Can someone shoot me straight on an idler arm question?

[e50095]

Appreciate any help fellas. I pulled the 67 k frame out of my barracuda. I replaced it with a 73-76 out of a 360 Duster. It came with lower control arms and factory sway bar. My understanding is since I'm keeping my 67 steering box and pitman, the drag link from the 67 must be retained. I bought a new 68-72 idler arm because of the 67 one year only curse. It looks like it will mount okay, but it came with fiber and metal washers. I have no idea what they are for. If you can advise on that I'd appreciate it. I attach a pic of the new idler arm, the hardware that came with it, and the 73-76 drag link with the old idler arm attached.

 

[Scody21]

The washer are for the side that is bolting to K frame. Think the steering box is same for all the years. Might have to get the later pitman arm also. Some people dislike the spool mount later K frames. I don’t know why you’d change it unless your going to V8 from /6 Frame....

 

[67Dart273]

1..The box has to fit the pitman arm because of spline size
2...Then the pitman, center link and idler all have to be same, either 68-72 or 73 and later because the tapered studs were changed and point the opposite way.

Look at your two idler arms. the tapered studs are opposite, the new one does not match the old one. The old one DOES NOT APPEAR to be a 67. 67 idler has TWO TAPERED studs as the bracket only has "one ear". I would bet you had a 68-72 K member already???

Post 2.........

confused, steering gear compatibility

Early up through 72, the studs point UP

Late, 73 and later, studs point DOWN, and normally "big spline" box

 

[Professor Fate]

Appreciate any help fellas. I pulled the 67 k frame out of my barracuda. I replaced it with a 73-76 out of a 360 Duster. It came with lower control arms and factory sway bar. My understanding is since I'm keeping my 67 steering box and pitman, the drag link from the 67 must be retained. I bought a new 68-72 idler arm because of the 67 one year only curse. It looks like it will mount okay, but it came with fiber and metal washers. I have no idea what they are for. If you can advise on that I'd appreciate it. I attach a pic of the new idler arm, the hardware that came with it, and the 73-76 drag link with the old idler arm attached.

View attachment 1715788769

View attachment 1715788770

View attachment 1715788771

If you're keeping the '67 pitman arm, then you must use the '67 centerlink- the '68 idler will work fine with it. You can't use the '73 centerlink because the pins on the ballsockets are reversed in direction from the earlier units (pointing down instead of up).

 

[Professor Fate]

I don’t know why you’d change it unless your going to V8 from /6 Frame....

Because the '67 K still retained the taper pin/single ear idler and mount of the early As, the '68 and later Ks all used the much stronger and stabler double ear/through bolt design.

 

[67Dart273]

^^But I don't think he has a 67 idler, look at the photo^^ 67 Idler DOES NOT have a sleeve and bolt. It has a tapered stud on the K member side as well as a tapered stud on the center link end. If the K member has TWO ears on the bracket, then it is a 68/ later K. If it has two ears and pillow mounts, it's 68--72, if it has spool mounts it's a 73/ later

Is this your "old" idler? Not a 67, that is a 73/ later

 

[Johnny Dart]

Best thing to do at this point is to go all 73 and up.
Will really save you a headache of mismatched parts.

On a side note: There are 2 different Pitman arms. 1 for manual, and 1 for power steering.

If you need any 73-up steering parts, just put up a wanted add.

 

[67Dart273]

Best thing to do at this point is to go all 73 and up.
Will really save you a headache of mismatched parts.

On a side note: There are 2 different Pitman arms. 1 for manual, and 1 for power steering.

If you need any 73-up steering parts, just put up a wanted add.

Not necessarily. it depends on what box spline you have

 

[e50095]

The 3rd pic is the idler and drag I removed from the 73-76 K. I think Scody21 hit it, I was bothered by the fact the metal washers didn't fit over the silver tube on the new idler, but it seems they aren't supposed to. They keep the idler arm centered in the mounting space. My old K is definitely a 67, here's a pic.

 

[Johnny Dart]

Not necessarily. it depends on what box spline you have

I guess that's what I meant, the two different spline sizes.
I'm building a 73 k frame as we speak, and going from power steering to manual. Power steering had the larger spline, of my 2 boxes.

 

[Professor Fate]

^^But I don't think he has a 67 idler, look at the photo^^ 67 Idler DOES NOT have a sleeve and bolt. It has a tapered stud on the K member side as well as a tapered stud on the center link end. If the K member has TWO ears on the bracket, then it is a 68/ later K. If it has two ears and pillow mounts, it's 68--72, if it has spool mounts it's a 73/ later

Is this your "old" idler? Not a 67, that is a 73/ later

View attachment 1715788782

I bought a new 68-72 idler arm because of the 67 one year only curse.

I attach a pic of the new idler arm, the hardware that came with it, and the 73-76 drag link with the old idler arm attached.

 

[moparmat2000]

73-76 k frame, i believe you gotta stick with 73-76 steering center link, idler and pitman arms, along with large sector shaft steering box.

 

[autoxcuda]

You had a 67 k-member

someone put in a 68-72 idler on your 67 k-frame. I’ve seen this done before. They just sandwiched the idler with a bolt onto the k-member hole. And that hole is tapered and can make for a very unstable mount

It’s because the 67 idlers were hard to get at one time and the 67 idlers have always been more expensive than the 68-72 idlers.

you can bolt on what you had before right onto the new 73-76 k-member. Just with a new 68-72 idler or you old one

 

[67Dart273]

73-76 k frame, i believe you gotta stick with 73-76 steering center link, idler and pitman arms, along with large sector shaft steering box.

