If your bushings have failed in the idler arm for the Calmini idler arm that came with the steering upgrade post 2 items here.

How long after install did it fail?
Have they been replaced?

Mine failed after 6 months, waiting for replacements (which has been a hassle)

Another RMXC member had his fail after only 2 months Im sure he will chime in also.

Less than 3 months

it just happend...haven't even called Calmini about it yet

I'm sure everyone knows my story by now. 3 idler arms and 4 set's of bushings in 1 1/2 years. The current ones are REALLY gone. Lot's of play just driving on road.

Mine are still OK...but I only have about a grand or so on them so far....

Mine was dead 2 months after the install. I have thought about removing the the damned thing and using the idler arm brace and the stock idler arm somehow. Its not that hard to find a proper bearing. The stock one from Nissan does fine. Greasing it shouldn't be the solution.

My idler arm started going bad after 7 months. It started out happening in only offroad situations but after 10 months the idler is now knocking in normal day to day driving. It still isn't too bad, just an occasional knocking when hitting a bump or starting from a dead stop.

I haven't had it warrantied yet, that will be a winter repair.

Not possible...

Damn There has got to be a better solution than replacing it every few months. Does anyone know why it is failing? Is the bearing to soft, wrong size...? Greasing it won't fix a flaw in the design!!!

My steering system was installed in July (2004).

I started getting play in the idler arm assembly (bushings) toward the end of September and it has been getting worse since.

They have NOT been replaced (that is an entire other story I will post, depending on how my next conversation with Calmini goes... )

From what I've read here and on other boards, this appears to be a widespread problem. Has anyone come up with a more permanent solution?

Although it seems like many are having issues...I've still got my original Calmini SS (one of the blue ones shipped in 2002) and have yet to have this issue.

BTW, I've put quite a bit on milage on the X since I installled the system and I wheel my Xterra hard.

I'm sure there are others that haven't had issues...just my .02

Mine was installed in July of 04 and started to go bad early October late September. Its bad enough now that I've ordered replacements and hopefully they will be here before the garage becomes to cold to work in. 14k miles on them.

As soon as some cash is freed up I'm going to look at different material and have a set made up as the bronze bushings are not going to hold up in that environment.

Hmmm, my next upgrade was the Calmini steering system but from the couple of recent threads I've seen that's probably not a good idea right now. I'm running 32" tires and thought it would be a good idea to beef up the steering. Is there another steering system out there? Thought I read that somewhere in my wonderings on the board.

There is no reason to upgrade the steering unless you're running a lift.

Yeah - SLR makes a good steering kit too.

Its more expensive, but I know of no one with a problem with it either.

I have heard of some having compliants about SLR's customer service in the past, but I've ordered from them many times, and never had a problem.

That said, I bought the Calmini kit before I had researched the SLR kit...and installed it...and it has no problems either so far.

Thanks for the feedback. Ian, guess I should have mentioned that I have the Calmini lift. Oversight on my part. I don't mind spending the extra $$$ for a quality product. I'll check out the SLR site. Thanks again.

6-7 months after the original install....the new ones are showing play after 3 months.

I regret installing the Calmini now. I should've went with the SLR...and I'm thinking I still may... :rolleyes:

Mine went bad in 8 months. They've been promising me a replacement idler arm since August 11! Until they actually send me the part, I have to deal with this on my daily driver which sees 600-700 miles a week.

http://www.terraxterra.com/images/MVI_0071.AVI
http://www.terraxterra.com/images/MVI_0072.AVI

One question for those showing wear, how often are you greasing the idler arm ?

While you wait for a solution, one thing you can do is loosen the main idler arm bolt, then try to rotate one of the bronze bushings about 90 degrees. That may or may not move the wear point around a bit and tighten up the feel a bit.

I grease mine every couple weeks (2-3 times per month). Calmini won't even replace my bushings for me under "warranty" replacement. Here's my scenario:

I have the Calmini suspension lift on my truck and was pleased with it and recommended it to the guys I know. One of my friends subsequently ordered the lift, bumper, and steering system from Calmini for his Xterra. At that same time, I noticed that my stock steering centerlink was shot, but I didn't have any cash to replace it or buy Calmini's steering system.

So, my friend offered to buy my Calmini steering system for me, add it to his order, and I could pay him back over the next couple months, which we did.

When I noticed my bushings worn badly in the idler arm last month I called Calmini for the replacement bushing kit. They asked for the order info and I explained the situation, part way through which I was promptly cut off and told they could do nothing for me and that I would need my friend to call since the order was in his name. Ok, not a problem, I understand, although there could have been a more "customer friendly" attitude about it IMO.

