ILoveMyPatty Posted July 17, 2010 Share Posted July 17, 2010 So, I stumbled upon some motivation to get my Pathy back on the road... After a full day of pulling my old body lift out, disassembling a bit of my old Pathy, pulling my old Pathys t-bar crossmember out, dealing with mosquitos and 90 degree heat, I started to work on my new one. About a month ago I bought a '94 that I was going to fix up a little bit with the parts from my '90. I re-indexed my t-bars and cranked them a bit, threw in my JGC coils and decided to call it good, until I had time to pull the body lift out of my '90. A short distance from my home, my drivers side t-bar popped out of the LCA, and I had to get it towed home. I took a good look at the crossmember and convinced myself that it must be bent or something, and since I have another Pathy, why not swap out the crossmembers to see. Yesterday I swapped crossmembers, and the drivers side t-bar still won't seat properly. There's still quite a bit of the splines showing, and I don't like it. I've convinved myself now, that the previous owner must have jumped it or hit something with the front end and the LCA is bent...? Here are some pics... Driver side t-bar Passenger side t-bar Any ideas? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MY1PATH Posted July 17, 2010 Share Posted July 17, 2010 loosten those 3 bolts so that the plate can wiggle a little. the spines are very precise and even so much as 1/2 degree of deflection in that area will make them harder to slide in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ILoveMyPatty Posted July 17, 2010 Author Share Posted July 17, 2010 Thing is, the tensioner is already in the right spot. If I moved the t-bar forward further, into the LCA, wouldn't that make it so the tensioner is in the wrong spot? Does that make any sense? I'll go WD40 up those 3 nuts on the plate right now and let em soak for a bit before I try and crack em. Thanks for the suggestion! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1987caddy Posted July 17, 2010 Share Posted July 17, 2010 Check the strut rod to be sure it is locating the lca in the right position. Take measurements to a common point of the frame from each lca to make sure there even. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Precise1 Posted July 17, 2010 Share Posted July 17, 2010 loosten those 3 bolts so that the plate can wiggle a little. This. I couldn't pull my T-bars until I did this. The splines should be completely in the socket with little or nothing of them showing from a side view. I think I understand what you are saying about something being bent, but that is a lot and an easy answer. (doesn't trust easy answers) Measure from the T-bar socket face to the front or back of the T-bar anchor member (both sides) and one of us without that issue can do the same to compare #s. B Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tmoore4512 Posted July 18, 2010 Share Posted July 18, 2010 Wow. That is a scary thought! Glad it didn't screw anything up when it popped out. Might suggest using something other than WD40. Like a penetrating oil or something... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ILoveMyPatty Posted July 18, 2010 Author Share Posted July 18, 2010 I'll go out and take some measurements everyone. Thanks for the suggestions. I'd use something other than WD40 if I had something else Unfortunately, my dad used up the last of my stuff when he was working on the tractor. Booo! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MY1PATH Posted July 18, 2010 Share Posted July 18, 2010 PB Blast rocks! Tell your dad to buy you some (and to get his own) lol I actually have a bent bar, fell on a rock. Everything still lines up. It would have to be bent quite a bit more than mine and if it was you would blind not to notice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tmoore4512 Posted July 18, 2010 Share Posted July 18, 2010 Yep, being that mine is on jack stands, I climbed up under the truck to see what I could see... And for giggles, (since I am going to be swapping out bars) I put a jack and a block of wood under one of the tbars and jacked it up... The bar began to bend but I did not see ANY splines come out... Must be a MAJOR bend dude... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ILoveMyPatty Posted July 18, 2010 Author Share Posted July 18, 2010 I really hope the LCA isn't bent... if it is, then I'm gonna be in for A LOT of work... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plove1 Posted July 22, 2014 Share Posted July 22, 2014 possible wrong length replacement bar by previous owner or mechanic suggest measuring the bars as well 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Manik Posted July 22, 2014 Share Posted July 22, 2014 I had a similar issue with mine, drivers side as well and wound up replacing the splined plate at the control arm. Got it from Nissan, btw, that corrected the problem. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Precise1 Posted July 22, 2014 Share Posted July 22, 2014 possible wrong length replacement bar by previous owner or mechanic suggest measuring the bars as well Good point, the Hardbody T-bars are very close in length to a Pathy's. I had to go check, and Sway Away says that the 4wd Hardbody T-bars are 1" shorter... B Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nefarious Posted July 22, 2014 Share Posted July 22, 2014 Well that would look like about 1" that the splines are sticking out in either end of the bar. X2 measure the bars. There's a good chance you have a hard body t bar in one side. It would take a massive impact to bend a pathy lca. They are beast! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now