No, K does not matter. You get rid of 67, then you can use "those 4 pieces" with any year K from 68--74. The magic piece, "for me" is the steering box. If I happen to have a really good steering box, I'll use that and match the rest to it

 

[moparmat2000]

No, K does not matter. You get rid of 67, then you can use "those 4 pieces" with any year K from 68--74. The magic piece, "for me" is the steering box. If I happen to have a really good steering box, I'll use that and match the rest to it

I stand corrected.

 

[AJ/FormS]

Before you make that final decision, consider what exhaust you are going to run. My TTI headers did not like the 68 to 72 steering system, so I tried the 73 up parts and bingo just some minor trimming required.
The two arms and the Centerlink are a set, and as mentioned, the pitman arms must fit the steering box sector shaft.
Also consider what oilpan you plan to run; The Milodon Roadrace pan likes to kiss the draglink, so again, the 73 up fit..... but barely.
When yur done, and the car is leveled from side to side at both ends;
the centerlink must remain parallel to the ground-plane. Sometimes you have to move the pitman-arm up or down and/or slot one of the saddles. This is for proper geometry while turning. I use the supplied washers for this adjustment.

 

[Jim Lusk]

The 73-up stuff fit my 440 oil pan better than the 68-72 pieces. As a matter of fact my Barracuda is running a B-body baffled pan and there is ZERO interference with the center link or idler/pitman.

 

[e50095]

I should be good here man, I'm putting in a mild 340 and 727, 11.75 brakes and a 8.25 with a 3.21 I believe sure grip. It's a 67 barracuda convertible and it'll be used for back road cruising and an occasional beach run. I anticipate rarely putting my foot to the floor. The 340 has X heads and a 474 lift purple shaft cam. I love that sound. It had a torker II with a 750 dual feed double pumper, but that was pre marriage and in a 68 hardtop valiant with headers, a decent converter and 3.55's. So the torker will be coming off for a dual plane either thermoquad or holley 600 with electric choke. I can't scare my wife too bad or she will never ride in it. I'm also concerned about how much twisting the convertible can take, so I'll be driving as gingerly as my stones will allow me to.

 

[e50095]

I know this issue of steering box, drag link, pitman and idler have come up before. I found a thread from the past that detailed it completely. From time to time I think it would be a good thing to put all we've learned into an ebook or something. Something to the effect of:.....so you have a 63-66 Valiant or Dart, here are your choices in regard to ditching the four 9" drums, here's what you need to go from slant to small block, here's what tire combinations will work (this one alone would be valuable for everyone).....but then I conclude it would just get too complicated. I think in terms of 11.75" brakes from a 76 Cordoba, where I know other folks think Porsche boxster 4 piston front brakes with custom brackets. I loved reading that thread and it was awesome, but for better or worse I get off the boat at stepping outside of factory and putting in say a rack and tubular control arms. Maybe that's a cost thing in my mind, but I've ridden in a couple cars that have all OEM upgrades and they were fast, fun, safe, and handled really well. I just worry about newbies that just got their first A-body, and want to do some upgrades to improve performance and handling. The amount of possibilities may be overwhelming, and we all think differently. I for one am done with headers. I saw the Engine Masters episode on Motor Trend where they compared headers to regular logs, and for me, it's not worth the expense and aggravation. Other folks go TTI or bust. Anyway, I'm rambling now. What do you guys think? Is an ebook doable? I'm talking free of course, available to anyone...

 

[e50095]

The how to section already has a lot of great info in it...

 

[Johnny Dart]

Must have book for anybody playing around with these cars.
Goes over exactly what we are talking about in this thread.

 

[moparmat2000]

I should be good here man, I'm putting in a mild 340 and 727, 11.75 brakes and a 8.25 with a 3.21 I believe sure grip. It's a 67 barracuda convertible and it'll be used for back road cruising and an occasional beach run. I anticipate rarely putting my foot to the floor. The 340 has X heads and a 474 lift purple shaft cam. I love that sound. It had a torker II with a 750 dual feed double pumper, but that was pre marriage and in a 68 hardtop valiant with headers, a decent converter and 3.55's. So the torker will be coming off for a dual plane either thermoquad or holley 600 with electric choke. I can't scare my wife too bad or she will never ride in it. I'm also concerned about how much twisting the convertible can take, so I'll be driving as gingerly as my stones will allow me to.

Put decent subframe connectors in it, and never worry about that.

 

[e50095]

I think you're right, I watched the install of the magnum force connectors on youtube. They look fantastic, 3x the price of the cheaper ones, but I have to believe they are worth the price. Does anyone have experience with them?

 

[moparmat2000]

I built my own out of 2x3 box steel 14 gage. Takes about 10' length of tubing. Check my restoration build thread

67/68/69 cuda dilemma

Around page 25 up to see how I built mine, and re routed the parking brake cable.

 

[Jim Lusk]

I think you're right, I watched the install of the magnum force connectors on youtube. They look fantastic, 3x the price of the cheaper ones, but I have to believe they are worth the price. Does anyone have experience with them?

If you want to know about people's experiences with Magnum Force, do a google search. You might be surprised at what you read. For what it's worth, I will never do business with them and that's just because of how I was treated back in the 1980s when I walked in to ask a question...