K-Member Issue - One Last Question...

[Lighthorseman]

As a follow-on question to this thread - http://www.forbbodiesonly.com/moparforum/showthread.php?59006-K-Member-Question - I am wondering if I have to remove these bolts to finally drop the K-frame.

I assume they hold the (lower control arm or something??) onto the K-frame, rather than the torsion bars themselves. I have the idler arm disconnected, as well as the steering box. I still need to unhook the drag link, and am renting a tie-rod tool this afternoon.

Am I on the right track to getting the K-frame out?
Thanks for any help!

 

[black64]

Yes you need to undo the nuts and tap the bolt back so the K-frame can be removed.

 

[dsd1967]

I think you are making this harder than it needs to be. The attached picture is the K frame assembly I just took out of my 67 belvedere and it entailed.

Removing the torsion bars
Removing the 4 upper control arm adjusting bolts
Removing the steering column
Removing the 4 k frame bolts.

I didn't have to break any ball joints or tie rod ends to get it dropped. It took about half an hour to do all of that start to finish.

 

[Lighthorseman]

Perfect - thanks! I was worried I was going to do something really bad...

...and it seems that making it harder for myself usually seems the to the way I roll.

 

[dsd1967]

No...do not do what Black64 recommended. That bolt holds your LCA pivot that the torsion bar fits into. Removing that bolt only will not allow you to remove the LCA.

If you don't want to go the route from my pictures above and want to leave the suspension on the car you will have to follow this procedure.

Remove Tie rod ends from the drag link.
Remove Steering Column
Remove Torsion Bars
Remove the bolt you have circled on the LCA
Remove the strut rod bolt from the LCA
Remove LCA from K-Frame
Remove K-Frame bolts.

It's a whole lot more work and will take you about 3 times a long

- - - Updated - - -

It does look like your LCA pivot bushings are worn pretty badly. While you have the entire assembly out, you may want to rebuild all your bushings on your UCA and LCA and Strut rod.

 

[Lighthorseman]

To be honest, it's the brakes I'm scared of messing with. If I drop the whole thing, then I will have to re-bleed the brakes, right? I'm looking at all this, thinking about trying to put it all back together, too. It looks to me like if I go the way YOU did (dsd1967), dropping the whole thing, it's going to be WAY easier to put everything - plus engine and transmission - back. I cannot imagine that tightening those LCA bolts would be easy with a 440 on the frame.

I'm going to risk dropping the whole schmear.

 

[dsd1967]

Oh yea.....I did forget about the brakes....no easy way around that with my method. Fortunately, brakes aren't too hard to bleed as long as you can get the bleeders loose. You are still a lot of effort ahead dropping everything.

 

[Lighthorseman]

Well - the whole assembly is off and on the floor.

Now to get bushings, etc replaced, and get new brake lines while I'm at it. I don't like the idea of putting 44 year old ones back on the car.

Thanks so much for the tips!

 

[dsd1967]

Awesome....and good idea on the replacement of the bushings. My 67 LCA pivot was completely missing when I pulled mine.

 

[black64]

No...do not do what Black64 recommended. That bolt holds your LCA pivot that the torsion bar fits into. Removing that bolt only will not allow you to remove the LCA.

If you don't want to go the route from my pictures above and want to leave the suspension on the car you will have to follow this procedure.

Remove Tie rod ends from the drag link.
Remove Steering Column
Remove Torsion Bars
Remove the bolt you have circled on the LCA
Remove the strut rod bolt from the LCA
Remove LCA from K-Frame
Remove K-Frame bolts.

It's a whole lot more work and will take you about 3 times a long

- - - Updated - - -

It does look like your LCA pivot bushings are worn pretty badly. While you have the entire assembly out, you may want to rebuild all your bushings on your UCA and LCA and Strut rod.

My reply was to his question of removing the K-member without dropping the whole suspension. If you are removing the K-member only then you need to loosen the lower control arm nut off the pivot to get the K-frame out. As well as the drag link, idler arm torsion bars and pitman arm. He went the other route of dropping the whole assembly as one then you would not need to loosen that nut.