2002 Silverado Front End

[seadoons]

I know my idler arm is worn out. Have it at Firestone right now and they are telling me it needs a pivot bracket and both tie rods in addition to the idler arm. The Four Wheel Parts place I had it at a few weeks ago told me that only the idler arm needed to be replaced. And, their part prices are out of control. They are trying to charge me $140 for the idler arm when the most expensive one at O'Reilly is $80.

 

Is this a DIY job? I would rather spend that money on some new tools and do the job myself if possible.

[Zembonez]

I know my idler arm is worn out. Have it at Firestone right now and they are telling me it needs a pivot bracket and both tie rods in addition to the idler arm. The Four Wheel Parts place I had it at a few weeks ago told me that only the idler arm needed to be replaced. And, their part prices are out of control. They are trying to charge me $140 for the idler arm when the most expensive one at O'Reilly is $80.

 

Is this a DIY job? I would rather spend that money on some new tools and do the job myself if possible.

 

Some of those shops like to replace everything so that they are covered. Many perfectly good parts get replaced that way, but they make more $$$ and they don't have to be all that good at diagnosing the problem if they replace all of the parts. Crawl under and look at it. If you have the tools to separate the joint, the rest should be a quick bolt on. You also should be able to grab the idler and see if it has any detectable play in it. I've seen some that you could move 3/4 of an inch. SCARY! I don't know what all years of trucks were affected...

 

I'd sure get the alignment checked after the new one is in.

 

EDIT: By looking at your sig pic with those Pythons and BFGs, I've been told that setup will make the idler (which is the weak link) and tie rods wear quicker. No big deal, but you have to stay on top of them.

[seadoons]

I had the torsion bars cranked up when I had those tires and wheels put on. That was back in June 2003 and I have driven almost 80K miles since then. I am taking the truck back to Four Wheel Parts on Friday (assuming Ike doesn't smash Houston). They are a 4WD specialty shop and know what does and does not need to be replaced. I think you are right - Firestone just wants to replace everything so they are covered and can make some money. The funny thing is that they listed out labor charges for each piece as if they were all separate / individual jobs when we all know that in reality it will save them a ton of time by doing everything all at once. Crazy.