frame mount trouble ???

[crankshaft]

Hello ,
my 65 chevelle , witha 327, auto, the oil pan is sitting on the crossmember,,, which is causing the centerlink to hit the sides of the pan when turning completly left or right. Pulled out the engine , replace the oil pan, engine supports , but problem not resolved yet. can I have the wrong frame mounts ? Any help would be appreciated .

[Rank]

Sounds like the lower half of the mounts are reversed, left is on right and visa-versa gotta pic?

[crankshaft]

http://imagebin.ca/view/MNR6UsH.html

here is a pic

[crankshaft]

http://imagebin.ca/view/kozDPk.html

[Rank]

Man that pan is going through hell . It looks like an after market, might be wrong application ..... but still could be worn motor mounts (or mounts installed wrong) thats what I was hoping for as a pic.

[zombie1969]

Never had that problem before.I have a 64 myself and went and checked with the wheel turned all the way left and right.Comes close but still has about 1/2 in space between inner tie rod and pan.Looks like your wheels are turning too far.Do you still have original spindals?64 and 65 original steer stops are not ajusable.Later years have bolt with a locking nut.

[crankshaft]

Hi zombie 1969, can you tell me the height of your frame mounts , from the base to center of the bolt. at first I thought it was bad motor mounts, but the pan itself is sitting on the crossmember. It has the correct pan on. I was thinking of maybe shimming the frame mounts.

[zombie1969]

Hi zombie 1969, can you tell me the height of your frame mounts , from the base to center of the bolt. at first I thought it was bad motor mounts, but the pan itself is sitting on the crossmember. It has the correct pan on. I was thinking of maybe shimming the frame mounts.

Dont think you can shim the mounts.Would throw off the geomitry and nothing will line up.Here is some pics of what mine looks like.The measurement your asking for on mine is aboit 1 5/8 in.My pan is about 1/4 in from the frame.

http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n220/Nikoda2002/Cars%20and%20Trucks/20100607_0850.jpg

http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n220/Nikoda2002/Cars%20and%20Trucks/20100607_0849.jpg

http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n220/Nikoda2002/Cars%20and%20Trucks/20100607_0847.jpg

http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n220/Nikoda2002/Cars%20and%20Trucks/20100607_0848.jpg

You may see something that will help.

[Rank]

Might want to ask him how far his tailshaft is from the top of the tunnel ... one end goes down then the other has to go up.

[zombie1969]

Wondering if you lowered the front and how far.Your centerlink looks higher than mine.Could just be the pic.

[zombie1969]

Another thing that may help is getting your alignment checked.If your caster or camber are too far out of wac itl throw everything off.

[crankshaft]

Hmmmm ,,, centerlink seems to be sitting lower than mine ,,, but then again...
thanks for posting the pics and the quick reply zombie.

[crankshaft]

http://imagebin.ca/view/lCKyxlc.html

when the engine was pulled out, found theframe mounts loose,, but that wouldn't cause it to sit so low...

[crankshaft]

i ordered a set of motor mounts from energy suspension,,, identical to what I removed from the car,, replaced the oil pan with a stock replacement,,, identical to the beaten up oil pan that was on the car.... a source mentioned to me that maybe I havethe frame mounts for a 6 cylinder instead on a v8 ? Make any sense ???

[zombie1969]

Check your vin.Is it an original v8 car?

[crankshaft]

vin # 138375z130047

[zombie1969]

Its an original v8 car.

[crankshaft]

I guess that after so many years and owners and mechanics tampering with it, who knows whats been done or modified with the car. Could be a number of things , especially if different year parts were put in ... spindels, front frame, etc ???

[zombie1969]

Sometimes its easiest to take a look at another car and try to figure it out.You said you replaced the mounts that bolt to the frame and they were the same as the ones you already had.Maybe the mounts on the block are wrong.What else is there.If your pictures were a little better quality I could compare yours to what mine is.You keep showing the pan on the frame but not the mounts in question.Unless there there someplace and I missed them.Rank was saying earlier you might have the wrong pan.Hard to tell but yours looks more squared off where its hitting and mine is rounded.May be deeper as well.I got my pan from summit.Nothing special besides the chrome.Stock oil capasity.

[crankshaft]

hi zombie,,, I compared your pics to mine your centerlink (draglink) seems longer and hangs lower ,,, which has me thinking that maybe I have the wrong front end parts. I didn't replace the frame mounts... I replaced the motor mounts (rubber portion bolted to block). Yes i said that the clearance between my oil pan and crossmember was close, but then again I found the frame mounts completly loose. If you compare the draglink from yours to mine ,,, you see a big difference. What do you think ?

