I have heard that you have to pull the engine to rebuild the idler or third arm on a 51 Chevy. Is that true? I sure hope not, since I need to rebuild mine, but dont have what it takes to pull the motor. The rebuild kit os only $30, but if I have to pull the motor, then I dont know what I am going to do.
ok now my brain is warmed up. I did a idler arm no problem in my V8 powered 49. as I recall when I parted a 52 that still had the 6.. the idler arm is right there, the bolts are under the oil pan. I'm thinking you have to raise the motor, maybe not pull it out all the way. look it up in your manual. who's got the web address for the online manual thing?
No. You do not have to pull the motor. The whole job shouldn't take more than a couple of hours. You will have to have the bushings reamed though. Any decent machine shop can do it.
no, just remove the tie rod and drag link, and the link that goes from the pitman arm to the steering idler arm.then take out the two small bolts on the bottom,and the large bolt on top, . I just did it the other day. it took an hour.
nope like above, I did my 51 with the 235 and front mounts without lifting the motor, the big bolt on top of the crossmember is tight but you should be able to get to it with a wrench.
As mentioned, the big bolt on the top is a real pain - even harder to put back in; be very careful not to cross-thread it.
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