69 Early to late 76 steering box swap , easy ?

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Mudd340

Mudd340

mudd340
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I wanted to replace the worn out manual steering box in my 69 dart GT , turned out to be much harder than thought .. Before started the toe n caster was fine just too much play in the box adjuster in as far would go . I found another box on ebay seller didn't mention was out of a 76 dart and Pitman arm was trans verse . So after buying pitman arm idler arm center link . Toe was way off and sleeves where adjust all the way in still way off so next I changed the outer tie rods n sleeves 8 inch wide same as 69 dart . So what do I do know ?? I just about replaced everything .. I bought the center link off cracked back he says never had a problem swapping them out .

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the tie rod ends should be approxamately 12 and 1/8" from center to center for early a and late a body centerlink 22 1/4" from center to center for tie rods....them aftermarket tie rod ends are gonne be the culprit.... and I will add in his defence the 73 center link does measure 23 1/2.....still takes us right back to the tie rod ends and cancels out that he got the wrong centerlink
 
waggin said:
the tie rod ends should be approxamately 12 and 1/8" from center to center for early a and late a body centerlink 22 1/4" from center to center for tie rods....them aftermarket tie rod ends are gonne be the culprit....
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Wagg , wrong as usual the new item was supposed to fix the same problem period .. 23 1/2 is center on this link and 23 is the center of the 69 dart one . PS I don't need anymore parts as in sleeves tie rods etc unless U have a real part number that don't already have so please keep ur Neg comments to urself ..
 
Yeah swapping 69 dart steering box for a 76 duster one is not a "piece of cake " big difference . Really not worth the cost 75 plus shipping on the box , 48$ for center link 29$ for idler arm 35$ for pitman arm M7076 now add tie rods n sleeves still can't get toe in the back .. as if the center link was too wide but only by 1/2 inch ..

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Hotchkis-16...r:1969|Model:Dart&hash=item48449843c2&vxp=mtr
 
Are you using 69 dart or 76 duster upper and lower control arms?
 
Those adjust sleeves on the tie rods look waaaay wrong to me. Maybe you lost what little adjustmentr was available in the added jamb nuts.
 
What is the length of the aftermarket tie rod sleeves? If there is enough thread inside of them, why cant you trim 1/2 inch off of all 4 ends to give another 2 inches of adjustment?
 
well now you are showing a mopar tie rod sleeve with proper clamps, if the one in this picture is the one on your car and you have added adjustment locks but not the correct clamps then that would show why you cant get the tie rods short enough due to the thickness of the lock nut you installed,, and on the same token show you have no understanding of what those factory clamps are for and you are gonna end up in a ditch when the tie rod sleeve lets loose of the tie rod ends.......Now On a More positive Note.....you get smart with me or make derogatory remarks to another member such as you did last night I will Positively Ban You for at least 1 week depending on what you say next, there wont be an infraction, you disrespected a member in chat last night then got smart assed with me then sent me a visitor message for all to see and now smarting off again to me when I post the facts for ya? use your head noodles....this pic you show is proof of nothing.....pay attention to the people that know what they are talking about....and have the proper parts....and learn some respect for your elders
Mudd340 said:
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show us the part and the tape measure in its completeness, this pic shows nothing but an incompetent and a tool that is dysfunctional in that persons hands SHOW US A PIC WITH THE WHOLE DRAG LINK AND THE TAPE MEASURE AT THE SAME TIME GEE NEE USS!!!
Mudd340 said:
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Disconnect tie rod, set toe, measure distance from center link to steering arm cut link so you have 1/2" adjustment on each end on both sides.
 
Without joining in the argument, can I offer this?
According to Moog, the pre-70 tie rod ends are 4.06" long.
The 71+ tie rod ends are 4.02" long.
Sleeves for 63-76 are all the same part number and are 8.25" long.
With stock pieces, you should have room to set the toe, regardless of which centerlink you're using.
If your soild sleeves are too long, you'd run out of adjustment, as it appears you have based in the pic in post #1.
 
same thing he was told repeatedly and has decided that aftermarket parts sellers absolutely know what they are doing...the sleeve length don't mean squat...the length from center to center of the tie rod ends is what needs to be considered.....if those are factory split tie rod sleeves with lock nuts added hes gonna be too long and the thing is not safe, if its aftermarket seemless tubing then he needs to measure the length tie rod center to tie rod center and as mentioned may need to trim down his sleeve on each end to match the thickness of each lock nut......what say you?
dusterglenn said:
Without joining in the argument, can I offer this?
According to Moog, the pre-70 tie rod ends are 4.06" long.
The 71+ tie rod ends are 4.02" long.
Sleeves for 63-76 are all the same part number and are 8.25" long.
With stock pieces, you should have room to set the toe, regardless of which centerlink you're using.
If your soild sleeves are too long, you'd run out of adjustment, as it appears you have based in the pic in post #1.
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Hey! I'm an aftermarket parts seller! Well, actually, just a guy in a parts store.
I'm in the middle of a similar swap. I carefully adjusted my new tie rods exactly the same length as the old ones BEFORE I realized the center links were different. Talk about toe in.
The adjuster sleeve length has to be the problem, as in, they're too long, and he's running out of thread on the ends, and can't thread them in far enough to set the toe properly. At least, that what I'm reading into this thread.
 
I spent the time looking for the centerlink for him then measuring things out tryin to help.....now I'm done.....
dusterglenn said:
Hey! I'm an aftermarket parts seller! Well, actually, just a guy in a parts store.
I'm in the middle of a similar swap. I carefully adjusted my new tie rods exactly the same length as the old ones BEFORE I realized the center links were different. Talk about toe in.
The adjuster sleeve length has to be the problem, as in, they're too long, and he's running out of thread on the ends, and can't thread them in far enough to set the toe properly. At least, that what I'm reading into this thread.
Click to expand...
 
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