Thats a good mod for a Gen 1 Nitteberg.
A Gen 2 has a much beefier idler arm and only needs a shaft made out of stronger material say 4140 this can be done very cheaply a grease nipple can be installed as well.
I also believe a hi-steer conversion will stop a lot of this idler arm bending as well.
This would involve mounting the outer tie rods on top of the knuckle instead of from underneath.
My friend is getting a tapered drill bit made up to match the ball joint taper. He has some special welding rods for the cast knuckle material so the hole is welded solid then redrilled from the top with the tapered drill bit.
There are also super heavy duty aftermarket tie rods available.
Gen 2 formula for super beefy front end :-
- machined idler arm shaft (4140)
- hi-steer conversion
- aftermarket heavy duty tie rods (optional)
- custom made heavy duty drag link (optional)
- steering damper (optional)
My Gen 2 has the chassis mounting bracket for a steering damper but nothing on the drag link so a clamp could be used or a bracket welded to the drag link.