Technical Idler arm bushing noise

The idler arm on my ‘54 ford is making noise.
It sounds like the rubber bonds up and releases with a snap, sounds metallic.
These bushings are about 3 years old.

Should I be concerned about this? Nothing is loose it just makes a ding noise when you turn the wheel.
It’s a power steering car so it has this style of idler arm



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The rubber is supposed to twist, not release...first check that the nuts are tight tight (but center the steering, and loosen them, before final tightening).

If the rubber is sheared from the metal, then maybe you need new bushings?

 

I wonder if it is a polyurethane replacement? If so, they don't twist, and they need the silicone grease to prevent squawking. ...but I have no idea if poly bushings were ever even made for idler arms by aftermarket suppliers?

is it soft rubber, or hard shiny stuff? that would tell if they are poly.

.

 

With age these become worn and sometimes twisted,not to mention the rubber is way past shot!

I replaced the idler arm and bushings on our '54 Wagon with a kit I got from Dennis Carpenter and it made a world of difference. HRP

http://dennis-carpenter.com/idler-arm-kit/p/c3az-3352-b/

 

Thanks,
I’m not sure if the rubber is moving inside the steel sleeve or if the idler arm is skipping on the steel inner sleeve.
The bits may not be tight enough.

I replaced these bushings and the idler arm when I got the car so they’re only a few years old, they’re from Dennis carpenter so I’m not sure about quality, lots of their stuff comes from China.

I’m taking it to a buddy’s shop next week for an alignment so I’ll check it out up on the hoist


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Thanks everyone
Squirrel had it, the nuts weren’t tight enough and the bushing was slipping, I got at least 1/2 turn on both of them and the noise is gone.




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Good, it's scary how many vehicles I see a year that the owners have worked on and never tighten bolts tight enough.

 

I use a trick I picked up from an old racer, use a paint pen to put a mark on each bolt you tighten and make it so you can see if it turns or loosens. This way you know if you e torqued a bolt or not, and you can see if it’s backed off.

Unfortunately we had to unbolt some of the steering to clear the transmission when we changed the engine last winter. My friends helping didn’t have it tight enough.

The idler arm nuts were tight by not tight enough, the bushing is serrated on the ends and bites in to the bracket when it’s tightened.



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That having the wheels centered when you tighten the nuts on the idler that Jim mentioned is important on that particular setup. I fought one years ago that someone had rebuilt the front end on and had tightened the idler with the wheels cocked all the way to one side or the other. Alignment was spot on, all the tires had the exact same pressure with no wear showing any issues, and the car wanted to drift to one side. Up on the lift the wheels wanted to turn to one side slightly and I finally did loosen the idler, straighten the wheels and re-tighten the idler, about 3 hours of trying checking, sorting, swapping tires side to side and what not before the light bulb came on.