Steering geometry

BudW

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The pittman arm nut is -175 foot pounds.
Upper control arm adjustment nuts - 150 foot pounds
Idler Arm bolt/nut – 70 Foot pounds
Upper ball joint into control arm – 125 foot pounds (minimum)
Ball joint castle nut (either) – 100 foot pounds
Tie rod castle nuts – 40 foot pounds
 

Camtron

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The pittman arm nut is -175 foot pounds.
Upper control arm adjustment nuts - 150 foot pounds
Idler Arm bolt/nut – 70 Foot pounds
Upper ball joint into control arm – 125 foot pounds (minimum)
Ball joint castle nut (either) – 100 foot pounds
Tie rod castle nuts – 40 foot pounds
Awesome. Thanks, Bud. Greatly appreciated

72B96B89-0927-4240-9D66-B12C51DA4F23.jpeg
 

Camtron

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The hits just don’t stop coming.
LH upper control arm just stripped out torquing the ball joint down. So, I’m getting ahold of, Firmfeel for some tubular uppers. F$@k it.
 

Camtron

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Ok, last one hopefully you guys can help me out with while I wait for new upper control arms and setting adjustments.
is there a reference length/distance for the inner/outer tie rods and sleeve assembly? Or are one of you perhaps detailed/anal retentive enough to have written down what length yours is adjusted to?
Should I be shooting for the shaft/spindle of the tie rods to just be going straight through the knuckle and drag link at a 90degree angle? When I pulled them off, the outter tie rod was adjusted out towards the knuckle so, the shaft/spindle was going through the knuckle at roughly a 45degree angle towards the engine.
 
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BudW

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Sense the tie rods are rotated about 90' from each other, I'm not sure of a good way to measure them.
I have a pair from an '84 Gran Fury in my garage. The passenger side measureed 14-1/8” from farthest point to farthest point. The drivers side was 14-1/2”.


I'm mentioning this in case others might not know. There is a Left hand thread and a Right hand thread tie rods. I have some tips when replacing tie rods.
- Loosen the tie rod sleeve and add a lot of penetrating oil onto both threads (this is not a tip, but something you have to do).

- Most people will unscrew one tie rod from sleeve then unscrew the other tie rod – which is double the work. What I do is loosen the tie rod studs from steering knuckle and drag link, then snug the nuts back finger tight (or looser). Then turn the tie rod sleeve counting how many turns it take to remove (and write this number down, somewhere). Once sleeve is removed, remove tie rod nuts and remove all three items.
Insert new tie rod into sleeve and rotate about 2 turns, each. Install onto car. Then rotate tie rod sleeve the same number as you recorded (minus 2 turns). Presto, it is back where it started from (but most likely will need a final adjustment from alignment shop).

- I don't think it matters which direction the Left or Right threaded tie rods go back on (ie: both Left hand threaded to the Left or both Right hand threaded to wheels, or what).

- Chrysler only used four different tie rods for the rear wheel drive cars they made from '60 to '90. One pair (L & R thread) uses 9/16” tubes and the other pair (L & R thread) uses 11/16” tubes. Police cars, C-body and older pickups use the larger size. If you are already replacing the tie rod ends, it is not that much more to upgrade to the larger size tie rods (which also have a larger ball joint). Don't forget to get the larger tubes, as well.

- Last tip: The factory tie rod sleeves are inexpensive and work well for most drivers. That said, the open nature of the tie rod sleeve:
Tie Rod Sleeve.png

Allows water to collect – which allows rust to happen.
Also, that same design has a lot of flex when driving hard (lots of hard/fast turns). There are videos of people attaching cameras to areas and making hard turns and your jaw might drop after you see just how seeing much they flex under hard usage.
This style (any brand) doesn't have the flex and doesn't allow for moisture to accumulate.
Tie Rod Sleeve AFMK.png

The only downside I see is dissimilar metals (steel and aluminum) can cause corrosion to occur where they thread together. One solution is to use a dab of anti-seize compound or maybe Loctite blue (or something).

If you are not into performance driving, then the standard parts most likely will work well for you.
BudW

Edit:
They also make an official tie rod adjusting tool (for using the OE style sleeves):
Tie Rod Adjuster.png
 
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Camtron

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Thanks BudW. I did upgrade to 11/16th tie rods and sleeves the last time around so, I have that going for me.
See where those measurements from your Gran Fury set gets me into the ballpark.
 

Camtron

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Orders been in with Firm Feel for the tubular upper control arms. Got a order confirmation but, no shipping update and they still actually haven’t charged me either. idk what’s happening, they’re normally pretty quick about shipping times.
Maybe I’m getting some fresh made upper control arms.
Who knows.
 

Camtron

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Damn, about to close out the week and, I still haven’t heard anything back from, Firm Feel. Haven’t returned a email or phone call since I originally placed my order. Hopefully all is well with them, their good guys but, god damn do I need those upper control arms.
What are the chances one of you fellers has a set sitting in your garage? How much would it take for you to part with them, lol.
This is making a long week feel even longer.
 

Lightning II

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sometimes it takes few tries to get to them when you try to call. They're really busy. One of the reasons why we still don't have torsion bars.
 

AJ/FormS

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Both shoulders of the RF tire are worn bald. Center tread looks brand new in comparison.
between that and the popping I'm guessing your upper control arm came loose.
That is a common thing to have happen when new upper pivot bolts are installed, because they do NOT have enough thread on them in the first place to keep their torque.
I install hardened washers on every one of those new bolts, one on each end, in addition to all the other stuff that may be on there.
 

Camtron

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New tubular upper control arms shipped today; finally.
Matt also let me know, torsion bars are still a ways off and their only putting together a production/waiting list at the moment for the next run.
Also; they have 2, that’s right 2 complete sets of the notorious OEM torsion bar ends (that are no longer made) and bushings...$600 a set for anyone interested.
 

Camtron

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between that and the popping I'm guessing your upper control arm came loose.
That is a common thing to have happen when new upper pivot bolts are installed, because they do NOT have enough thread on them in the first place to keep their torque.
I install hardened washers on every one of those new bolts, one on each end, in addition to all the other stuff that may be on there.
Bolts for the pivot shaft were still torqued down, so where the nuts for the pivot shaft ends/bushings. I’m still not sure what caused the odd tire wear.
I’ll double check everything when I have the new upper arms in. I have to get my Rare Parts pivot pins out of the old control arms anyway.
 

Camtron

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New control arms got delivered this morning (I unfortunately still have 8.5 hours in my 12 hour shift at work) so, car should be back on all fours and ball parked this weekend and on a rack for complete alignment come Monday; luckily my buddy just took over a, Midas and is gonna give me that “homie hook up” special.
 

Camtron

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I actually emailed them yesterday asking just that. Still waiting for an answer. I’m also a little disappointed that they came pressed into the control arm already.
 

Aspen500

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I was wondering about those bushings being pressed in already since they have to be pressed in AFTER the shaft is put through the holes. Odd..................
 

Camtron

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Yup, meanwhile my cars been sitting for two weeks waiting for them to arrive and I’m still waiting on a response from them.
I’m not very thrilled about it after handing over $490.
 
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