Front control arm interchange

bitterfitter wrote:

Limey wrote:Three words for you.............  Junk Yard Crawl

for the Camaro / Trans Am IIRC  and maybe the Blazer ( mid ninety's )

Can you elaborate...  What vehicles I would be looking for?  What is IIRC?  Are we talking full size or s-10 blazers?

Second Gen and Maybe ? Third Gen Like the IrocZ as mentioned and the Smaller Blazers S-10 style I believe there was a subject about that a few years back

I have been meaning to hit the local U-Pull-It for some other goodies. Maybe I will see what they have in the yard. I would still have to find out what vehicle/year to look for. Any way to tell what these are before I pull one? Certain part #'s or such?

I am sure there are s-10 blazers in the yard. Any certain ones? or all of them?

bitterfitter wrote:I am sure there are s-10 blazers in the yard.  Any certain ones?  or all of them?

I think this one will answer most if not All questions for you Bitterfitter

http://www.g3gm.com/t4895-steering-box-question?highlight=steering+box+interchange

I still have some slack in my steering, would a new quicker ratio steering box help this as well?

Pretty sure it would unless the play is in the Column itself

So it looks like s-10 blazers with the ZQ8 option. Or fullsize F-41 option Caprices and such. I do not think I will find any Monte SS's or WS-6 F bodies in the bone yard around here.

Second Gen Z'z should be there as well

I didn't even notice the play in the wheel before I put all of the new suspension parts on. I wonder what a scrapyard gearbox would cost?

Just had a thought. I bought springs for a 74 Laguna. Lagunas are quite a bit heavier in the front end due to the front bumper aren't they? I bet that is where my extra height came from.

Not enough to lift that much. Was it a 454 laguna with a/c? That would probably do it.

When you go to a later gear box, the intermediate shaft may not fit the later gear box shaft. I ran into that on my Elco project. Seems like there were changes in the gear box input shaft, and also the shaft on the bottom of the column. Not sure what year they made changes.

would a mid 80s olds be a good donor for a gearbox?

Unless its a 442, or Hurst olds it probably won't be any better performance wise, but would probably work for a replacement.

Were there any quick ratio gear box's that came standard in vehicles from 1973-76? If so, I would just buy a new one of these as I know the hoses would fit.

Trans am WS6.

bitterfitter wrote:Were there any quick ratio gear box's that came standard in vehicles from 1973-76?  If so, I would just buy a new one of these as I know the hoses would fit.

driveit wrote:would a mid 80s olds be a good donor for a gearbox?

I never understood why people wouldn't just use the variable ratio one from the 73-77 Monte.  Mine is 2.5 turns lock to lock.  I would think it would probably be a direct bolt-in for you guys.

80s parts are a lot easier to find for me. Also I just want to get rid of the slack I am feeling.

thatfnthing wrote:

bitterfitter wrote:Were there any quick ratio gear box's that came standard in vehicles from 1973-76?  If so, I would just buy a new one of these as I know the hoses would fit.

driveit wrote:would a mid 80s olds be a good donor for a gearbox?

I never understood why people wouldn't just use the variable ratio one from the 73-77 Monte.  Mine is 2.5 turns lock to lock.  I would think it would probably be a direct bolt-in for you guys.

What does the variable ratio thing mean? Are these different then the normal ones that came in our cars? If so, what cars usually came with these variable ratio ones?

bitterfitter wrote:

thatfnthing wrote:

bitterfitter wrote:Were there any quick ratio gear box's that came standard in vehicles from 1973-76?  If so, I would just buy a new one of these as I know the hoses would fit.

driveit wrote:would a mid 80s olds be a good donor for a gearbox?

I never understood why people wouldn't just use the variable ratio one from the 73-77 Monte.  Mine is 2.5 turns lock to lock.  I would think it would probably be a direct bolt-in for you guys.

What does the variable ratio  thing mean?  Are these different then the normal ones that came in our cars?  If so, what cars usually came with these variable ratio ones?

Basically it wasn't a set ratio like 14:1 or some other.  It varied depending on how much you turned the wheel -- as you turned it the ratio would change (can't remember which way -- I'd have to go back and look at the manual again).  The idea was to give you highly responsive steering in turns and reduce the number of turns lock to lock.  I can make some pretty tight turns with only a half turn of the wheel.

I know it came on the Monte and the Grand Prix.  I don't know about the other models.

Got a spare?

Sorry, I barely have room for the parts for MY car, let alone inventory to sell, and any stuff prior to the 90's is long gone in yards around here.

You might check with Chris (1973 454 Monte), though -- he may have some in his stash.  You might also check with Phil Kmett (montemania.com).  Some of the other members also seem to have G3's available in yards near them...

Also looks like Dixie Monte Carlo Depot has them: http://www.dixiemontecarlodepot.com/Product/Detail.aspx?s=DB90730&d=129&p=1

So I have the front suspension all back on.  Control arms with new poly bushings, upper poly bump stops, poly sway bar end links, and greasable poly sway bar bushings.  It also got new ball joints. Only thing I noticed when finishing up is the lower ball joints look like they did not fully seat when pressed into the lower control arms.  I am going to have to think about what to do with this.
 I also got the entire new steering back on; new inner and outer tie rods, new adjusting sleeves, new center link and new idler arm. Everything is greased up and I did my best to do a quick toe adjustment by eye.  Once the car is ready for the street, it will have to get an alignment.
 When working the steering wheel after installing the new steering parts, I noticed the wheel turns 3 complete times lock to lock.  So do I have a standard steering box?

Back in the 80's this is how I've done ball joints with the arm still in the car. I've done it with the springs still in and with them out. You have to be careful and go slow. But the car has to be supported under the firewall while working the jack under the lower arm.
This is just the way I used to do it, so try it at your own risk.

If the lower ball joint isnt seated all the way, this is how I would go about it. But you will probably have to touch up the paint around the ball joint on the top side when done.
1. Support both sides of the car under the firewall area so the front tires are hanging off the ground.
2. On the side you need to work on, remove the tire. If you look at the bottom of the lower arm you see the "cup" area that holds the bottom of the spring. That cup area is about 6 inches in diameter. Put a floor jack under the cup area that is closest to the ball joint. That will give you the best "leverage" which keeps the spring in.
3. The bottom of the ball joint should be pretty parallel with the ground.
4. Get a quick measurement from the bottom of the ball joint to the ground. Add an inch to that measurement. Find a piece of pipe that long that fits nicely on the bottom diameter of the ball joint as if your were going to press it in. Plumbing, fence pipe, etc. is all good for this. Dont use any thin wall stuff.
5. Now with the jack under the cup, lift the car a bit and put the pipe under the ball joint and the other end resting on the ground. Pipe should be vertical.
6. Now take the nut off the ball joint and swing the spindle out of the way. You may need to lift the upper arm up with the spindle to get some room.
7. Now you need a piece of pipe about 4 inches long that will slide right over the top of the ball joint. 4 inches should be long enough so you dont hit the threads of the ball joint.
8. Grab a 3 or 5 pound hammer and tap that 4 inch pipe and keep checking the bottom of the ball joint to see when its flush.
9. When flush, just swing the spindle into place and bolt it up.

Thanks for the idea. I think I am going to give it a shot. I work with pipe all day long, so I can get whatever I need. I have a question though; I understand the bottom piece of pipe is going against the bottom of the ball joint to keep it from moving. What am I placing the top pipe against? I take it this is just going around the top of the ball joint and against the control arm.