k-member reinforcement

moparmat2000 said
I test fitted my dillinger strut rods, and know i cant washer up in that area with the heim end strut rods.

The washers i was asking about are the reinforcement ones where the lower control arms bolt into the K frame. How thick are these? I took the tubes that are pressed in and tack welded for the LCA 's on the K frame and just rosette welded em in tight.

Matt

72_dart said
It's my understanding that that the washers your talking about are the cut ones that go on the lca side of the k member not on the nut side they are fairly thick. Sorry for the pictures not being oriented correctly but this is the only way I could get it to upload. .197 or 5 mm

Yeah the LCA pivot tube reinforcement washers are pretty thick, the ones that came with my FFI kit were 3/16". I don't think they necessarily have to be that thick, even an 1/8" would be pretty helpful. Those tubes weren't welded in very well from the factory at all, and even just going over the factory welds and fully welding them in would help a lot. I reinforced the ones on mine though, it doesn't just help keep the tube in place but also strengthens the wall of the K frame there to keep the K from flexing any around the tube. Since the LCA pivot tube isn't well supported on the inside of the K frame or at the opposite end, it's kind of like a cantilever. So the better the K is reinforced there the less movement they'll be on the other end.

On my first one I used the FFI supplied "washers". The inner diameter of the supplied "washers" is actually 1 1/8". So, on the second one I did I just bought some heavy duty 1 1/8" grade 8 washers from the hardware store and cut them to fit around the LCA pivots. The ones I used were pretty close to 3/16" thick.