Center link rubbing oil pan

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HotLines

HotLines

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1964 Plymouth Signet.. 91 360, urethane front end and disc brakes, good shocks and a perfect alignment. What is the cure for the center link rubbing against the oil pan? I never had this problem when it was a stock 273 or even the 318 and only slightly with the 340, but now with a 91 360 which has been in the car for a few years, it looks like it's ready to start a hole, which I am sure is not good... What do I need? Thank you... PS, I didn't much mind the 205 70 14's rubbing the fenderwell headers as I added some metal to the bump stop so it would touch the headers and steering works fine :)
 
Was the car originally a slant 6 ? I ask because the early A bodies used two different center links. V8 cars had a dropped center link to clear the oil pan while the link in slant 6 cars was almost straight. Never heard of a V8 center link rubbing on a 360 oil pan before...
 
It was an original 273 V8 car... Tell you something, couple years I replaced the pitman arm and was wondering if there were two different lengths of pitman arms.. Do you know if that is probable?
 
Not if you got the right parts. Manual and power steering boxes used the same Pitman arms which is no longer available. '67-'72s also used the same arm whether manual or power but it was a different length than the one on the '66 back A's. Can't remember if it was shorter or longer (having a CRS moment), leaning toward longer by just a tad. Part number is K7074 and will bolt to the earlier steering boxes since the sector shaft diameter was the same...
 
But will the later one fit my 64?

And will it still appear level to the pan... I dunno, I've gotta figure out something before Monday
 
If you are having no problems with the steering (doesn't wander, no weird pulls or sudden darts) I believe I would shim the motor enough for the pan to clear and call it good enough. Shouldn't take much more than 1/8" per side and that little bit shouldn't throw things off enough to cause problems elsewhere...
 
Thought about that as well... I'll say this, I never really had this much of a problem till I bought Shumacher mounts, even called them to ask where the rubber was made and the games began...
 
Know what you mean. Think their rubber stuff is made by Dang F'ing Ching in the People's Republic, but show me something that isn't...
 
The Moog pitman arm number is K7020. K7020 crosses to Mopar number 2072513 and Trw number 18665. There is Trw pitman arm on eBay now. I see the Moog arms show up every now and than too.

[ame="http://www.ebay.com/itm/1963-64-65-66-Dart-Barracuda-Pitman-Arm-Mopar-2072513-TRW-18665-/201163522137?pt=Vintage_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item2ed647c059&vxp=mtr"]1963 64 65 66 Dart Barracuda Pitman Arm Mopar 2072513 TRW 18665 | eBay[/ame]


For what it is worth the idler arm is K414 and there is an old stock American made Moog idler arm on eBay right now too.

[ame="http://www.ebay.com/itm/MOOG-IDLER-ARM-K414-65-66-BARRACUDA-CUDA-63-66-DART-62-LANCER-62-66-VALIANT-/261371697474?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item3cdaf79942"]Moog Idler Arm K414 65 66 Barracuda Cuda 63 66 Dart 62 Lancer 62 66 Valiant | eBay[/ame]
 
There is also this one advertised to fit the early A but you would need to verify the length. This is a PST part.

[ame="http://www.ebay.com/itm/Steering-Pitman-Arm-62-63-64-65-66-Dodge-Lancer-Dart-/191369864981?pt=Vintage_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item2c8e886715"]Steering Pitman Arm 62 63 64 65 66 Dodge Lancer Dart | eBay[/ame]
 
Perhaps a different issue, but I recall discussion of the steering linkage (V-8 type) hitting the side of the oil pan at its extreme of travel. They install a 64-66 273 oil pan on a 318-340 (won't fit a 360). Some simply dent a later oil pan to clear.
 
Thank you Ok and thank you Bill, I've been considering cutting the oil pan and welding in half a tubular pipe thingie cut down the center to make a U... Stuff like this I can do as finding parts that are needed becomes a quagmire...

Thank you again
 
Just discovered the exact same problem on my 5.9 in my 65 Valiant. I have the Kevko pan and noticed on the driver side that the center link is starting to dig a whole in the pan. Have Schumacher mounts also. Curious to see what solution you come up with.
 
The 273/318 use a different motor mount bracket then the 340/360. At least according to Schumacher. Did you change them?
 
Early A V-8 oil pan is different than later V-8 pans, it has a small relief to allow full travel of the center link without denting the pan. My '65 Valiant has an '87 'teen in it that suffered the same fate so I found a couple of Early A V-8 oil pans, one for a spare, and problem solved. This will not help guys with 360 power since the early A V-8 oil pan will not work on a 360 engine. The solution may be, using a very light touch, ball-peening a small clearance relief in your 360 pan.

Bob
 
Had that issue years ago with the 360 in my 64 valiant. . No one made rubber mounts for them back then. I got some scrap 1/4 alumn and made a little spacer plate and it fixed the problem.
 
Grump, I did shim the motor mount and and worked..

The 340 motor mounts are not the same as the 1991 360 and I couldn't believe it, yet the problem was the Shumacher mounts for the 360, the rubber they use broke down within a year and when I first saw this a year later, I called to ask where the rubber came from, they ran a game as if they are the God of Moparts.. Never will I buy from them..
 
2 things, I had to dimple the pan on the drivers side to clear my 318 in my 66. engine is from an 87 gran fury highway patrol car. second, when I did my suspension swap I pulled a durp-a-durr move and installed the drag-link backwards, and it rubbed the par on the bottom like crazy. the angle to the dangle is different depending on what way the drop link is installed. the correct way theres approx. 2 inches of pan clearance from bar to bottom of the pan, the incorrect way theres no clearance with the front wheels straight. it will rub-a-dub-dub. I also have Schumacher mounts which claim to set the engine 3/4 on and inch higher than factory mounts. keep that in mind.
 
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