Are K-frames interchangeable?

[rampage_stu]

My K-frame on my rampage is bent,

Am I able to use one from a 87 daytona? I already changed hubs and will be putting in a-555 transmission.

[j4278h]

only direct drop in would be other l bodies
omni
rampage
charger
scamp

[daytonaturbo87]

I believe they're basically the same but the daytona k-frame is wider by a couple inches so they won't bolt up.

[BoostedDrummer]

you can only use another L body k frame

[rampage_stu]

Any one know where I can find a good one? I am not sure this is something i want to tackle at the wreckers.

[turbovanman²]

Rbryant is considering making custom K members using the better dual pivot setup but as everyone has said, L body only.

http://www.turbo-mopar.com/forums/sh...ad.php?t=48345

[BoostedDrummer]

Dropping and swapping a K member is easier than one would think, believe me, I thought it was gonna be a pain in the a** when I crushed mine on the Charger in a wreck.

Basically all you have to do is find another L body car (Charger, Omni, Rampage, Horizon, Scamp) and since you're going to be putting an A555 in it, be on the lookout for an L body with a manual transmission. Although its not necessary, it does help later on when you finally put the A555 in as the K member on a manual transmission has a small bracket for the rear engine mount for the A555/520/525. This eliminates the process of redropping the Kmember later on to weld on the bracket.

Be wise to put the car up on jackstands and take the front wheels off.

For the process of dropping the Kmember out of your car, the first thing you wanna do is find some way to hold the steering rack up while the k member is out from under the car. Some people and the book will even say to drop the entire thing with the steering rack attached and to just take it apart from the boot/cup thingy it attaches to. I tied mine up with rope on my Charger AND on my Omni GLH and they both have Kmembers on now and I never had to take the cars to get realigned. It saved me a TON of time this way.

Heres the only picture I have of me doing it this way on the GLH when I was getting a new Kmember.


As you can see, all I did was put a crowbar across the valve cover to the little bay where the windshield wipers are so I could wrap it around the steering rack pretty easily. And after all that is done and held up tight with rope/cable/dental floss or whatever you use(last option NOT recommended), its time to start unbolting things.

Note: When you take off a bolt and nut and set it to the side, LABEL IT and PUT IT IN A BAG! Im saving you time for looking at them and thinking "Where the hell does this go??" Also, when pulling one at the junkyard, keep all the bolts that are on that Kmember. If you lose one from your car, you'll have a spare.

The first thing to unbolt would be the A-arms/control arms from the wheels. Its one bolt running through and it easy to unbolt. I believe, If I recall correctly, that the bolt is an 18mm and the nut is a 15mm. I dont remember but theyre diff. sizes anyways. After you unbolt it, you may have to give the bolt a little persuasion to back out the hole. After thats done, do the same thing to the other side. Dont bother taking the metal nipple out of the hole yet, that'll come later when you drop the Kmember.

Next, what I think is the most annoying part, is getting the sheilds unbolted from the Kmember itself. Theyre screwed on with I think are four 8mm screws on each sheild, might be 3 on the drivers side. These sheilds protect the boot where the rack turns down and goes to the wheels. Once those are off let them sit there but keep track of those stupid screws, put em' in a ziploc bag or something.

Once thats done, theyre are four bolts that hold the steering rack to the Kmember itself. These are easy to find and identify because they are bolted into the K member on like a horseshoe shape thingy. 2 of these for sure are a total b*tch to get to but come out relativly easy.

Once all four of those bolts are out and in a plastic bag your steering rack is now suspended, free from the Kmember. Congrats, hard part is over. Now all you have to do is take the 4 bolts holding the Kmember to the body off.. Well, 2 of them are bolts which are clearly visible under the fender well and the other 2 are really just weird looking nuts going to studs on the body that look like half a bowl on one side.

WARNING: The Kmember weighs a good 40-50 pounds and its not wise to loosen all the bolts and have it drop on you. Not good for your health.

What I did for this part is I got a floor jack and put a good sized piece of wood on the end of the jack so I would have a better area of support when I used it. Slide the jack under the Kmember and jack it up until the jack is touching the Kmember. NOW loosen all the bolts/nuts holding the Kmember and start to lower the jack slooowly. Now remember the control arms are still attached to the wheels. When you lower the Kmember the control arms will flex up because theyre still attached, to fix this, just get a pole/piece of wood/screwdriver and a hammer and persuade the nipple out of the hole on the wheel. Do the same thing on the other side.

Now you can lower the jack all the way and pull it straight out from under the car. Now you can take your 'new' Kmember and reverse the process. The floorjack really helps for lifting the new one into place.

Fastest time its taken me to drop and swap the entire process was about 3 and a half hours. By the way, im only 19 so if I can do it, you can do it. Hope this helps

[turbovanman²]

One very important thing you missed, the front bolts go thru into the unibody into J nuts, the very first thing you should do is lube the crap out of the exposed threads, as if you don't and one of those J nuts starts to spin, your going to be in for a whole world of

[minigts]

Heck if you were close enough and the shipping wouldn't KILL, I'd sell you my powder coated lower K frame setup. My car is decommissioned for a while and the next suspension going in my car will be tubular.

[BoostedDrummer]

One very important thing you missed, the front bolts go thru into the unibody into J nuts, the very first thing you should do is lube the crap out of the exposed threads, as if you don't and one of those J nuts starts to spin, your going to be in for a whole world of

My bad . I never did that and didnt have any problems but I guess I was just lucky. Hopefully it wont happen if i do another Kmember job(knock like hell on wood)

But yes, lube the hell out of those suckers for an easier job

[Vigo]

Hey Simon.. its a Texas thing, you wouldnt understand what with our rust-free cars and rodeos and all that.

[turbovanman²]

Hey Simon.. its a Texas thing, you wouldnt understand what with our rust-free cars and rodeos and all that.

Blow me,

[BoostedDrummer]

Hey Simon.. its a Texas thing, you wouldnt understand what with our rust-free cars and rodeos and all that.

Blow me,

[GLHS121]

Heck if you were close enough and the shipping wouldn't KILL, I'd sell you my powder coated lower K frame setup. My car is decommissioned for a while and the next suspension going in my car will be tubular.

Hey Jon, I am close and no shipping. What do you want for that powder coated k-frame? I need one bad.

Jimmy