67 idler arm problems

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wjajr

wjajr

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The idler arm attachment point to K member became egged out due to previous owner not torqueing it properly. I drove the car for three summers with this lose connection before discovering the problem. This the 67 only tapered tie rod like connection, not the common bolt & rubber bushing connection.

Last summer I reamed the tapered hole out, and made a sheet metal bushing to bring the hole back to its correct size. I was unsuccessful and making a good repair, so I reamed some more used a thicker bushing, and now after driving it several thousand miles it is still sloppy. The problem is I can’t hand hold the ream & drill motor stable enough with the car on jack stands laying on my back.

Has anyone made a successful repair without replacing the K Member with a different year, or cutting the 67 tab off, and welding on a bolt type tab?
 
wjajr said:
The idler arm attachment point to K member became egged out due to previous owner not torqueing it properly. I drove the car for three summers with this lose connection before discovering the problem. This the 67 only tapered tie rod like connection, not the common bolt & rubber bushing connection.

Last summer I reamed the tapered hole out, and made a sheet metal bushing to bring the hole back to its correct size. I was unsuccessful and making a good repair, so I reamed some more used a thicker bushing, and now after driving it several thousand miles it is still sloppy. The problem is I can’t hand hold the ream & drill motor stable enough with the car on jack stands laying on my back.

Has anyone made a successful repair without replacing the K Member with a different year, or cutting the 67 tab off, and welding on a bolt type tab?
Click to expand...


There is a thread on this site about modification to the 67 K frame. It seems like they just added another peice of metal. I will see if I can find the link and post it for you.
 
I'm throwin' in the towel. I'm gonna put a '74 K in mine

If you can't find that other thread, post back or shoot me a PM, and I'll try and take some measurements off the 74 K
 
If you bought a idler arm for a 68 to 72 model and attach it to the drag link,
you could see what is required to make it work at the K member end.
 
I've got the same problem with my '66 Valiant. I pulled the motor and trans because I had a bad converter anyway, and a buddy of mine builds circle track race cars. He has the separate taper pieces, he's just going to cut mine out and re-weld the new piece in, after first lining up the drag link on the pitman arm and idler arm. I'm just waiting for the new pitman arm to get here, I already have the new idler arm.

Russ.
 
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