Center Link hits Engine Cross Member

[Tmwoodall]

Ugh. I am having a tough evening. I thought I had everything ready to go, but then my Tie Rod End was hitting my wheel so i took a second look at it all. Then I realized the inner TRE was mounted upside down. Simple fix, right?

Wrong. They only slip into the center link (is that the right term?) one direction. Which means unbolting idler arm, pitman arm and both TRE to flip it around. Great problem solved, except that it hits the cross member.

What do I have wrong? As is my TREs are upside down and I can't slide the sway bar in correctly as the contact. If I flip them over they won't slip into the center link, and if I flip the center link end to end it contacts with the cross member.

[brothers69c-10]

I will tell you the same thing i tell my brother lol. When in doubt consult the lmc truck catalog for a exploded view of the part of the truck your working on. Heres a link to the page with steering components. Hope it helps.

http://www.lmctruck.com/icatalog/cb/full.aspx?Page=129

[Tmwoodall]

Originally Posted by brothers69c-10

I will tell you the same thing i tell my brother lol. When in doubt consult the lmc truck catalog for a exploded view of the part of the truck your working on. Heres a link to the page with steering components. Hope it helps.

http://www.lmctruck.com/icatalog/cb/full.aspx?Page=129

DUH!! I'll check that out. I spent at least a freaking hour looking for a view of it online and in tech articles.

[brothers69c-10]

I may not buy many parts from them, but those catalogs are a lifesaver when you don't have another truck to look at.

[Tmwoodall]

Problem still exists, when I set it up as the images at LMC have it and as I thought it should be it still hits my cross member.

[lolife99]

Got any pics?

[Tmwoodall]

Originally Posted by lolife99

Got any pics?

That is the way that it will clear the cross member, but puts the TRE upside down as they won't thread through the top, only the bottom when the bend is towards the grill.

[Tmwoodall]

Image one shows it setup how I believe is correct, with wheels full turn to the passenger side. Second shows it hitting the cross member and it is barely turned back towards driver side.

I think it goes without saying but my toe-in, steering center point, etc are not setup at this point. For now I am just trying to figure out what I have setup incorrectly.

[arlen]

I just looked at mine that I just put back together. Your Drivers side and pitman arm looks setup the same as mine. Mine gets close but does not hit. What does your idler arm setup look like, I think that may be where the problem is now.

[oldblue1968chevy]

Mine did the same thing when I swapped for discs.. i had something backwards or not right..i cant remember right off, something wasnt right or i still had the drum brake piece or something..

get more pics

[Tmwoodall]

Passenger side/idler arm.

It was a disc truck stock. I should have taken more pictures when I tore it apart to use as a guide.....

[arlen]

Yours is set up exactly like I did mine, my close point looks like yours when it's turned to the passenger side. Did you buy a replacement pitman or idler that may be a little longer, everything is oriented properly from the pictures you have.

[Tmwoodall]

Originally Posted by arlen

Yours is set up exactly like I did mine, my close point looks like yours when it's turned to the passenger side. Did you buy a replacement pitman or idler that may be a little longer, everything is oriented properly from the pictures you have.

Just measured and held them up side by side. If they are any different it is within ~1/8", if anything.

The only other two variables I can think of are the shims at the top between the frame and the a arm shaft, but that shouldn't affect this. Lastly the front to back orientation of the u-bolts on the lower a-arm shaft. Perhaps I have it off? I tore this thing apart down to the very last item so everything including the cross member was pulled out.

The A-arm lower shaft - Ubolt orientation is the only thing I can think of that makes sense, but even that doesn't seem like it would do it. When I set those I just centered it by measuring from the lip of the arm to the cross member and set them equidistant front to back.

[arlen]

I pulled everything on mine apart except the cross member. The a-arms should have no effect on the center link to cross member spacing. The idler arm and steering box are pretty much fixed in their location, is the cross member able to move back at all? That is my only guess at this point is that the cross member is a little more forward than it was before. I know there is not much clearance so even 1/4" could cause a problem. Someone on mere must know more about this than I do.

[arlen]

Originally Posted by Tmwoodall

Passenger side/idler arm.

It was a disc truck stock. I should have taken more pictures when I tore it apart to use as a guide.....

Looking at this picture I do notice a difference from my truck, my center link is sitting up higher in relation to the crossmember. Not sure where the difference is coming from, but that is where the extra clearance is.

[oldblue1968chevy]

i'll crawl under mine in the AM i cant remember, msg lolife99 he'll know asap

[OhOneWS6]

There is a hole to index the lower control arm shafts to the cross member. If you did not use that hole to index them they may be too far back. Even that should not affect the center link distance from the cross member. That distance it controlled by the idler and pitman arms.

Is it actually touching or is it just really close? Mine is within a 1/4" of the cross member.

[Tmwoodall]

Originally Posted by OhOneWS6

There is a hole to index the lower control arm shafts to the cross member. If you did not use that hole to index them they may be too far back.

That is what I am hoping it is, as that would push the steering knuckle out a bit. I'm skeptical that it will make that big of a difference, but it's the last thing I can think of I haven't checked/fixed already.

[PanelDeland]

Ok I may be able to help with this one.IIRC someone else had the same problem.The fix was to turn the center link over.They had it in backwards.I'm not sure this is yoiur problem but it's worth checking.

[Tmwoodall]

Originally Posted by PanelDeland

Ok I may be able to help with this one.IIRC someone else had the same problem.The fix was to turn the center link over.They had it in backwards.I'm not sure this is yoiur problem but it's worth checking.

Already tried that. The holes are tapered to only accept the TRE in one direction, same with the Pitman and Idler arms. To flip it over would put the TRE upsidedown.

[Lee H]

It looks like everything is oriented correctly. I think this problem will go away once you torque everything down and get it on the ground with all the weight on it.
Posted via Mobile Device

[Tmwoodall]

Originally Posted by Lee H

It looks like everything is oriented correctly. I think this problem will go away once you torque everything down and get it on the ground with all the weight on it.
Posted via Mobile Device

We have a winner. I torqued it all down and it clears by ~1/2" or less. Perhaps it will be a bit better with weight on it too.

Thanks guys. Looks like case closed on this one.

[brothers69c-10]

This is just a thought not sure if it will cause a problem, but what happens when you put weight on the front of the frame? You are missing about 800 pounds of stuff on that thing.

[Tmwoodall]

Originally Posted by brothers69c-10

This is just a thought not sure if it will cause a problem, but what happens when you put weight on the front of the frame? You are missing about 800 pounds of stuff on that thing.

Well, that leads me to a whole new problem. I sold the 20s that I bought years ago since they were bought with the taste of an adolescent young buck. The 15" rollers I bought on it are too small and contact the Tie Rod End. So until I buy some new wheels I won't know... I guess I could pop the tires under the A-Arms and stand on it and that would give it a good 230lb test.

[OhOneWS6]

Glad to hear it.