73 and up K Frame question?
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No, when I put the 73 K on my 72 Demon the 72 idler arm would NOT work, The height of the idler arm where it bolts onto the K-Frame is different...The 73 style is shorter...
Ryan
Ryan
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Thats odd, it wouldnt work on mine...268darts said:
Ryan
The 73 up idler arm and pitman arm studs point down and the 68 - 72 style studs point up. A buddy of mine just changed to the 73 steering linkage on his 72 Duster because it moved the center link just enough to clear his hedders. I thought it moved it down. Being shorter, maybe it just tucked it in closer to the k member.
Ryan, just curious...What did you do to fix your problem? Also, what Jim said. I had a 68 Dart that my brother put a 6 qt. pan on and the linkage ddn't clear the pan. He took a prybar and tweeked it down about a 1/4 inch to clear the pan. Had you bought that car you would not have known of the modification. There is also the possibility that your idler arm got bent going over a speed bump or running into a ditch. Ditch? Yeah, don't ask me how I know...lol.
Ryan, just curious...What did you do to fix your problem? Also, what Jim said. I had a 68 Dart that my brother put a 6 qt. pan on and the linkage ddn't clear the pan. He took a prybar and tweeked it down about a 1/4 inch to clear the pan. Had you bought that car you would not have known of the modification. There is also the possibility that your idler arm got bent going over a speed bump or running into a ditch. Ditch? Yeah, don't ask me how I know...lol.
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I just bought 73 linkage and it fit right on, idler was brand new so I know it wasnt bent, the 2 tabs on the k where the idler arm bolt on were closer together than my 72 k, whether it got bent or what I dunno...268darts said:
Ryan
The 73 and up K-member is completly different than the earlier models and mixing parts is not recommended. I usuall pull the entire 73 and up K-member with all attaching parts have the K-member uppers and lowers powder coated, install new parts and remove the older unit and bolt the new one in this procedure eleminates a lot of headaches and mismatchd parts that could fail when you need them most.
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Mixing parts is NOT a problem. When Chrysler sold Direct Connection k-members there was no suggestion that you needed 73-up steering linkage parts. The only part that needed swapped was the 67 idler arm for a 68-72 arm when going into a stock 67 a-body.
ALL 67-76 k-members have the same steering gear location and lower control arm pivot hole location. The idler arm location is the same for all 68-76 k-members.
Parts fail because parts fail, not because you used 68 steering linkage on a 73 k-member. I will say this, though. After installing the 73-up linkage into my 67 fastback the fit is better and there is more exhaust and oil pan clearance.
ALL 67-76 k-members have the same steering gear location and lower control arm pivot hole location. The idler arm location is the same for all 68-76 k-members.
Parts fail because parts fail, not because you used 68 steering linkage on a 73 k-member. I will say this, though. After installing the 73-up linkage into my 67 fastback the fit is better and there is more exhaust and oil pan clearance.
Sorry to disagree Jim, I had a business converting K-members from small block to big block applications for A-bodies and sold them all over the U. S. I was under the same assumption until I was requested to sell complete front ends thats when I discovered that the 73 up K-members used the same parts as the B and E-body cars. I even changed the K on my numbers matching 340 car to a later model because it was better, I agree the attaching points are the same but the parts attached are heavier duty.
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The parts may very well be heavier duty, but there is no problem using the early parts. They were the parts spec'd with the big block cars and seemed to hold up to some amount of abuse. Again, parts won't fail because they were mixed and matched.
I also have been converting k-members for a lot of years and even spent some time with my son autocrossing a 67 fastback with a 383 and EARLY steering components (even with K-H discs and small bolt pattern until we broke a WHEEL) and never had a suspension failure.
I also have been converting k-members for a lot of years and even spent some time with my son autocrossing a 67 fastback with a 383 and EARLY steering components (even with K-H discs and small bolt pattern until we broke a WHEEL) and never had a suspension failure.
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