318 power?

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Well, we just got the engine in today! Now comes the funpart: putting headers in with the power steering. (The headers have the steering link bar go through them) . Any tips on installation?
 
74 dart sport said:
Well, we just got the engine in today! Now comes the funpart: putting headers in with the power steering. (The headers have the steering link bar go through them) . Any tips on installation?
Click to expand...

I've been through this, it was not fun. Some people may disagree and have different ways of doing it but here we go..

Now is the time to bring out the biggest hammer you have. Think of an anvil with a handle, that's the ideal size for this hammer to be. Once you have it, find the second biggest hammer you have and bring it out too. You're going to need to pop the center link off some tapered shafts and it's a pain. Remove the castle nut and cotter pin and grab those hammers. Put the bigger hammer on one side of where the center link connects to the pitman arm (again later for the driver side tie rod) and press it up against there real good and hold it. Then get someone to take the smaller hammer and hit the other side HARD. You gotta go for it. If you did it right then it should pop loose off of the shaft. I've tried it other ways but this has worked the best. The key to getting this to work is making sure the big hammer stays pressed up against it. You want to squeeze the metal so it pops off the tapered shaft, using the big hammer to hold everything still.

The center link attaches to the car in 4 places: two tie rod ends, the idler arm, and the pitman arm. I just removed the whole thing because I wanted to replace my idler arm anyways. You can pop it loose from the tie rod end and pitman arm and then move it enough to slip the header through.

Installation is a lot easier and you don't even need a hammer! Just use the nut to tighten it back down. Now is a good time to replace any dust boots and to grease everything up too. Also, think about getting a mini starter if you haven't already. I got mine for $28 from a junkyard out of a 318 Dakota. Headers and old fashioned starters don't always play nicely together, especially if you need to change the starter sometime.

That's all I can think of right now. Good luck!
 
Why does it matter? Are you happy when you drive it?
 
BlueDream said:
I've been through this, it was not fun. Some people may disagree and have different ways of doing it but here we go..

Now is the time to bring out the biggest hammer you have. Think of an anvil with a handle, that's the ideal size for this hammer to be. Once you have it, find the second biggest hammer you have and bring it out too. You're going to need to pop the center link off some tapered shafts and it's a pain. Remove the castle nut and cotter pin and grab those hammers. Put the bigger hammer on one side of where the center link connects to the pitman arm (again later for the driver side tie rod) and press it up against there real good and hold it. Then get someone to take the smaller hammer and hit the other side HARD. You gotta go for it. If you did it right then it should pop loose off of the shaft. I've tried it other ways but this has worked the best. The key to getting this to work is making sure the big hammer stays pressed up against it. You want to squeeze the metal so it pops off the tapered shaft, using the big hammer to hold everything still.

The center link attaches to the car in 4 places: two tie rod ends, the idler arm, and the pitman arm. I just removed the whole thing because I wanted to replace my idler arm anyways. You can pop it loose from the tie rod end and pitman arm and then move it enough to slip the header through.



Installation is a lot easier and you don't even need a hammer! Just use the nut to tighten it back down. Now is a good time to replace any dust boots and to grease everything up too. Also, think about getting a mini starter if you haven't already. I got mine for $28 from a junkyard out of a 318 Dakota. Headers and old fashioned starters don't always play nicely together, especially if you need to change the starter sometime.

That's all I can think of right now. Good luck!
Click to expand...

Did you run into any problems with power steering? And thanks much for the instructions
 
74 dart sport said:
Did you run into any problems with power steering? And thanks much for the instructions
Click to expand...

I didn't have any issues with the power steering and headers. I used Hooker Competition headers and my car is a '73 Dart Sport. Everything went pretty smoothly for me and I didn't have to break out the hammer again to "custom fit" my headers.
 
My Hookers just barley hit the bottom bolt that attaches the P/S box. It was enough to cause problems on bolting the header on. A slight grinding of the bolt head fixes that or dent the header. Otherwise, excellent fit.
 
74 dart sport said:
How do we remove the torsion bars?
Click to expand...

Unload the adjusting screws on the lower control arm, then the little clips at the back of the bar and then it comes right out (supposedly - sometimes it needs some pursuation...)
 
I needed a little help one afternoon and I didn't want to use vise grips which can mare and damage the T bar so I went and got this tool...
http://www.manciniracing.com/tobarreabceb.html
I didn't like the small attaching hardware so I had a shop go to the next size bigger. Use quality screws!
 
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