I first had a problem with the OEM rag joint assembly hitting the #3 piston primary while turning, but I fixed that problem with Unbalanced Engineering's rag joint eliminator kit that replaces the rag joint with a piece of "metal" at a specific thickness. Now that problem is fixed...

My new problem is that the top bolt on the steering shaft (11mm bolt that bolts the shaft to the steering column) is now hitting the side of the #1 piston primary where it bends and runs straight down to the collector. It hits on both sides as the steering shaft is turned, the top of the bolt hits it, then 180 degrees later, the threads hit the primary. I cannot contract the rag joint so the bolt can clear the primary anymore as the unbalanced engineering piece is set to a specified thickness so I see two ways to fix it.

1. Find a bolt that has a much thinner head and a little bit shorter length than the stock one.

-or-

2. Get creative with a sledge hammer and some kind of punch to put a dent in the primary so it will clear the bolt.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Also, for those of you that have put dents in headers to clear certain things, what tools did you use?

Thanks

 

I had zero problems with clearance in my car with the pacesetters. I'd just get a sledge and clearance it.

 

Yeah there really was no problem with mine either. Are you sure your motor mounts / tranny mounts arent sagging at all? I replaced all that stuff during the swap so it may have made the difference.

Steve

 

if anything grind the bolt a little but i would dent the primary. Thats just my opinion.

 

Though my motor mounts may be sagging some (I'll check them soon) this is not a motor mount issue because this bolt lines up perfectly with the #1 primary where it turns straight down from the portion where the Pacesetter logo is to where it drops to the collector. I could move the motor up or down 2" either way and this bolt would still hit the tube, just another portion of it. I hope im making this clear.

This bolt was not an issue when the rag joint was in b/c I could just compress the steering shaft as far as it would go, and the bolt would be right in front of the tube on the #1 primary, now I don't have the option of compressing it with the rag joint eliminator.

 

Maybe you got a Monday morning set of pace setters like I did?

They bolt up nice but are a little "off" here and there.

I wouldn't sledge the primary.

Maybe get a wood block/ 2" x 4" in between the primary and the frame and try prying it nice and easy away from the steering shaft.

 

I fixed it without messing with the primary. I used a mill file to file down the threaded side of the shaft to where it would clear the primary within .5-1mm and got a different bolt. The new bolt is about 1.5mm shorter than the stock one and the head of it looks like a cone, and uses a hex socket. I grinded off the sides of the head of the bolt till it cleared the primary. Everything seems to be working fine now.