Removal of front K-frame

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Captainkirk

Captainkirk

Old School Mopar Warrior
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While my engine is out of my '72 Duster, I'm gonna spruce up & paint the engine compartment, K-frame and steering/suspension. It looks to me like if I put a couple of jackstands under the fwd subframe, I could drop the whole K-frame out for refurbishing. Am I out of my mind, :wack: or is this something that could be accomplished in the privacy of my own garage? And if so, Is it hard to reset the torsion bars, caster/camber, etc, or is this best left for professionals with the right tools?
 
This can be done in the home driveway,IF you have air tools and a compressor with normal hand tools.Now what is the limit of your tools and your level of automotive skill.If you have the will,your half way there,and if you got a buddy to help you and with a bit more skill than your self,even better.Use this site to post questions and even call some of us if you need help,Mrmopartech
 
Go for it ! Here's a pic of mine

Before13.jpg
 
Yeah, I have a compressor & impact tools. As for mech. ability, I've been wrenching on cars, bikes & aircraft (professionally) for the last, oh, thirty years or so. I'm not afraid to tear into anything....just don't want to get in deep enough to where I don't have the equipment to get out!
Speaking of which, one of the things I've learned over the years is you can do just about anything if you have the proper maintenance manual. I've got a rather vague Chilton's "one size fits all" manual. What I need is a GOOD Duster/Dart specific manual. Can anybody recommend a really good one? I wouldn't mind it on CD-ROM either.

Eric, did you separate all the suspension components or just "roll it out"? You did a hell of a nice job there; similar to what I want to do. What methods did you use to clean up the engine compartment (sandblast, chemical strip/etch, etc)? Any tips, suggestions, etc will be appreciated! Thanks.
 
Hello Captain- If you can get an original factory service manual you`ll have a gold mine of information. Faxon car literature sells them for around $60.00. Just make sure you mark your torsion bars L & R ,they MUST go back in the same side.To prepare you, the suspension parts are about the most stubborn parts you`ll encounter in a restoration, so get ready for a fight. Best regards and keep us up on your progress.
 
Easier written than done but here goes... Remove engine / tranny... Steering Column. Disconnect upper ball joints, loosen torsion bars till slack, remove rear retaining clips n whack the bars to the rear with a large brass drift pin. 4 Big bolts to go and it should all drop out on ya. Hope I didnt forget anything :)
 
Paint Stripper works best for inital removal of paint look for my other posts someone else asked about it.
 
Thanks. I'll take that & run with it. Motor & trans already out and I've already started grinding & sanding. I'll post some pix later. Kirk out.
 
Can anybody thell me if the gusset welded to the left motor mount beam is stock? Or did somebody scab this in? I don't remember this on my first Duster.

gusset.jpg
 
Don't forget the shock absorbers.
If you're wanting to clean up the k-frame for painting, the strut rods, lower
control arms, etc. remaining attached will be somewhat in the way. I took
my son's completely apart and sand blasted it, before painting with epoxy primer and black urethane paint.

As for the gusset, it's not on my son's '74 Dart Sport.

Jerry
 
That patch isn't in our 72 or the 73 scamp.
I yanked out my whole front suspension and rebuilt it in a weekend with out dropping the K frame. It was my first rebuild and it was more simple than I thought it would be and if I dropped the K frame it would have been even more so.
As for the caster/camber I just got mine so the tires were pointing streight and so the frame was an even height that I liked on bolth sides and took it to an alighnment (spelling?) shop.
 
Does anybody see any negative aspects to sandblasting vs. chemical stripping? There's quite a bit of surface rust present, and if I chem. strip I'll have to sand it anyway.
Regarding the gusset; It does not look stock. Does the mount it's attahed to look stock as well? I haven't figured out if this is repair or a mod. Any ideas?
 
