Pitman arm is hitting tortion bar! Help?

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Clearance from the top most of centerlink edge next to tie rod hole to the 1.14 torsion bar: 1.802" ~ 1 3/4" to 1 13/16".

That would be about 1 15/16" with factory .85" or .87" torsion bars.

PLEASE don't take these measurement literarly. Just trying to see if you are in the same ballpark. I would think 1/4" 3/8" difference would not be the end of the world.
 

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Hi there 73moparman, just came across your post. Sorry to hear your having such a hard time with your car. The good thing is you have a bunch od really good exsperts here helping you, so hopefully the problem will be solved. If your still having problems, I might know someone in Rogerville that might be able to help out, but they are on the road alot so it's kinda hard to say.

I didn't see in any of the other posts if you were able to get a casting number off the power steering box. When you get it off, please post it, as it might help with identifying a possible problem.

We had a similar problem about 10 years ago with a charger parts car. previous owner had installed and modified a c-body steering box to fit in place of the stock one. We pretty much just used the car for parts, so we never drove it more than where we were going to dismantle it. It also had mounting problems to the k-member and had the mounting holes enlarged to fit. It was pretty hoakie setup, thus why the guy sold it to us. Good luck with your build.
 
autoxcuda said:
Clearance from the top most of centerlink edge next to tie rod hole to the 1.14 torsion bar: 1.802" ~ 1 3/4" to 1 13/16".

That would be about 1 15/16" with factory .85" or .87" torsion bars.

PLEASE don't take these measurement literarly. Just trying to see if you are in the same ballpark. I would think 1/4" 3/8" difference would not be the end of the world.
Click to expand...

Thank You for taking the time for the very detailed pictures and measurements. This should help the OP and many others in the future.
 
Here's another way of getting that T-bar to centerlink distance. This also give you that 1 3/4" to 1 13/16" measurement.
 

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Here is a picture of the steering box mounting pad the box mounts to.

The second picture are the two inner nuts that are welded behind that mounting pad one vertically on top of the lower one. Very center of picture. The one outer nut is very tought to get behind and I don't think you could get behind it with a wench. But may be able to feel that one if it's spinning (maybe)
 

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Don't forget to center your torsion bar bolt or none of these measurement will mean anything if your not back to "stock" configuration.
 
mopar410 said:
Don't forget to center your torsion bar bolt or none of these measurement will mean anything if your not back to "stock" configuration.
Click to expand...

The ride height adjustment set by the t-bar bolt will not have any affect on the location of the center link up or down to the torsion bar.

If the car is real high, the tie rod could be more angled down then cause the edge of the ball joint body to kick up a little. But we are talking 1/4" to 3/8" max.
 
autoxcuda said:
The ride height adjustment set by the t-bar bolt will not have any affect on the location of the center link up or down to the torsion bar.

If the car is real high, the tie rod could be more angled down then cause the edge of the ball joint body to kick up a little. But we are talking 1/4" to 3/8" max.
Click to expand...
The OP already said he has the torsion bar maxed out because when he lets it down the torsion bar sits on the tie ron end and thats about 1" or so of travel so I believe it will matter.
 
autoxcuda said:
On my 73-76 K-member setup there is enough room between the pitman and my new 1.14" T-bars to very tight fit a 3/8 drive 1/2" socket. Look closely, there is a shiny chrome socket between the edge of the pitman arm and the bottom of the torsion bar. That distance measures out at 0.726"

With .85" or .87" torsion bars you should have .135" and .145 more room respectively.

So you should have about somewhere around 3/4" to 7/8". Maybe 1/2" between pitman and torsion bar.

73Moparman, can you get a measurement like this?
Click to expand...

Im sorry but i cannot currently get a measurment of any kind..the whole front end of my car is tore apart right now. Working on converting over to manual steering from power for clearance issues for headers. I had to loosen up the motor mounts and jack the motor up just to get the headers and power steering box out of the car..not real happy with that. I am also putting new lower control arm bushings in the car so it might be a little bit before i get it all put back together..
 
mopar410 said:
The OP already said he has the torsion bar maxed out because when he lets it down the torsion bar sits on the tie ron end and thats about 1" or so of travel so I believe it will matter.
Click to expand...


The OP has also said it has to be that high so the headers aren't laying on the ground. He has to work with the way the car will have to set or get rid of those headers.
 
View attachment header ding.jpg
Heading dented in fron tie rod end
View attachment lower control arm and some steering parts.jpg
lower control arm and some steering parts
View attachment lower control arm stud hole.jpg
lower control arm stud hole (notice broken away from k frame :/..)
View attachment old lower control arm bushing.jpg
Old lower control arm pushing (getting pressed out tomorrow by a local shop)
View attachment pitman arm and mounting hardware.jpg
pitman arm and mounting hardware
View attachment steering box mount location and motor mount.jpg
Steering box mount location and motor mounts
 
I would just like to throw out a big THANK YOU to everyone that has helped me in this post..all of this stuff is very useful and i will be referring to a lot of it when i start to reassemble my car with the new parts...
 
migsBIG said:
Hi there 73moparman, just came across your post. Sorry to hear your having such a hard time with your car. The good thing is you have a bunch od really good exsperts here helping you, so hopefully the problem will be solved. If your still having problems, I might know someone in Rogerville that might be able to help out, but they are on the road alot so it's kinda hard to say.

