'48 K-F Idler arm question

[1948 Kaiser]

I'm hoping someone can help me here. I have taken apart a 1948 Kaiser and now a 1948 Frazer and both cars have the '51-'55 style idler arm and bushings installed in them. Was this normal for mechanics to do? My biggest question is why they were replaced in the first place, the Kaiser has 54,000 miles and the Frazer has 78,000 miles. Was there a factory recall by chance?
At this point rather than hunt down the "correct" idler arm we'll probably just use the newer style again.
Thanks in advance

[Chris Luecht]

My 49 Kaiser also has the later style idler arm.  The April 1952 catalog of Gasket Sets and Repair Kits lists the 51-55KF style idler arm, #207223, as fitting 47-52 Kaiser and 47-51 Frazer, so maybe they were retrofitted.  My guess would be it is an improved design. 
Regards,
Chris

[Fid]

It may have been a problem part from the start. Maybe others can chime in too but we had a '48 Kaiser Custom with 33,000 miles and we had to replace it on that car. I also had a '48 Frazer standard with 37,000 miles and had to replace it on that car so there seems to be a pattern but that's only two cars (albiet the only 2 '48s we ever had) and the arm was slopped out on both of them.

[kaiserfrazerlibrary]

There is a reference in K-F parts book on this to use the later version.

[Fid]

Chris L, I see there is a rebuild kit listed in the January bulletin. Would this be a solution?

[Chris Luecht]

You got me, those are my idler arm repair kits in the bulletin.  I had them made because they only made the earlier kits in the aftermarket and it is tough to come across these in NOS.  These repair the 207223 idler arm, originally fitted on 51-55 KF, but as we have discovered in this discussion, have obviously been used on some early cars as well.  Here is a picture of one of my kits:

[kfsteve391]

There were lots of problems with the old style idler arms. Many had to be replaced after 30,000 miles. That is a big reason they were redesigned in 1951. I believe there was a service bulletin stating that the new style idler arm was to be used for all models. Whenever an old style idler arm goes bad I always go with the new style. They usually last for the life of the car.