Sooo... I get my friend to call. He explains the situation only to be told that they will STILL not replace my bushings because the "warranty" is non-transferrable from him to me - just because he picked up the steering system for me in his name. He was told that if I want the bushings I had to pay for them, as simple as that.

Up to this point I have been happy with Calmini and have been recommending their products to many of the members in my club, a lot of whom have subsequently bought Calmini parts. Many other are planning to buy Calmini as well and are waiting to here how I make out with this issue (we are almost 500 members strong). We have hundreds more members who are slowly starting to mod their trucks that would have been potentially buying Calmini products and I will no longer be recommending Calmini to any of them.

I can't believe a company would be so quick to lose a repeat customer, as well as many potential future customers, over $40.

As for my idler arm bushings... I am removing my Calmini steering system, getting custom bushings made, and re-selling the system. Then I will be saving my $$ and purchasing SLR's steering.

Right or wrong, this is just my $0.02.

I ran the SLR steering kit for over 2 years and replaced a lot of idler arm bushings on it too. It was one of the first 5 kits they sold.

Their brass ones didn't last worth a damn, so I used factory plastic ones after the brass ones died and I could get about 2-3 months of hard use out of a set....at least the stock ones were cheap.

Just thought I'd throw that in there. I have a used Calmini kit with new idler bushings ready to go on my X. Are you guys overtorquing the idler arm by chance? I haven't heard of any locals having this issue with their Calmini kits.

Once every five years right??? :rolleyes:

Sorry, I just don't buy into the notion they are failing because they're missing a little grease. I drive my truck 800+ miles a month just for work on top of personal miles. I change the oil every 4500 miles. I grease everything that needs it. I rotate the tires. I change the fluids when needed. I also grease it every time I go off-road before and after. It works out just about every month it gets grease. I'm now on my 4th set waiting for the 5th that I paid $54 for. I'm on my third idler arm. This goes way beyond grease.

I grease my idler arm frequently (now that I have a idler with a zerk fitting on it) and I see what you're getting at Ian. As these bushings begin to wear, I'll try that. It should buy me some time while I wait on the new set.

I think the speed in how they wear is directly related to the amount of off-roading, and the the harshness of it. I wheel often and I like a good challenge. So I use mine well, that may be the difference in why some wear faster than others.

I've considered making some bushings from a special high-hard bronze we use for making mold bases that are subject to alot of mechanical stress. My only reservations about doing that is the potential damage it could do to the bores in the idler itself. I've never checked, but does anyone know if these idler arms are heat treated?

For now, I guess I will just order new bushings as these wear out, and hope that Calmini can eventually come up with a permanent solution. I would be willing to pay the $40.00 for the replacements if I can get them in a timely manner. I think it's safe to say that when people spend good money on modifications, they shouldn't have problems like this.

I still say that Calmini makes good stuff, but there is a problem with the steering and many of us are expecting some sort of a solution.

I don't dispute that fact. As I said, I have been more than happy with their product up to this point. Now it's not even so much a product problem as it is a customer service problem. The run around I got was uncalled for and I should not have to argue with these guys over this. If I had been treated fairly and sent the replacement bushings as they've done for everyone else I wouldn't mind so much, but now it's just a matter of principle. Keep in mind that when we (up here in Canada) order anything for the Xterra it always comes from the US and costs us MUCH more money given the exchange rate, shipping, taxes, duty, brokerage fees, etc. I paid almost $800 for my steering system... that's NOT pocket change for me by any means.

It's ironic, because I talked up and pumped Calmini products at the rest of our club so much that the running joke was that I was secretely a Calmini salesperson working the "secret remote Canadian office..."

This seems like a bigger problem than just having to replace the parts ever so often. I mean, you guys are spending $500-$800 for a kit that is supposed to fix the problem of steering parts going bad with a lift.

What's the point of getting it to begin with?

So basically, by getting the kit you just bought yourself a subscription to keep buying and replacing parts?

Has anybody looked into getting a set of graphite lined, or oil impregnated, bushings to put in there, so you could rule out "lubrication" as a potential problem?

My guess is this. You've got a ton of force coming into the steering, and it's got to go somewhere. Which would you rather replace, bushings, or centerlink?

Yes, it's a PIA. Understandable. No steering solution for the Nissan will last forever. The benefit to the aftermarket setups is that they're REBUILDABLE, for CHEAP, as opposed to the stock that's not.

So the bushings are cheap and easy to replace?

Sure if $54 every 3-6 months is cheap. Over the life of the truck I'm going to have an extra grand just in idler arm bushings.

Obviously, this isn't a permanent solution to the steering problem. I guess my expectations were higher. I thought it would last longer the the stock center link. The problem has just moved to a different part wearing out. I could have stuck with the stock steering and replaced the center link twice a year. I could have bought almost 4 of them for what I paid for this.

