kframe change over

[DANNY8]

First of all, if u dont like reading, just skid to the 6th paragraph. :thumbsup:

When we bought PEAKN6 it was from some people who bought it from the auction with front end damage, and we bought it off of them after it was fixed. They do it a lot, just go to the auctions in Adelaide, buy a cheap car, bring it back here and fix it if it needs to be, then sell it, or strip it for parts and sell.

Well anyways, when we first saw the VK (we put the PEAKN6 plates on the day we bought it) it was in their shed with the right hand side fender off, and they said they were fxing the front end damage they got it with. Other then that and a small dent in the driver door, it was immac inside and out (half of it was resprayed recently, I'm guessing from a previous accident...an elderly couple owned it b4 us since new).

When we took it home (We didn't even drive it b4 we bought it haha, just saw it was worth wat they were asking so we got it) I noticed it pulled to the left pretty hard. Swapping the front tyres around helped out a lot, but still pulled to the left. We took it in for a wheel alignment and they said they couldn't do it without replacing the right hand side tie rod end. So we bought one and took it back and they installed it and apparently gave it a wheel alignment. I got in expecting that it would drive much better...but nope, exactly the bloody same!!

I do some voluntary work at a crash repair place, so I took it there and got the boss to have a qwik look. He said the kframe would need to be replaced coz something about it was bent. I can't remember exactly wat he said but he said it happens to most cars with front end damage. Then he pointed out how the left hand side front wheel was pushed back a bit. We had a look and a feel seeing how many fingers we could fit between the tyre and the gaurd....and it seems to be back by about an inch. He said if I get the gear I can bring it in when the hoist is free and change it over.

I thought we'd have to pull the motor our, but he said they have a gadget which holds the motor in while u change the k frame over.

So wat I want to know, does anyone know wat this tool is and how long would it take to do the changeover? I'm gonna go into work 2morrow and ask him to see if we can do the changeover soon, but just wondering if anyone here knows coz i can't wait till 2morrow haha.

Wat we plan on doing, is pulling the kframe and suspension out of a wreck we have (we got a few ), and making one good front end out of the lot, then when the front end comes out of PEAKN6, this one can bolt straight up in.

Sry for the long post :whistling

Cheers,
Danny

 

[atrail308]

you got 2 options to change the k-frame, you can either use a engine brace which goes from gaurd to gaurd or pull out the engine... the too, used is the brace and it supports the engine while you drop out the front x-member...

 

[vkberlina]

Use a strong crow bar or similar steel between the strut towers and change the engine to it.
When you replace the K frame also replace the radius arms with new ones NOT second hand. Whiteline sell them.

Then get a good wheel alignment done on the car. There is more to a wheel alignment than just toe in & out. They should give you a print out listing all the front end measurements, camber, caster, toe in & out etc. Then you will know its right. It might cost you up to $60 but its worth every cent.

cheers
Scott

 

[DANNY8]

Thx for the help guys.

I got a price on the radius arms, cheapest we could get them were $50 each which was staff discount at Repco, I thought we might be able to get a pair for $50.

As the front left was getting really bad making all sorts of clunks, rattles and creaks, I figured we could just try to change over the whole strut assembly. I pulled the kframe out of my VH a few weeks ago and pulled it to bits, so my shockies were sitting in the shed doing nothing. As the rotors are warped on the front of PEAKN6, we just went in and swapped the whole unit over, putting my strut/spring/brake assembly in PEAKN6. Took about an hour all up and now it makes no noises at all.....rides smooth as! It still pulls to the left a bit, but that's nothing compared to wat was happenin b4, we actually felt unsafe in the car coz it was getting that bad making the werd noises n the front left, but now it feels like a brand new car haha.

So now I'm missing a front strut for my car haha, might just use the pair out of the VH I'm getting with the nolathane tops on it.

 

[DANNY8]

haha well 2day we notced the creak noise again. It only creaks when we are driving, after we've been driving for a while....lthe rattles haven't come back tho, so at least we fixed one problem.

I got under PEAKN6 and the creak is coming from where the wishbone attaches to the kframe, and as the radius rod is attached to that also I'm thinkin maybe that could still be the problem.

Does anyone know how the radius rod comes out of the front of the krame? It's like it's pressed in there but not sure. But I'm thinkin even tho Scotty said not to use a second hand one, I might use the one from my VH (We can't afford $50 for something which we're not sure is the problem lol ), coz that never made any wierd noises......just to see if it fixes the problem.

 

[vkberlina]

Check for cracking around the strut towers I have seen it before. Make sure your K frame is really tight when you fit the K frame make sure you align it correctly so you get it on the car square.

The radius rods arent pressed in. The rubber bush is pressed intot he K frame and the radius arm slides in however if can get a bit of rust over the years and be hard to get out. It also chews the bush appart which can cause rattles and steering problems.

If you have bent other suspension parts the radius arm will surely be bent. They even straighten out over the years and are out of spec esp the left hand arms. If you must use a second hand arm use a right hand arm it will be in better condition. Remove the old bushes cut them with a hacksaw and fit new ones at the very least. you can buy 2 piece nolathan type ones which arew really easy to fit.

Other front end rattles could be shocks, springs, bump rubbers damaged, other bushes worn out. You need to remember the bushes are probably 21+ years old and are stuffed.

cheers
Scott