1983 EZGO Marathon Idler Arm Removal

[brushdoll]

I'm having a hell of a time getting both the top and bottom tie ends off of the idler arm assembly.

Ive removed the steering rack and assembly from the top, and all I have left is the top and bottom tie rods. I've blasted them with PB blaster, hit them with a sledge and tried to lever them off between the arm and a castle nut. I think the main problem is that there is a lot of give in the idler when hitting and no force is transmitted. Has anyone had success removing these?

Thx!

[brushdoll]

also, is this amount of play normal in a steering wheel gear?


i have a youtube video of it but I cant post because my account is too new.


type youtube and then add watch?v=nFBYqmL_Fyo after that.

[brushdoll]

oh lord, upon further inspection this has probably been rebuilt on this cart once before and i dont think the person who rebuilt it used the idler bushings, at all....

On top of that none of the wave washers in the steering box were put back on the steering reduction gear nor the steering column gear. Awesome.

Has anyone had luck finding the Steering Column Gasket (PN B-13055-G1 ?) It goes between the cover plate assembly and the bottom of the steering column assembly. I have a new housing plate gasket, which was easy to find, but no luck so far on the other gasket. I may just DIY one and cut a gasket since its not under any kind of pressure.

[brushdoll]

do update, i got the idler arm off. I used the black tie end puller tool from harbor freight and it worked on the first try. After that I pulled the pin in the bottom of the idler shaft, put a locking wrench on the pin and wiggled it out. My jack was only just short enough to keep the cart high enough to pull out the shaft.

When inspecting the idler arm brass bushings, they are so worn they were not immediately apparent but were in fact there. Now I don' t know how I'm gonna get those dudes out of there. There was also no visible top washer on that assembly, but I have one coming in.

[brushdoll]

welp, bushings are out with a bushing puller. one would not come out so i chiseled it off with a screwdriver. anyone have advice for pushing the brash bushings in?

[JPonLKN]

I would say a press, but I am guessing you don't have one. A trick to install bushings, bearings, and races is to put the bushing in the freezer for an hour, put a torch to the receiving meal piece, heat it up good, then quickly get the bushing from the freezer and drop it in. Might have to tap it in with a socket the same size and a hammer. Metal expands when hot (ie: bigger hole), and shrinks when cold (ie: smaller bushing).

[brushdoll]

No press, I reached my limit on trips to harbor freight. The standard press also doesn't work great on the idler arm because you have to have another bushing on the opposite side and how long the idler arm is.

Ultimately, my method was to drop it off at a machine shop :P

Something else I was thinking out was how to align the steering rod such that it doesn't bang into the back of the steering box when turning the wheel the opposite way. Should I turn the wheels all the way to the right and then reinstall the rod into the box? Hopefully that makes sense.

[brushdoll]

so i just finished up this project. much improved. i replaced all the tie rod ends, idler arm bushings, steering rack, gaskets, and wavy washers. it was hard but steers much tighter. it took a bit of experimentation to get the tires to turn equally right and left (still not 100% even), but its so much better than it used to be.