Passenger Tie Rod End Hits Torsion Bar

[toocheaptosmoke]

I was snugging things up on the front suspension when I ran into this problem.  The passenger side tie rod end and idler arm are interfering.  The number on the idler arm was a Moog k7401, and I used the bigger tie rod ends, Moog ES352R and ES355RL.   Any idea what's going on?     I could probably remove the grease fittings and grind a little off the tops, but that would be last resort.


I had about 1/8" at first, but once I tightened things up the tire rod end does ride on the torsion bar.






Other side is alright.

[resq302]

Im guessing you are going to have even more of a problem when you add the weight of the engine in there.  Is the adjuster on the torsion bar backed out all the way?  Im guessing if you adjust the tension on the torsion bar, it should raise the car up high enough to give you the clearance.

[toocheaptosmoke]

The clearance doesn't really change as the suspension moves, it's kind of set by the idler arm.  You can kind of see the old idler arm on the ground in one picture, it looks like it might be a bit "shorter" than the new one.  Same deal on the tie rod ends, the old ones might be a bit shorter.  I've read of people doing this upgrade and never saw any problems like on mine. 

[toocheaptosmoke]

I just took everything back apart, massaged the bracket a little, and flipped the spacer washer over because it was a bit chewed up from trying to install it.  Put everything back together and now it clears.    Not by much, but no more interference, idler arm mount must have been bound up or something, love those problems that fix themselves. 

[Back N Black]

Are you going to install headers? because i had the same problem, hitting the headers because they hang lower then the torsion bars.

[HPP]

I trust you mean the arm itself and not the grease zerk?

This occurance is common enough the Chassis Manual addresses how to fix it. You have to fine tune the idler mounting bracket by oblonging the hole, then welding a washer in the desired spot to lock in the location.

If you really want to get into the nitty gritty details, then you have to measure the joint to floor lcoation on the idler, pitman, and both tire rod ends and equalize them all.