K member choices

[LETZRIDE]

Re: K member choices

well they are cheap enough...I'll grab a pack and try em out...hopefully it will be for the best.

Now, for the good stuff...how many bolts to take this thing out?

3 under the hood on each shock tower right? (6 total)...plus 2 on the steering rack? plus it looks like maybe 4...2 in each corner of the K member? then 1 or two on the motor mounts...and the K and A arms should just drop right out with the spindles, shocks/springs, and tires still attached?

Is there an easy way to drop this K member?

Like I've been thinking, jack the front of the car up really high...take the hood off, set up an engine hoist on the side of the car and attach it to the motor...unbolt everything on the K member to make it free...detach it from the engine and drop it down...the engine should stay suspended in mid air in the exact position more or less that it was on the K member...does this sound reasonable?

I was thinking of takeing the tires off the front so that I can drop the weight off the K member and everything down so that I don't get crushed when I take the last bolt off...am I dreaming here? or am I actually making sense? I'm trying to picture this using warstrikes pictures of his K member out, and what I could see when I was under the car for a few minutes today...

[Blizzard242]

Re: K member choices

You don't have to unmount the shocks at all. I left the A arms still attached to whatever was left holding them on. I also removed my wheels before I started too. There's so much more room to work with when they're out of the way.

I would jack the car up, do whatever you can to hold the engine up without the needed support from the K member, take the tires off and start taking the K member out. lol well at least that's pretty much how I did it.

[LETZRIDE]

Re: K member choices

You don't have to unmount the shocks at all. I left the A arms still attached to whatever was left holding them on. I also removed my wheels before I started too. There's so much more room to work with when they're out of the way.

I would jack the car up, do whatever you can to hold the engine up without the needed support from the K member, take the tires off and start taking the K member out. lol well at least that's pretty much how I did it.

ok perfect...I know I dont have to unbolt the shocks...except for the bottom part as I will be getting the Lower A arms as well...What were the last bolts you undid to make taking the whole thing out easier? the top shock mounts bolts? put something like a small jack under the middle of the K, undo those 6 bolts and slowly lower it down on the jack?

[Blizzard242]

Re: K member choices

I had my motor mounts unbolted first. Oh yeah, that's what I bought new nuts and bolts for since the new K member wasn't threaded. Then the A arms, then the rack, and last the Kmember to body bolts.

[LETZRIDE]

Re: K member choices

I had my motor mounts unbolted first. Oh yeah, that's what I bought new nuts and bolts for since the new K member wasn't threaded. Then the A arms, then the rack, and last the Kmember to body bolts.

a couple people have said this...what kind of bolts do I gotta get? Is there no danger of the bolts beginning to come loose? or does thread locker take care of this?

[Blizzard242]

Re: K member choices

I forgot what size I bought, but I definitely went for grade 8 with some lock washers. I didn't use thread locker and I've had no problems.

[ssms5411]

Re: K member choices

I went with 10.3 bolts which the stockers are, and def. lock washers and I believe we used red loctite. You could use those covers and just use lithuim grease packed inside them so they are protected. I'm glad I don't have to worry about rust.LOL For the shocks you'll need shorter bolts,washers and lock nuts, I used grade 8 on them. BMR makes a 1/2" billet plate you can put inbetween the K member and shock if you want to make it more sturdy and raise the front more.

[LETZRIDE]

Re: K member choices

I went with 10.3 bolts which the stockers are, and def. lock washers and I believe we used red loctite. You could use those covers and just use lithuim grease packed inside them so they are protected. I'm glad I don't have to worry about rust.LOL For the shocks you'll need shorter bolts,washers and lock nuts, I used grade 8 on them. BMR makes a 1/2" billet plate you can put inbetween the K member and shock if you want to make it more sturdy and raise the front more.

link please? would you still need the shorter bolts with this?

[ssms5411]

Re: K member choices

link please? would you still need the shorter bolts with this?

Yes still need alittle shorter bolts for them, my mistake they are 1/2" ALM. Just scroll down and you will see them:
http://www.bmrfabrication.com/F-bodySuspension.htm

[LETZRIDE]

Re: K member choices

Yes still need alittle shorter bolts for them, my mistake they are 1/2" ALM. Just scroll down and you will see them:
http://www.bmrfabrication.com/F-bodySuspension.htm

the shock spacer? what is the advantage to these? what happens if I dont use them? do I risk breaking something?

[ssms5411]

Re: K member choices

No risk , I was just thinking if you got the standard K member these would help on where the shock mounts , from bending or warping if you hit something hard. The metal is pretty thin where the 2 bolts on the bottom of the shocks mount to the TUB. K member. Just a thought. But I ran without them for 3 years with no problems. This was one of the major concerns about the PA racing standard K member.

[LETZRIDE]

Re: K member choices

^ are you implying I'm going to hit another curb???





J/k...I'll look into those as well...thanks for the heads up....

[ssms5411]

Re: K member choices

^ are you implying I'm going to hit another curb???





J/k...I'll look into those as well...thanks for the heads up....

I hope you don't , but if you had some extra bracing it couldn't hurt.LOL

[LETZRIDE]

Re: K member choices

should I be looking into doin the tie rods at this time as well? How would I know if they are bad?

[ssms5411]

Re: K member choices

How many miles do you have on them? If alot you might as well do all your front bushings while your at it, I just replaced my tie end rods with Moog bushings when I put in the FE2 V8 rack & pinion so they should last a long time. You know if a Tie end rod is going bad when you get on the road and the car once to drifts to one side esp. on a uneven road you will have to hold the wheel so it doesn't drift. Cheapest I found for Moog tie end rods were $90 shipped for a pair, which was a great deal. I just like them because they have grease fittings unlike the stock bushings, so they should last alot longer than stock.