I didn't see in any of the other posts if you were able to get a casting number off the power steering box. When you get it off, please post it, as it might help with identifying a possible problem.

We had a similar problem about 10 years ago with a charger parts car. previous owner had installed and modified a c-body steering box to fit in place of the stock one. We pretty much just used the car for parts, so we never drove it more than where we were going to dismantle it. It also had mounting problems to the k-member and had the mounting holes enlarged to fit. It was pretty hoakie setup, thus why the guy sold it to us. Good luck with your build.
Click to expand...

Thank you. I just recently pulled the power steering box out of the car and compared it to my remanufactured one i bought from the parts store and it has the same numbers. So it is in fact a 73 power steering box. I think im going to convert the car to manual steering anyways just for the clearance issues with my headers..
 
Before you get the lower control arm bushing pressed in, check the lower control arm to see if it not bent.

They usually will bend between the strut rod hole and the lower ball joint hole.

This left one is a bent!
 

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mopar410 said:
The OP already said he has the torsion bar maxed out because when he lets it down the torsion bar sits on the tie ron end and thats about 1" or so of travel so I believe it will matter.
Click to expand...

The whole lower control arm was moving all over because of the busted K-member hole and bushing.

The centerlink is not connected to the torsion bar. The centerlink is connected to the pitman and idlers which then connects to the K-member which then connects to the frame rails.
 
Here's a reference picture of a straight 73-76 A-body lower control arm:
 

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autoxcuda said:
The whole lower control arm was moving all over because of the busted K-member hole and bushing.

The centerlink is not connected to the torsion bar. The centerlink is connected to the pitman and idlers which then connects to the K-member which then connects to the frame rails.
Click to expand...


What would you do about the bad K-frame? Myself I would replace it with a good used V8 K-frame because of possible metal fatigue and another future failure.

Correct me if I am wrong but the way the headers hang down so low to the ground. I would say these aren't the correct headers for this car and they will still be in the same position in relation to the center link when this car is reassembled? Will the manual steering gear box change anything as far as the center link position?
 
Oklacarcollecto said:
What would you do about the bad K-frame? Myself I would replace it with a good used V8 K-frame because of possible metal fatigue and another future failure.
Click to expand...

Depends on budget and availablity.

He can just weld it. Most people put a "coin" washer around it for support. Better check the other side REAL close at the same time.

Correct me if I am wrong but the way the headers hang down so low to the ground. I would say these aren't the correct headers for this car and they will still be in the same position in relation to the center link when this car is reassembled? Will the manual steering gear box change anything as far as the center link position?
Click to expand...

Could be for clearance around the top of the box. The header may be rubbing the box. Which doesn't help keep the bolts tight.

Don't know if he's switching to the small output shaft manual box??? If so, that will need a different pitman and idler arm from a 68-72 A-body. IIRC people say that setup has more clearance for some headers.


I don't know if they are the right part number for this car. But they are over chassis type headers that are a pain in the butt on the street. They may be bent from impacts that are making them fit bad now even. Doubt it though.

I hope he can take back that reman power steering box for full refund. I'd hate to put to much money and effort to get those header to work.
 
autoxcuda said:
The whole lower control arm was moving all over because of the busted K-member hole and bushing.

The centerlink is not connected to the torsion bar. The centerlink is connected to the pitman and idlers which then connects to the K-member which then connects to the frame rails.
Click to expand...
I don't think anyone said the torsion bar was connected to the center link and the "busted k frame was just informed to everyone.The tierod ball joint is to the inside of the torsion bar so lowering the torsion bar will cause the torsion bar to move downward where the tierod will stay at the same spot on the wheel side but lower on the inner ball joint which will allow the two to move closer to each other.But until he gets this car back together it's irrelavant to discuss much.When it's together then we can see what needs to be done then.With the steering being changed which I wouldn't do to my own car,these cars aren't light and manuel steering is tough.With the money spent on converting the steering I would buy a set of headers for that car.Hey 73moparman lifting the motor to remove the headers is basic procedure on these cars so replacing the power steering will not help that as everyone that I know of has to do that with either steering.
 
Change of plan guys. After careful looking at my car and contemplating what i wanted to do..i have decided to stay with the power steering box and get a pair of schumacher tri-y b/rb headers. They clear the power steering box, starter and wont have any issues clearing the steering parts either because they dont hang down below the car..here is a link so you can see what they look like.
http://www.engine-swaps.com/Pages/ProductsType/BRB_Headers.html
 
Those are good headers!

Have you checked to see if the lower control arm is bent? I bought the firm feel reinforcement plates to solve this issue. At less than a pound of weight and $24 they are a real effective upgrade
 
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