When the stock steering goes bad with a lift, you're left with a very unsafe vehicle. The plastic bushing on the stock steering linkage can fail rapidly (within a day of serious off-roading) causing a very sloppy ride.

Once the bushing is gone, the pivot on the idler side can start to bend, weakening the part. I have two where the pivot is bent 10 degrees or more. Once the pivot is worn that much, failure may not be far off, and could lead to an accident.

The CALMINI system does have a wear issue with the idler bushings, but even when worn, there is no chance of any of it breaking due to how stout the product is.

Bushings and bearings are service parts, they are designed to wear over time. Some people are seeing accelerated wear, and others are seeing none at all. I myself am on my 2nd set of bushings, and they are worn, and the steering is sloppy. I too am looking/waiting for a solution.

My take on the situation is that bronze bushings work great for rotating parts, but the idler arm doesn't rotate more than 90 degrees, which puts a load on only a small section of the bearing. This load causes the bearing to heat and wear at that area only due to up and down movement at the tierod end of the idler arm.
If you crank the wheel all the way to one side or the other, then check the amount of play, you will notice it is less than when the wheel is straight ahead. This is why I recommended rotating the bushing 90 degrees to take up a bit of play, I did it on my first set of bushings when they were wearing, and it gave them a bit more life.

I (and others) believe a tapered roller bearing is the solution. Tapered bearings (like the wheel bearings on your Xterra) are designed to handle radial and thrust loads, that's how your wheels run true in a straight line, but also handle side loads from cornering. It remains to be seen if this will help the problem, since once again, you will have a bearing that is only being loaded in a small area, and bronze or ball or roller, they will still be subjected to wear.

In conclusion, the stock steering bushings wear out, the CALMINI bushings wear out, and the SLR bearings wear out. Wheel bearings also wear out, along with dozens of other bearings on a mechanical device like the Xterra. This is due to them being service parts that do their job until they can't do it any longer.

Where do we go from here ?
If the bronze bushings can be found at a good price (I saw a McMaster Carr listing on NOR that was very reasonable, not sure if it fits) or CALMINI can offer them at a good price, then owners of this system may be required to change the bushings every couple of months, just like they would change their oil filter, air filter or other service parts. CALMINI states that the system is completely servicable on their website, and that is an honest description of the product. It needs to be greased often (like CTMs bearing-less u-joints) in order to keep wear to a minimum, and it needs to be inspected often to make sure it's working in top condition (not just the bushings, but the center link ball joints as well).

Thanks Ian.

Very well explained. If you are going to abuse your Xterra (and I do) with offroading, it only makes sense to maintain highly stressed components.

I do not feel screwed by Calmini. Changing out the bushings is not hard people. If doing this in your driveway is difficult, then the risks in offroading should keep you away, far away! Things will break when taken to their limits. The Xterra is an awesome offroading vehicle. On almost every single trailrun I have been on we always pass a broken Jeep. Its part of the game and the Xterra is a winner!

I completely understand what you're saying Ian, and I gues pretty much agree with you.

For the most part, I guess I'm just blowing off steam. I'm fully aware that parts will wear out and that's what the bushings are essentially designed to do, but I expected longer life than 3 months out of them for a system built as robust as it is.

My biggest beef was mainly the way I was treated. I was talked down to and pretty much dismissed. I expected better than that from a company I've already spent a couple thousand of my hard earned $$ with (and had planned on spending much more with as well.)

I may be incorrect, but I don't think they are a standard machine bushing. I wouldn't know though, I haven't really looked into it. But I will on Monday. Interesting.

That's not a bad idea either. Of course you would have to harden the bores in the idler arm, and bore them to accept the races for the bearing. That could potentially drive up the cost of the idler a good bit..

At any extent, I think that having to pay $40-50 every two or three months if you offroad hard, is what excites some of us here. That being said, I will rotate my bushings and see if it helps until new ones arrive.

Thanks Ian for allowing us to discuss this openly here.

$54???!!!

Seriously, invest in a caliper, measure the suckers the next time you get new ones, and start looking on Mcmaster Carr's website. Those suckers better be made out of gold, if you're having to pay $27 APEICE for 'em!

No Porche, gold won't work..too soft.

What is the material that U-joints are made of.. the part that moves back & forth that is. they see very little movement, 10 or 20 degrees maybe.. they see all the torque the tranny can put out in 1st.. and last 100,000 miles, with no detectable wear..

U-joints use needle bearings, except for the new, off-road only designed bronze bushing u-joints from CTM, which require constant greasing and can't be used for daily driving.

Here's some info.

http://www.ctmracing.com/ProductInfo.aspx?productid=4-C144-1881

That's where the problem seems to lie, some people are getting very short life out of them, and some are getting long life.

