Egged out 1967 K member idler arm attachment fix needed.

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wjajr

wjajr

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Yes this is the dreaded 67 one year only tapered (like a tie rod) idler arm the fits up through K member, and is nutted from above

My 1967 Dart’s idler arm has egged out its mount in the K member from previous owner not torqueing it down properly. This summer I got a 7% ream, tried to ream its hole, and made a bushing out of sheet metal to reduce the hold’s diameter for a tight fit. Because of the slant six, the nut that secures idler arm to K member is imposable to get onto with a socket, or get a good purchase on it with a box end wrench.

The idler arm repair has not lasted, and has loosen up. Is there another way to solve this problem other than installing a 68-69 K member? I don’t have any way of pulling engine.

Can a 68-72 tang that protrudes from K member be welded onto my 67 K member? Is there a better way to bush the 67 idler arm?

My tentative plan is to re-ream the hole, fabricate a thicker bushing, and try to get the nut torqued properly.
 
If you find a solution, I hope you'll post back, maybe with photos

I've pretty much thrown in the towel. I have a SB in mine, and am planning on simply swapping in a 73/4 K when I convert to disk brakes
 
wjajr said:
Yes this is the dreaded 67 one year only tapered (like a tie rod) idler arm the fits up through K member, and is nutted from above

My 1967 Dart’s idler arm has egged out its mount in the K member from previous owner not torqueing it down properly. This summer I got a 7% ream, tried to ream its hole, and made a bushing out of sheet metal to reduce the hold’s diameter for a tight fit. Because of the slant six, the nut that secures idler arm to K member is imposable to get onto with a socket, or get a good purchase on it with a box end wrench.

The idler arm repair has not lasted, and has loosen up. Is there another way to solve this problem other than installing a 68-69 K member? I don’t have any way of pulling engine.

Can a 68-72 tang that protrudes from K member be welded onto my 67 K member? Is there a better way to bush the 67 idler arm?

My tentative plan is to re-ream the hole, fabricate a thicker bushing, and try to get the nut torqued properly.
Click to expand...

Yes, you can cut off the old 67 style mount and weld in a new style mount if you are a good enough welder. Personally I would recommend a professional welder.

If you were close I would give you a complete K frame out of a 73 with spool mounts just for pulling it.
 
Part Description
For sale one 1967 (only), A Body Big Block K Frame.

Original USED part. overall good solid shape! has scratches and some minor dents on the bottom, and a full weld around the oil pan seam area where the top and bottom stampings meet. The history of the part is unknown so we cannot explain the welds and whether they are factory or not as most other k frames in the yard don’t have them, but then this is the only big block one we have. All of the bushing holes and fixtures are tight and have never been welded or wobbled out.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/1967-Barrac...Parts_Accessories&vxp=mtr&hash=item564421a69f

NOTE: If you would like to use it in a 68-69 model? Ask us about providing an idler arm section out of another k- frame (which is what the difference is) for you to do the conversion.
 
keep searching, a member here had a good writeup on how he changed the 67 mount to accept a 68 up idler arm. wish i could remember who did it, but i do remember that it was a couple years back.
i feel your pain, man! 67 was a great year for american iron, not so much mopar a-bodies.
i looked high and low here and on the bigblockdart website but haven't found the thread, but it does exist.
maybe open a new thread to flush out the op of that write-up, it's worth reading.- pauly
 
Nothing to it really. Buy a 68 idler arm and the through bolt for that end. Grind away most of the original 67 idler arm mount. Weld 2 angle iron clips on. If you have the bolt hole drilled in them and bolt them to the new idler arm it will practicly locate itself with proper spacing , etc.. There is no rocket science in the position of an idler arm.There isn't enough K frame surdace to get it waaaay wrong. If its placed to high the drag link might rub the oil pan or something. Tack weld it. Check it operation. Finish the weld. Done.
 
RedFish, grafting on or fabricating a '68 bracket is looking better to me by the minute than frigging around snipping out a second bushing from thicker stock, and trying to ream a perfect '67 hole free hand with car on jack stands.

I haven’t seen any other style idler arm brackets except the 1967 type. So I having a bit of a problem visualizing just how much the standard multiyear configuration differs from a 1967 setup. I have looked at '68 idler arms on various part suppliers web sites, but without the seeing the '68 K member’s bracket I’m having a hard time visualizing the contraption.

Does anyone know the dimension of a 68 through bolt, is it special built, or an off the shelf grade 8? Dose a new bolt come with a new non '67 Idler arm? Could my '67 bracket be re-drilled to accept the '68 style mount?
 
The later idler arm uses a bolt through with a nut. If you clear drill the 67 bracket for that bolt you would then need to place the 68 ideler arm either above it or below it and add a second clip. Either position would be about half the distance wrong. A pic of any K member other than 67 for reference, the idler arm clips will be the same. I could provide measurments tomorrow if needed. Its raining right now.
 

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Thanks RedFish, that photo clears up a lot for me being able to see the standard idler arm configuration.

What the hell were Chrysler’s engineers thinking in ’67 with a tapered fit and nut on top of bracket in no man’s land…

After reexamination of my 67, I think I can remove a metal splash shield protecting the distributor which will afford access from above to get a torque wrench onto the idler nut. Access is tight in that sopt with a slant flopped over in the engine bay. I’ll try one more rebushing project, as my welding skills suck, and car is in for the winter, so no trips to a garage until next April.
 
Yesterday I re-bushed the idler arm – K member attachment point once again. This time I removed the /6’s pesky tin splash shield protecting distributor and oil filter to gain access to the idler arm’s two nuts from above with a torque wrench.

Being able to crank proper torque to these nuts makes a big difference, as previously I was not able to come close to enough torque with a box end wrench. Hopefully this repair will still be tight after rolling on some miles.
 
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