Hello All,

I got into a friendly disagreement with a friend of mine today. He claims that if a car is aligned and the Idler Arm in a first gen Camaro or Firebird is replaced within a week or 5 miles later after the initial alignment that the Camaro or Firebird does not have to be re-aligned. The car was aligned when the new steering gear box & ball joints went in. I told him if the car has the Idler Arm replaced it should be re-aligned no matter what. Who is correct?

All replies are welcomed!

you are correct
I have a question for your friend, why would it matter if it was 8 days or 6 miles
if you replace the idler arm you should realign the car.

I know from experience, i had an alignment they told me the idler was worn out, so I replaced it (and did not get it realigned)
4000 miles later I had to replaced the tires they put on when they did the alignment

Put money on it you are right.

The car would need to be re-aligned only if the idler arm was bad. Lets say for arguements sake that you had an alignment done and just for sh**s and giggles you replaced the idler arm, which is not bad, then you will not have to have the car re-aligned.

The car would need to be re-aligned only if the idler arm was bad. Lets say for arguements sake that you had an alignment done and just for sh**s and giggles you replaced the idler arm, which is not bad, then you will not have to have the car re-aligned.

as long as the new and the old idler were exactly the same

I found out his car needs a Pitman Arm. However, I found out that my car needs an Idler Arm. They aligned my car last week and the Idler Arm did not show up until today. They are telkling me it does not need to be re-aligned if the idler arm is replaced. I told them that is BULL$H*T and that in 9 years in the car business we always re-aligned cars after the Idler Arm was replaced regardless of when the idler arm was replaced.

Idler arm only affects toe-in. That would need to be checked and reset if necessary.

Idler arm only affects toe-in. That would need to be checked and reset if necessary.

I agree that toe is all that the idler arm can change.

TTFN
Mat

Yes, just re set the toe-in.
Even if idler arms were identical, there is clearance in the frame holes that can make a difference in idler arm height, and a small difference in height can throw off toe settings.
David