My idler arm meaures the 2.48" between holes. Most places show both.
One like this...


And one like this, which mine is like. Can I use either?

 

I wouldn't count on the picture they show to be exactly what they ship you. In many cases it is just "some" idler arm, not necessarily "the" idler arm you will receive. The important thing is to get the one with the proper bolt spacing. Next, expect to do the pitman arm. I replaced my idler arm and all was good for about a week, then the pitman arm started making that clunk noise

 

Any other input on this?

 

wellif you look at the upper photo the idler slides on the stationary shaft and it looks like a cap is on the end. in the lower photo you can take off a nut and slide the arm off the stationary shaft, and see the bushing inside... mine is like photo 2, but as greenie said, are you sure the photos are not generic ? I took mine apart and worked on the bushings at one time, to get less slop, that how i know it had the nut and threaded shaft on the stationary part.

 

mine looks like the top one. when i changed it advance said there is 2 different sizes and most are the smaller one that mine was.

 

I'm not worried about the photos being "generic", I just wanted to see if anyone has interchanged them. I'll just stick with the type that's like on my truck. Thanks for the input.

 

I got one like the first one after talking to a Ford Tech. He said he went with one like that on his truck with no problems. So far so good for me. I'm happy with the results.

 

New to this forum!! I have a 2003 F150 ex cab. My questin is how difficult are they to change and how long does it take? Thanks DBL L

 

Took me about 20 minutes.