best not to dry steer the truck on pavement, that can be a bit of a trying task in tight parking lots with big trucks like this !.

You’re asking all the right questions.
all these trucks with giant 20” wheels etc. also these trucks don’t really belong “off roading” sure, in a tv commercial but not really in real life. Way too heavy.
I personally never dry steer because it’s always seemed to me to be something that is hard on the steering. Same with cranking the wheel lock to lock. I don’t think I’ve ever been to the stops either right or left.

Edited November 7, 2025 by Pryme

Chuck FB · November 7, 2025

1 hour ago, Pryme said:

You’re asking all the right questions.
all these trucks with giant 20” wheels etc. also these trucks don’t really belong “off roading” sure, in a tv commercial but not really in real life. Way too heavy.
I personally never dry steer because it’s always seemed to me to be something that is hard on the steering. Same with cranking the wheel lock to lock. I don’t think I’ve ever been to the stops either right or left.

The off roading part could in a sense be grouped in with use that forestry and oilfield use their trucks for pounding down washboard gravel roads and miring around in the mud or ruts to oil rigs and just another day on pipeline jobs. One of the reasons why the GM front end is not seen as strong as a solid axle as well as the independent suspension arms. There tend to be a lot more Ram and far more Ford heavy duty trucks out on jobs like that but its not as if they are impervious to steering component wear as they don't last near as long either compared to the pavement driven trucks. I do see lifted Duramax trucks around here with a welding skid in the back and larger tires and off set wheels, I can imagine they are beefing up certain steering parts and paying the price on wear and maintenance, its hard on all the trucks to be out beating on them in that environment.

UltimateToolReviews · November 7, 2025

15 hours ago, Chuck FB said:

What size of tire is on your truck as there are a few factory sizes depending on your trim and options. Because you bought the truck used its really hard to say how often the steering components were greased unless you knew and could trust the information from the seller but also if he was getting the maintenance done somewhere then all bets are off as to what is being greased if anything. All I can say is now that your the owner, to not skip out on "grease day" LOL.

I also have to wonder as Newdude has noted there seems to be a higher wear rate in the idler arm in the last few years, if that combined with your off road driving has accelerated the wear factor on the front end as typically the steering has to force a lot more on some off road situations to keep you pointed to where your headed, its not like cruising down a smooth highway mile after mile. Also try your best not to dry steer the truck on pavement, that can be a bit of a trying task in tight parking lots with big trucks like this !.

275/65/R20 is the size, same as stock but heavier of course a little going to the Wildpeaks. I think most stuff wasn't greased on the truck, first thing I did was grease it everything.

Chuck FB · November 7, 2025

1 hour ago, UltimateToolReviews said:

275/65/R20 is the size, same as stock but heavier of course a little going to the Wildpeaks. I think most stuff wasn't greased on the truck, first thing I did was grease it everything.

Ok so your truck probably came with the same "Good For a Year" tires as mine did I recently purchased, the same size anyway. The wildpeaks will be on my list of future choices in replacing the factory ones unless I have some other thought by then. I also run winter tires so that drags out the time line of when the so called spring through fall tires are worn down.

I am not surprised if you found the steering components lacking grease, they have precious little grease in them from the factory and I get the impression there is a theme in some shops where they turn a blind eye to grease zerks and pretend its like the half tons that typically have no factory grease points anymore. I expect different shops would have their own protocol but its certainly something to be aware of if one is depending on a shop for engine oil changes and assuming they will grease the truck and even if they claim they have greased it, there are some hard to get to zerks and of course those ones will get missed on purpose ( like the two zerks on your idler arm and the one on the pitman arm on the steering box )

Just one of the reasons I prefer if I can, to purchase a new vehicle unless I have a handle on what the used vehicle was maintained like. Of course if its a cheap old beater, then anything that's good is bonus !.