steering linkage advice

[porter90]

im in the middle of swapping 73-87 control arms and disc brake spindles on my 64 gmc. im planning on using the steering linkage from the donor truck. im not sure how to go about properly mounting the idler arm. i noticed that its at a different angle than the original one and the tie rods mount on the opposite side of the centerlink from original. ive never done anything like this before and im having a hard time. any advise would be HUGELY appreciated!

[jtrichard]

Center Tie rod level from the bottom of the frame ....same distance from the bumper or the cross member with the wheels straight forward ..... this might help http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=364621

[Captainfab]

I would mount the power steering box first and then as jtrichard said, mount the idler arm so that the draglink is level and the same distance from the crossmember on both sides. I've been meaning to make a template for this to go along with my PS adapter plate, but I just haven't had the time.

[Tx Firefighter]

Originally Posted by porter90

...and the tie rods mount on the opposite side of the centerlink from original.......

No sir. You've got the center link flipped backwards. The inner tie rod ends mount behind the center link with the nuts facing forward. The outer tie rod ends mount on top of the spindle with nuts facing downward. The 73-87 linkage, when installed properly, will orient the tie rod ends the same as original. Everything else here applies, in that you are going to have to drill the frame for the idler arm and all of that, but if your tie rod ends are oriented differently, you need to flip that around first, before doing any drilling or permanent mounting.

Here is a picture of the idler arm on my 63 truck. This is an entire 73-87 suspension and steering installed here. Notice I did it like Cap'n said and lined it all up and drilled new holes for the idler arm.