I think trying to track down the cause is the most important thing at this point, followed by either a change in bushing design, or a much better price for replacements.

If replacements could be had for $10 or so, I don't think anyone would complain about doing it a couple times a year, and just rolling that cost and maintenance into the cost of 4-wheeling.

I have a set of the McMasters Carr bushings. They are the same size but do not look like the are the same quality of bronze. I know nothing about metals. They are very cheap though at $2.33 each. I had to buy my last set from Calmini which with shipping was $54.

I really do not want to pay that every few months. My steering is unsafe at this point with the worn bushings. At highway speeds its very difficult to keep a hold of the wheel. I've got a lot of wheel shake. I don't know what the solution is either other than SAS and right now that's not an option.

The claim on the website is true. But, you can also rebuild the stock system as well and save the initial $500.

From what you guys are saying, 3" of lift is just not worth the exorbant cost (initial and ongoing) and continued maintaniance.

Oh yes it is... It's either lift it, or break stuff underneath, or get stuck.

the steering maintenence is well worth it, if you offroad.

As to the McMastercarr bushings, you need to get a set of the thrust bearings, which run around $17 apeice for their hardest/best quality bronze.

I don't think a tapered bearing would work, because at the size we're talking about, they aren't really strong enough for the hits they're going to have to take. The stats on the ones I can find, are only in the 1000 lb of force range, which I don't think would be strong enough, considering the weight of an Xterra/Frontier.

That's true.

Ian: the bushing I need to rotate is the one this guy is holding in his hand?

Wich size is the ilder arm nut?

No, it's not. I have no idea what that is, it's not part of the steering kit. The bushings are in the arm itself, with the sleeve going through them.

I have the Idler Arm from Calmini but not the Steering System. Is this occurring with just the Idler Arm or just the Idler Arm contained in the Steering Kit? I am just about to have my UCA bushings replaced due to excessive play.

Well I rotated mine, took it to 4x4Parts to get the alignment done, and they said it was too worn and they couldn't work on it that way.

So I guess I need to make that call...

I rotated the bushings, now the play in the idler arm is reduced:

before the bushings adjustment

after the bushings adjustment

Regards,

Big difference! How much did you rotate the bushings?

I don't know how you can rotate the bronze bushings. Those things are pressed and sqeeezed very very tightly in the idler arm. So I guess your saying you need to knock them out with a BFH and then rotate and pound it back in?

You have to take the bushings out the idler arm. Yes, they are tightly installed inside the arm, so you have to push them carefully from the inside.

I don´t know how much I rotated mine, I just looked for the place where the bushings fitted more tightly.

Also, I have to say that my bushings are new, they had 40 days when I rotated them, and looked in good shape:

Do you happen to know what socket size fits the Calmini idler arm bolt?

O.K. I guess I'll chime in here. My idler was wacked from the get go. I took it apart and miked the bushings and the steel sleeve. None of these parts were completely round. One bushing measured 1.250 x 1.252 i.d. The other was 1.250 x 1.254. The sleeve I cant remember exactly, but one end of it was only 1.242. I reassembled it and oriented the parts to reduce play. This helped. I called Calmini and they sent me a new sleeve, no charge. The new sleeve is 1.252, and perfectly round. I had to just barely tap it in. I now have no play whatsoever. I have very few miles on this so no news on how long it will last.By the way, my bushings are pressed into the arm. I suggest checking your sleeve before reassembling with new bushings.

I disassembled the Calmini idler arm today and rotated the bushings 90 degrees. (Recommended by Calmini) So far, so good.

how are you guys popping out the bushings without damaging them? It's a split bushing so they would have to be popped out from either end?? Do you have to pop out the center sleeve before doing the brass bushings? What tool did you use to pop out brass bushing to rotate them? Couldn't I just grip the bushing from the outer edge with big pliers and rotate them while still in the idler arm?

After reading KCX' and Abiels posts on this page (4), on removing the bronze bushings, and how hard they were to remove I began to think about how mine slid out from the IAB without any prompting. At least the bottom bronze piece and the longer steel center piece did. I simply pulled the top brass piece out with my fingertips, no prob. WTF? You're saying they should require some force to install and remove? (Top, bottom, and center?)

I used a brass tap to work them out.

No problem with the steel center piece.

The bushings were tight in my IA, a friend of mine uses a puller to remove bushings:



Yes, some force its needed to pull out the bushings, not that much to push them inside...

A BIG one... J/K ...

Its 1 1/8".

In my IA, the steel center piece comes out by itself. For bronze bushings, you have to take them out to change/rotate them. See my previous post in this page with pics of the busings...

I installed mine last november, rotated them december and feb-05. Now need to repalce them.