Idler Arm Bushing 671444

[Maver1ck]

I replaced my rubber idler arm bushing (part 671444) for my 1970 Amazon about 5 months ago. Since that time I've driven about 5,000 km around Southern Africa. The roads are, to say the least, "not good" and the bushing has certainly not had an easy life.

"But it is practically brand new!" I found myself yelling at the alignment shop owner today.

But sure enough, after I got under the car myself I could see there was significant slop in the rubber bushing. That led me to do some research, eventually leading me to the below ebay ad.

Has anyone on this forum purchased this product? Are there any potential downsides (other than price!)?

Redesigned Idler Arm Bushings for Amazon, 1800, 140, 164

[classicswede]

No first hand experience with that bush but the designer did offer them on this forum. The look good and should work well. I am sure others on this page have used them

[tdz840]

Good find and reasonable cost!
I like the idea it is maintainable. Saying that I fitted UJs that have nipples and I can't remember the last time this nipple greased the nipple.
Partivulary like the statement not responsible for design flaws. I'm suspecting thats a translation error.
On a separate matter what's Zimbabwe like now? Somewhere I have always wanted to go but worried about local issues. Looks a great country, despite the current politics.
Had a friend that owned a farm but water issues and someone deciding they wanted it more than them meant they had to give it up and settle in the UK.
Apparently it's not a farm anymore as the land hasnt been managed properly-great shame.
Russ

[Ron Kwas]

Mav;

It looks like a nice retro-design...brass and greaseable, like the old days and before they changed to Maintenance-Free (= Unmaintainable!)...from Holland, where we do have a lot of vintage Volvo friends, and with that, some creative and industrious problemsolvers...what I mean to say by that is that they wont let an annoyance like poor quality of replacement parts (particularly the rubber) keep them from keeping their cars on the road...they just design a better alternative. I like it!

Cheers and Best from Connecticut!

PS (Send pix!)

[mocambique-amazone]

Maver1ck, the best you will get. I personally will never drive a Volvo 140 P 1800 or Amazon without this item. Will last forever if you grease it regulary. Steering needs less power! Only one think isn't good as with rubber: sometimes the steering wheel will wobble/shake more often if the wheels are not balanced perfektly.
I tryed to make it by my one for less money, without success. If you start to produce a small series it will be much cheaper, if you start to build one, no!

The alignment will never "show" a worn out rubber in the pitman

Good luck, cheers, mocambique-amazone

[northNH]

Why not just use an earlier greaseable style, where every part that can wear is easily obtainable and replaceable? And, when adjusted correctly, less play than even a NOS OE Volvo rubber one ever had.
Easy to find a decent old one, ready to rebuild. I've got several to give away.

On the other hand, this one shown here is real nice...

[Maver1ck]

Thanks Everyone,

With the condition of roads here and your positive responses I will plan on purchasing this as funds allow.

Russ: Your friend's story is one of thousands with the exact same narrative. There are now just a smattering of white commercial farmers left in Zimbabwe and government-supported farm invasions are still happening to this day. Unfortunately not much has changed on that front in the last 15 years. The country is beautiful however and is certainly worth a visit. As a tourist you won't be subject to that side of things and this is a much safer destination than other countries in Africa. Car jackings and other armed assaults are basically unheard of here...probably because there isn't much left to steal.

Ron: Yes, will send pics, but am waiting for a "worthy" picture background post-installation of your very comforting seat spring kit. Thanks again!

mocambique-amazone: Thank you for your comments. In terms of the alignment not "showing" a worn out rubber bushing...it brings up a whole different topic. There are many, many "alignment shops" in Harare. Few have well trained technicians. Fewer still appear to care about taking the time to do it right. It appears to me the normal course of doing an alignment here involves these steps:

1. If the vehicle isn't in the alignment computer state you can't do an alignment. It doesn't matter if the customer has the specifications and the original factory service book for your reference. If the car isn't in the computer an alignment simply can't be done.

2. An old Volvo? Tell the customer there is only one adjustment that can be made: toe-in. No other adjustment is possible. Refuse to look at any kind of "factory service book" which may indicate how to adjust other parameters of alignment (as this would weaken your argument).

3. Push, pull, and prod and claim that something is "worn out." Surely something will be worn out. This will come in handy if the customer ever tries to imply you didn't do a full job - it isn't your fault, something is worn out. If the customer claims he has literally replaced every single wear item in the front end recently, say "well even so, it's worn out."

4. If you actually feel bad for the chap, hook the wheel sensors up, plug in the specifications and begin the "alignment." Option 1 is to make the customer wait outside. This is the best option, as they can't see what you are or are not doing. If he refuses to wait outside because he has experience with other alignment shops, do what you would do anyways...put the car on the machine, take an initial reading and then proceed to adjust the wheel sensors (instead of the car's alignment!) until you get a satisfactory reading on the computer. If the customer calls you out, simply indicate you HAVE to do this because the computer is "too sensitive" and reassure the customer "not to worry, the alignment is good, you can see it on the print out."

Needless to say, after four attempts with "highly recommended" shops around town, I am still on the search for an alignment shop I can trust.

[Ron Kwas]

Mav;

Pretty soon, if not already at many shops, that is the way it will also be here in the US...if it's not in the computer, they won't be able to deal with it...it's like that at the parts counter already...

It sounds like you have to do it yourself...so I'd first spin the wheels and assure wheels ran true (no bent wheels, or suspension or bearing slop), then just ask the shop to install their wheel fixtures, measure and give you the report of current alignment (then remove wheel fixtures, reinstall them and repeat to verify repeatability get confidence in the report).

Compare those numbers against the service manual yourself, and install shims per the charts in the service book...thankfully, the suspension hardware is beefy enough that you can do that...knowing where you were...adding a shim of a certain thickness, with high degree of accurate result, to where you want to be. For your confidence, take the car back and have them do the report again to check your work...naturally and optimally, it would be nice to find a shop with an appreciation for vintage cars which could do both for you...

Cheers

[Maver1ck]

Leaving the issue of alignments to the side for the moment...

I am happy to report that I have installed the new bushing and steering has improved dramatically, eliminating the hard left-pull I was experiencing with the "new" but terrible quality rubber idler arm bushing.

For future reference, I want to post the installation instructions included with the eBay bushing. It was a challenge but I eventually found the proper "bearing retainer" LocTite equivalent here in Zimbabwe, but it would have been nice to know ahead of time that this specific Loctite is required for installation.

[classicswede]

Good to see some more good feedback on these