I have a problem at the idler arm and cannot tell if it is the right, inner tie rod end, the right drag link end, or the idler arm bushings. The rest of the ends are tight.

Question: Are all these tie rod ends the same except for the thread direction? In other words, if I had two tie rod ends of the correct thread direction, could I replace both these ends?

Have a great day,
Larry

Well, I know now that the drag link ends are not replacable.

I'm tempted to just get the idler arm bushings and see if this is the problem.

Have a great day,
Larry

What is the problem you are having ?

I had a very annoying dry grind/screech when turning the steering wheel - based on the mechanic's advice ,I replaced the Idler arm bushings -they were quite dry and brittle - now steering is very smooth and quiet. 126/ 1987 300SE.

The problem is wandering and being unable to properly set toe. The tires are wearing on the inside indicating toe out condition. I wiggle on the end of the idler arm and there is looseness, but I can't tell if it is one of the rod ends (right inner or center link) or if the looseness is the idler arm bushings.

Have a great day,

Not sure that I can advise you Larry, for on my car there was no Looseness - just dryness.

On the other hand... it is an easy DIY job and the Idler arm bushings are not very expensive - (around $30 if I remember correctly )
So if no good solution is found , replacing them might help by process of elimination .
My 2cents.
Good Luck.

Well, I came home this evening, got it up in the air where I could get a better assessment of the situation. I'm 99% sure that the problem is the idler arm busings.

This is good news, bad news. Good news is it is about the cheapest thing to put in the linkage, bad news is that in this chassis it appears that I will have to remove the exhaust system to get the bolt out. I will start another post to see if I'm missing something, but it is probably a waste of time that I could be using to get down the exhaust system.

Thanks for the replies,

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/tech-help/38065-idler-arm-exhaust-ball-joint-post216587.html#post216587