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I'm in the process of rebuilding my 69 el camino and just assembled my new steering setup and there not fitting right. When I turn the wheels the tie-rod end hits the frame. Also the bolt that holds the anti-sway bar in hits the upper ball joint on the control are. I posted some pictures below. Has any one else had problems like this or know what I did wrong with my setup?
thanks for any help
-Matt
Do you think it may be because the suspension is not loaded? I'm not sure, just the first thing that came to mind. _________________ Jim
70 ElCamino 461 solid M20 331eaton
http://elcaminocentral.com/gallery-album_album346.html
Necoa #: 7510
Location: 3(DE,NJ,PA)
Joined: May 19, 2006
Posts: 16
Year: 1975
Model: El Camino
Posted: Sat Sep 06, 2008 4:38 pm Post subject:
Matt,
I'm no expert but i just completed a total front end rebuild on my '75 SS. One thing i noticed from your pics is the inner tie rod grease zerks are pointing back towards the rear of the car. I went out and looked at mine - and the zerks point in towards the center of the car. My outter tie rod zerks point down. Could you have the inner and outter tie rods reversed? If so - that might fix that clearance issue.
Concerning the sway bar - are you using stock spindles? If not that might be the issue. I know that I didn't have any clearance issues with it in the air or on the ground - and I installed 2" dropped coils front and rear ...but again mine's a different year.
Necoa #: 7510
Location: 3(DE,NJ,PA)
Joined: May 19, 2006
Posts: 16
Year: 1975
Model: El Camino
Posted: Sat Sep 06, 2008 4:49 pm Post subject:
Matt,
Also, Once you tighten up the sway bar bushing connectors you might find that the clearance issue is much better. I would also suspect that once you get wheels on and put it on the ground you'll find that the issue isn't there.
Quick question - do you upper control arms have a rubber bushing that installs under them to dampen contact with the frame rail? My 75 does that that keeps the upper arm about 1.5" off of the frame. I couldn't tell by your pictures your 69 had one.
Necoa #: 7510
Location: 3(DE,NJ,PA)
Joined: May 19, 2006
Posts: 16
Year: 1975
Model: El Camino
Posted: Sat Sep 06, 2008 7:01 pm Post subject:
I'm almost certain you have the inner and outer tie rods reversed. check out this other post that includes a picture of the front suspension. you'll notice the inner tie rod grease zerk points in and not towards the rear of the car.
Necoa #: 7510
Location: 3(DE,NJ,PA)
Joined: May 19, 2006
Posts: 16
Year: 1975
Model: El Camino
Posted: Sun Sep 07, 2008 8:38 pm Post subject:
You might also want to remove the front - lower control arm bolt and install the bolt going through the front first. My GM service manual shows that is the correct way to install the bolt. Doing this will eliminate the extra bolt threads from interfering with your steering.
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