Have a look at my Car Domain site and you'll see how I dropped the complete K Frame, then sandblasted it, treated it with Metal Prep, shot 2 coats of epoxy primer, then 3 coats of polyurethane black paint. Looks great compared to the greasy mess I started out with. :)
 
Nice pics, Sid! I'd love to have a rotisserie like that! Makes me feel like maybe it's not-so-impossible after all. :drinkers:
 
Thanks. The rotisserie was my spring project last year. I finally realized I'm too damned old to be crawling around under cars on a cement floor. :)
One thing I didn't detail on the site was that I had a hell of a time trying to get the torsion bars out the back. I'd put those in there about 20 years ago but I couldn't move them this time. I eventually said to hell with it and just unbolted the K Member and just basically tapped each side, back and forth, with a hammer until the suspension actually came off the torsion bars. Oh, I'd already released all of the tension from the bars with the adjusters.
 
SANDBLASTING "VS" PAINTSTRIPPER

From all the researching that I have done there are good and bad aspects to both, with sandblasting if the guy doing the job goes too slow it can heat up and warp the panels and it is also very difficult to get all the sand out of every nook and crany of the car. But I would belive that sandblasting is faster then paintstripper. As for paintstripping you have to make sure that when your done all of the stipper chemical is off of the car because if it isn't the primmer and paint won't addhere (spelling) to the body very well, and you will have to do the process from the begining again. But you can do it yourself in your own garage which means you won't have to pay big $$$ on labour costs.

Hope this helps, I too have not figured out which process I'm going to go with.
 
72_Durstya said:
SANDBLASTING "VS" PAINTSTRIPPER

From all the researching that I have done there are good and bad aspects to both, with sandblasting if the guy doing the job goes too slow it can heat up and warp the panels and it is also very difficult to get all the sand out of every nook and crany of the car. But I would belive that sandblasting is faster then paintstripper. As for paintstripping you have to make sure that when your done all of the stipper chemical is off of the car because if it isn't the primmer and paint won't addhere (spelling) to the body very well, and you will have to do the process from the begining again. But you can do it yourself in your own garage which means you won't have to pay big $$$ on labour costs.

Hope this helps, I too have not figured out which process I'm going to go with.
Click to expand...

Sandblasting is a pain, You'll need a 5hp (very min) Compressor and like 3-500 lbs CLEAN sand. Dont reuse what fell on the floor, your only throwing what ya didnt want back on the car. I suggest using it, Sparingly... I did the underside of my car after scraping off the undercoat. Use spray can bug n tar remover and a putty knife to loosen/scrape as much as you can away. I know there's something better) It's true, The sand is a pain in the butt to get it out of every nook n cranny. Ask how I know :) Having a rotisserie or being able to flip it over on the roof is easier to get it all out. Let plastic sheeting and masking tape be your friend :) tape all ya can, It will save work later. DO NOT Sandblast or sand the paint off any visible panels. For that you need the Paint Stripper.
For everything else use paint stripper and a putty knife, Get it as clean as you can with the stripper, Then take a dual action round 6" air sander with like 40-80 grit paper n sand it to bare metal. Prime with a self etching (zinc Chromate) primer asap. Then you can store your panel (in A/C preferably)without it rusting. (the self etch primer got zinc in it) Free to do bodywork, when time allows. I used Rust Encaplsulator from eastwood.com to cover any of the rusty areas I couldnt get to on the unibody, like the 1/4 panel sail areas. Rust needs oxygen to occur. (hint) Anyway,That's what I did, hope it helps someone save or improve thier work.
 
That does help; a lot! I believe I'm going to attempt tp strip the egine bay with stripper first, and see how it goes. The left side is much worse than the right (due to battery acid, I think). I'll attempt to wire wheel the rust after I strip it & see what happens. I'm most concerned with the rust in the nooks & crannies between the fender wells and the unibody rails (where no respectable sander would go if it could!) The thought of picking sand out of every crack is rather unappealing at the moment. Again, I'll try it & report back how it goes. Thanks for your comments!
 
Hey my 70 340 4speed Duster has the exact same gusset as yours. Same sloppy welds and all!! No need to look any further, I think it is factory and not a repair.....
 
I'm ready (I think) to remove the K-frame from my Duster. I've removed the nuts from the front of the torsion bars; Now what? Nothing seemed to change tension-wise, including the height of the car. I assume there are some secondary nuts holding the torsion? From what I understand, I have to remove a couple of clips from the rear of the torsion bar and drive them out with a drift.
 
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