Bought a replacement kit off line, says it fits A 2001 Dodge Ram Van 1500, came with idler arms and tie rod ends, tie rods fit, but Idler arms have 1/2” play up and down on the bolt.

Looked into it and I have a full size van? The older idler arms are discontinued for 4,000 lb axels. Is there a way to work around this? Rebuild the ball joints? Washers and rubber gaskets?

I’m going to put back the old idlers arms to shore up my steering enough to get an alignment, they aren’t much better, but any possible alternatives would help.

 

The latest chinesium idler arms use spacers to fill the gap, I believe you are speaking about.
Did yours have those?