K frame removal on 73 Dart 318. How hard is It?

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Lasalle

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Mission Creep has set in. You guys have been helping me a lot. I am rebuilding the front suspension. Everything off. The power steering gear box was leaking for a long time so I removed that and sent it off today for seals and bearings. I am considering removing the K frame also to clean it and paint it. Lots of dirt and oil from power steering leak. 318 V8.

I want to know if my plan will work or is there something I am not thinking of? The car is supported by ramps under the back tires and square jack stands under the frame in front.
1. support the engine under the pan with a block of wood and a small screw jack
2. take out engine mount bolts
3. with a helper take out K frame bolts and lower it down. How heavy is the K frame? Is it hard to handle? Is it hard to re install? I want to replace the rubber in the engine mounts also while it is apart. (Mission Creep).
 
You will need to jack up the front of the car, support it with jack stands behind the k-frame ( on the rails beside the transmission ), support the engine, a cherry picker works best, at least for me.

Remove the tension off of the torsion bars and side them towards the rear of the car.

Remove the calipers and hang them with some wire hangers.

undo the shocks and upper control arms from the car,

if this is an auto trans, make sure that the metal cooler lines are not going to be in the way of the k member.

Undo the 4 bolts holding the k frame to the unibody and roll it out towards the front of the vehicle.
 
Don't try and support the engine underneath. I believe it's pictured in the service manuals. There is a tool you install that supports engine weight that rests on the frame rails. I "made" one so to speak. used lots of rags on the fender aprons, and cut a 4x4 (you could use a pair of 2x4's) across the flat area of the fenders. Then cut some 2x4 braces right length to sit on the frame rails and bolster the 4x4. Jack up the engine with jacks under or picker above, and rig a chain on the water pump/ intake bolts, etc and "rig" that chain tight over the 4x4 then let the jack down. Worked pretty good.

If you don't want to undu the brakes, separate the lower ball joints, leaving the brakes and spindles hanging from the upper arms. Tie them up with wire, etc. Pull the column / steering coupler and of course the engine mounts.

T bar removal. There's a tool for that or you can make one, but I find it easier to release the lower arm pivots, then get a 2x4 and crowbar and pry the arm to the rear which forces the T bar to the rear. YOU MUST remove the retainer clips at the rear of the bars

IF YOU DO NOT have one you need to go to MyMopar and download a free service manual

This is WAY easier with a hoist!!!
 
I don't want to discourage you from removing the k-frame but be prepared for possible unforseen issues. I dropped my k frame,engine and trans today using a lift. My suspension is fairly new and not corroded. I could not remove the passenger side torsion bar. The drivers side came right out almost by hand. The only way I could get it out was with a home made clamping tool and a come along to the frame. Even when the bar was free in the rear it would not release from the control arm. It wound up partially pulling the shaft out of the control arm. Bottom line is expect the unexpected.

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Forgive me if I am dense here but what is wrong with supporting the engine from underneath? It seems simpler than suspending from above. Is the pan not strong enough for the weight? Will the engine not be stable (top heavy) if supported from below?
 
Lasalle said:
Forgive me if I am dense here but what is wrong with supporting the engine from underneath? It seems simpler than suspending from above. Is the pan not strong enough for the weight? Will the engine not be stable (top heavy) if supported from below?
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You are not gonna have much room to work doing that, and you'll have to remove the steering linkage because the jack will have to be in the "hole" with the center link to the rear and the K to the front.
 
if you suspend the motor from the fenders like the FSM you can unbolt the K if its free of the torsion bars. If the bars give you trouble, just unbolt the LCAs and push them back with the bars (this helps break them free from the rear sockets.. remember to remove the retainer clip! The K weighs about 10 lbs. IIRC, its just stamped steel. I drove my S10 200 miles to pick up one and I could have driven my small car as it would have easily fit in the trunk.
 
If ya are going to all that trouble why not just pull the engine, refresh all the gaskets and give it a rattle can rebuild?
 