[crankshaft]

http://imagebin.ca/view/Ys8MknMC.html

[zombie1969]

Mine looks low because its turned all the way left.Was trying to see how close the bent upward part of the centerlink gets to the pan.When the wheel is straigt the top of the centerlink is almost even with the top of the frame where the pan is located.If my pan was touching the frame it might contact the centerlink.As the centerlink moves left or right the slight downward angle of the pitman arm and idler arm move it downward almost hitting the centerlink guard thats welded to the lower front of the cradle.I did a search yesterday and came across a tec page put out by year one that said GM had 2 different style engin mounts.Tall and short.Mabye a call to these guys can help out.

[Hank70SS]

You really can't mix tall frame mounts and short engine mounts or the other way around, one frame mount is wider than the other. As long as you have a matching set of frame and engine mounts the end result is suppose to be the same.

[crankshaft]

between the centerlink guard ,, and the centerlink itself , I have over 1 inch space, which has me wondering my centerlink is too short,, wrong type. On your pic it close to the guard...

[crankshaft]

zombie , if you can measure me the centerlink lenght from where the 2 inner tie rods are bolted too , that can give me a good idea if our parts are same or not.

[zombie1969]

Not sure if itl help but will check it tomorow.Ill take some pics of the idler and pitman arm also.Do you have power steering?Reason I ask is of all the 64 and 65s ive had none had power and I had to convert it.And Im not positive but I think 67 is the latest year that is a direct swap.Something to think about when compairing.Ill measure my idler and pitman as well when im there.

[crankshaft]

it has power steering..... that would be great if you take those pics for me,, and give me the length of the centerlink too please. thanks again for your time ,, i owe you big time !!!

[crankshaft]

thanks for the pic ,,I'll measure it tomorrow after work. Car is at my friends garage.

[zombie1969]

My '65 with factory power steering is 14 1/4 inches - center tie rod bolt to center tie rod bolt.

Hope this helps as well as pictures.

Your engin looks like it sits way higher than mine.Took some measurements also.My centerlink center to center on the inners was 14.5.Pitman to idler was 23.Both the pitman and idler measured 5.0 center to center.Took some pics but photobucket not working fo some reason.

[zombie1969]

Zombieman... do you have a '65 or do you have a '69? Just curious as I believe '68 changed stuff. I'm going out to double check my measurements.... I'm getting old, you know. :D

I got a 64.Before I got it from a friend of mine who tboned another car in a rotery.He repaced the frame and front clip.I am 100% positive its a 64 frame because I helped strip the car it came off.As far as the steering linkage is conserned on that frame who knows.There is always a chance of an incorect part being replaced at some point in its life.Cant find any info anywhere that gives the measurements in these parts so Ill be happy it works.

[crankshaft]

measured the distance ,, i too have 14 1/4 inches from center tie rod bolt to center tie rod bolt. Upon futher inspection ,,, looks like some frame work has been done (front frame section maybe from a different year/car ??? It must be related to that,, everything else seems ok.

[zombie1969]

Short of stopping by I cant think of anything else that will help.The only other thing that looks weird to me is the loction of your sway bar.Look at the pic of stalkingbears bar.Itsforward of the pully and your looks like its under the balencer behind the pully.Could just be the pic but thats what it looks like.Like your engin is too far forward.My bar isnt mounted but if I set it in place will be same as stalkingbears.

found this.
http://delaware.craigslist.org/pts/1789657173.html
another one
http://orangecounty.craigslist.org/pts/1774102250.html

[crankshaft]

I just wanted to share this with you,, its from year one ...
Hello
We apologize for the delay.

Unfortunately the frame brackets we offer for small block engines are not currently in stock so I am unable to measure them. You might see if someone at a Chevelle fan site can provide measurements, or contact another Chevelle parts supplier to see they have stock on the frame brackets.

If you are able to determine the frame brackets are correct, consider if the center link, idler arm or Pitman arm might be bent or incorrect. See if the frame may have been repaired where the idler arm mounts or where the steering gear mounts. Check to see if the stops are missing or damaged, allowing the wheels to turn further left and right than designed.

If everything checks ok you might consider just providing the required clearance instead of continuing to try chase the cause.



Regards,

Marty

Year One, Inc

[crankshaft]

shimming the motor mount it is then !!!