clearance between oil pan and center link?

[Strawdawg]

Okay, working on a Challenger with a 440 that was added by some prior owner.

Rebuilt the front suspension and noticed that the oil pan was lightly touching the center link-particularly on the passenger side.

No, I did not notice how much clearance it had before...just knocked everything off, replaced everything including the pitman and idler arms.

Kid that had this car before I bought it had driven it thru a ditch and fence....I am wondering if the bracket for the idler arm got bent upward a bit...but it would be helpful to know what kinda clearance normally exists between the center link and pan.

[femtnmax]

From the sounds of it I would strongly consider replacing the idler arm on the passenger side.  Were there different arms available depending on year or manual steering, etc?  Does the car have the wrong idler arm on it, or the wrong oil pan??   Just some thoughts.

[Strawdawg]

I replaced everything...the new idler looked just like the old one...unfortunately I did not look at the clearance before.

Pwr steering on a '73

'69 short block engine...looks like a factory pan

engine mounts look okay

will relook at the tranny end

[Strawdawg]

No one has ever noticed about how much clearance there is between the center link and the pan? 

[HP2]

Generally, one to two fingers worth of space, off the top of my head.

I'd say check the steering box bolts to see if they are tight. Maybe see if it has any shims in it. You can add them to angle the pitman arm  which drops the height of the center link. Modifying the idler takes more work and requires grinding and/or welding. Heck for that matter, maybe check the the mounting hole for the idler and see if it is egged. It shouldn't be, but if it is that would allow the mounting of it to change and contact the pan.

[Strawdawg]

Thanks!     I thought about the box and shims after reading some of your older posts....the idler arm bracket holes were not wallowed out, but, I can move the washer from the bottom of the arm to the top and get a little more.

Also, the tranny mount bushing seems to be worn a bit, so that might help.

Finally,  the pan is stamped 187 which indicates it came from a C body...I cannot find anything that says it will not work, but, there might be a bit of difference.   Does not look like it could lose much in depth, tho.

Going to pull the engine soon to try to improve on someone's rigged frame repair so I can get to things better.

[72rallye]

Hi Guys, just did the whole front end on my '72 challenger which  has a 440 the oil pan has about a finger thickness between the center drag link.  Another issue i had was the clearance of the grease nipple on the idler arm to the torsion bar.I noticed the bracket where the idler bolts in was compressed so i corrected the bracket and shimmed the idler about .060 (1/16 approx.)on the inside of the bracket between the top of the idler. Now i have about .100 clearance.      

[Strawdawg]

thanks for the info.  I will double check everything when I can see it all a bit better.  I thought a finger was about right.  I am going to look at the idler bracket more carefully when I can see from the top.  It could be wallowed out slightly and I would not have noticed without a clear shot at looking at it.  There are no shims in the steering box upper so I can tilt it a bit...I will get there hopefully.

On the grease nipples, all the moog parts had straight nipples with them...be a lot easier to get to some of them with a right angle fitting.  I will probably change them out.

[brads70]

A picture is worth a thousand words?

[422STROKER]

SB for what it's worth, I'd imagine they are close on the bottom side.

Tom

[Strawdawg]

yep, pics work!

[dodj]

I have about 1/4" of clearance between the centre link and oil pan. No issues. 

[Skunkworks Challenger]

I knew my clearance was not very much but when I prepared to change my rear main oil seal I measured it at 3/8". That should be enough but if motor mounts compress too much this could get critical. One could dent the oil pan or bend the center link if it gets to be a problem. The pitman arm and idler arm are part of the equation and shorter ones of these might be available or their angle could be reset. PK

[Strawdawg]

I replaced the 187 pan that was on the engine with an ebay'd 402.  The pick up then hit the baffling in the 402.  I then bought a pick up from 440Source and with a minor bend it fit.

Dropped the engine back in the other day and now have about an inch of clearance between the pan and link.

[brads70]

I replaced the 187 pan that was on the engine with an ebay'd 402.  The pick up then hit the baffling in the 402.  I then bought a pick up from 440Source and with a minor bend it fit.

Dropped the engine back in the other day and now have about an inch of clearance between the pan and link.

 Well hey! now you can drop the motor 1/2 to 3/4" for better handling!