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It's really easy, the biggest thing is go SLOWLY, be CAREFUL, because you're dealing with things that are not light and can really hurt you. Del's suggestion about the factory service manual is probably the best advice. Just take your time. I would also advise taking lots of pictures, too so you'll have a reference for reassembly.
 
I'm getting ready to do this procedure, so I appreciate the knowledge given here. Paul.
 
The lower control arms, the torsion bars, the strut rods, the steering linkage, and the power steering gear box, are all off the car already. That is why I am considering doing this. Access to the engine mounts and the K frame will never be easier. That is what I meant by "everything off" in my first post. I should have listed them like I did here.
 
Plan is to go through the replacement this weekend. Also mission creep as I identified K frame damage while going in on a front brake disc upgrade and suspension rebuild. Steering linkage is all removed including pitman arm and idler arm... as well as the the shaft and connector at the steering gear. I'll be using a 2 ton cherry picker with load distributor and load straps to take up the engine weight. All that's left is removing the engine mounts and the retaining bolts to drop it all down. I'll build up the new K-frame with updated steering box, engine mounts and bushings ahead of time so I can move fairly quickly.

Agree with the recommendations on how to best support everything. With the jack stands in place there is a limit on how much space there is to move things around and how the cherry picker fits without having to remove the hood. Coming in from the passenger side seems to be the best approach. I went with 6 ton jack stands because it increased the amount of space under the care to drop and move things around.

Front strut rods and torsion bar removal were a bit of a challenge but I eventually got everything pulled successfully (I have a conversation in the "Brakes for you classic MOPAR that talks through all that). The T-bars will rust inside the LCA and required some finness. CRC was what finally got things moving.

Good luck.
 
K-swap completed this afternoon. Did. It by myself and it took a solid 2 1/2 hours with all the preliminary work done.

Maneuvering around the jack stands getting the replacement aligned was the biggest challenge. I had to mount the steering gear beforehand otherwise I would have had to remove the headers and didn't want to dive into that.

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I was successful taking mine off also. I supported the engine with a wood block and two screw jacks. I loosened all the engine mount bolts before I raised the jacks a little. Then we removed the 4 K frame bolts and dropped it down. I supported the loosened K frame with two more screw jacks because I was not sure how heavy it was but that was unnecessary. It is not heavy with two of us.

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Lasalle said:
I was successful taking mine off also. I supported the engine with a wood block and two screw jacks. I loosened all the engine mount bolts before I raised the jacks a little. Then we removed the 4 K frame bolts and dropped it down. I supported the loosened K frame with two more screw jacks because I was not sure how heavy it was but that was unnecessary. It is not heavy with two of us.

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Nice! :thumbsup:

Yeah, the K itself is pretty light, more awkward than anything.

Next challenge is pressing out LCA and A Arm bushings :D
 
Yes I have to do the bushings next also. I have one UCA bolt that is rusted to the inner sleeve of the bushing, preventing the bolt from coming out. Any time you remove a set of bolts or screws it seems there is always one that is troublesome. Cutting the bolt is a last resort. I am going to try penetrating oil and maybe some heat, although I don't know if the heat will get to where it needs to be.
My 73 Dart was made in Canada also. Not a Canadian market car. It was sold new in the USA.
 
Lasalle said:
Yes I have to do the bushings next also. I have one UCA bolt that is rusted to the inner sleeve of the bushing, preventing the bolt from coming out. Any time you remove a set of bolts or screws it seems there is always one that is troublesome. Cutting the bolt is a last resort. I am going to try penetrating oil and maybe some heat, although I don't know if the heat will get to where it needs to be.
My 73 Dart was made in Canada also. Not a Canadian market car. It was sold new in the USA.
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My T-Bar wouldn't come loose after a ton of PB Blaster and trying heat. Ended up using CRC Freeze Off.... Ice ice baby. Came right out but used the whole can on the one bar.

Left A is out and LCA's are cleaned and prepped for bushing work before I paint.
 
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