Hi everyone. In November I purchased my 1950 3100 from an elderly woman in Nevada. The truck was still daily driven and spent its entire life there and is rust free. The engine, trans and driveline has been upgraded to that of a '56 235 and four speed. A few months back it was shipped from Nevada to my home in Maine and I recently noticed they badly bent the tie rod bar while in transit. The truck has its original suspension, with the exception that the prior owner added CPP disc brakes on the front. I'm currently replacing the tie rod bar and tie rods (going with the new style ones) and thought I may also wish to update the drag bar and its ball connectors while I'm at it. In looking at the parts catalogs, it seems that in '53 they upgraded the drag bar similarly to the noted tie rod ends. Has anyone tried the new drag link on their older 3100 and does anything further need to be done to make it work? Thanks in advance for any insight.
I’ve done it on a 1951. You would need the left steering arm off a 53-55 or perhaps modify yours. That steering arm has a tapered hole rather than the straight hole of the 52 and down.
I had a donor 53+ axle that had better king pins and springs. Ended up having a machine shop taper the pitman arm hole to accept the 53+ drag link.
I was just using the best parts I had under a bit of a time crunch. I don’t know that there’s much to be gained with this style.
If you’re going to go to the trouble, might want to look into making up your own adjustable drag link. The common Fjord male thread tie rod ends and a threaded sleeve to connect them. Speedway sells all that stuff. The one thing I don’t know…is if the stock steering arm has enough meat to be machined to accept the Fjord taper.
I have a tapered reamer I got years ago that solves problems like that. Another truck needed both LH and RH threads on ‘55 GMC drag link, had a LH die made to make drag link operate properly.
Ed
'37 GMC T-18 w/ DD 4-53T, RTO-610, 6231 aux., '95 GMC running gear, full disc brakes, power steering, 22.5 wheels and tires. '47 GMC 1 ton w/ 302, NP-540, 4wd, full width Blazer front axle. '54 GMC 630 w/ 503 gasser, 5 speed, ex fire truck, shortened WB 4', install 8' bed. '55 GMC 370 w/270, 420 4 speed, grain, dump bed truck from ND. Works OK.
When I had my machine shop do the tapered reaming of the pitman arm for the 53-55 drag link, I failed to ask them what angle it ended up being.
It was in the range of 3.0-3.5 degrees, based on my measurements with a caliper.
Over such a short distance (length of taper), the calculated taper angle varies a great deal with very minor discrepancy in measurements. So I gave them the drag link and let them fit it, rather than request a certain degree of taper.
When I was looking into it, there were just a couple of standard tapers used. I don't recall what the correct one was, but wasn't really able to find a taper reamer that would be correct, so went with the straight shank tie rod ends. I'm sure they're out there, though.
Kevin 1951 Chevy 3100 work truck Follow this saga in Project Journal Photos 1929 Ford pickup restored from the ground up. | 1929 Ford Special Coupe (First car) Busting rust since the mid-60's If you're smart enough to take it apart, you darn well better be smart enough to put it back together.
I followed the adjustable drag link tech tip here and bought the 3 components listed. One of the components was intended for a Ford (7 deg. included angle) and the other for a Dodge (10 deg. included angle). I got a couple worn endmills ground to those angles for cheap and can confirm simply cutting off the ball/neck and drilling/reaming is all that's required.
~ Peggy M 1949 Chevrolet 3804 "Charlie" - The Stovebolt Flagship In the Gallery "We make a living by what we get; we make a life by what we give." -- Winston Churchill
Took a quick look at NAPA's web site. Looks like two of three parts: 269-1118 (adjusting sleeve) and 269-2225 (longer rod end) are still available. But the 269-2078 is not. So you only get half a drag link.
Kevin 1951 Chevy 3100 work truck Follow this saga in Project Journal Photos 1929 Ford pickup restored from the ground up. | 1929 Ford Special Coupe (First car) Busting rust since the mid-60's If you're smart enough to take it apart, you darn well better be smart enough to put it back together.
Do a web search for the Napa 2692225. There are a few offered on ePay and several other sites listing a direct cross reference part that replaces the NAPA number. Looks like 3 for 3 for folks wanting to go that route.
~ Dan 1951 Chevy 3 window 3100 Follow this story in the DITY Gallery "My Grandpa Carl's Truck and How it Became Mine" 1966 Chevelle (Wife's Hot Rod) | 2013 Chevy Silverado (Current daily driver) US Army MSG Retired (1977-1998) | Com Fac Maint Lead Tech Retired (1998-2021)
Dan, the 269-2078 was the one that wasn't available on Napa's website, but I see them on various surplus sites. Here's one And Here is an interchange Moog part on Summit Racing.
So it looks like it's still do-able.
Last edited by klhansen; 03/26/20248:54 PM.
Kevin 1951 Chevy 3100 work truck Follow this saga in Project Journal Photos 1929 Ford pickup restored from the ground up. | 1929 Ford Special Coupe (First car) Busting rust since the mid-60's If you're smart enough to take it apart, you darn well better be smart enough to put it back together.
Sorry Kevin! Reading posts on my oh so small phone screen is just getting too hard on my eyes and brain. Argh!!! Thanks for correcting my mix up! 😉
~ Dan 1951 Chevy 3 window 3100 Follow this story in the DITY Gallery "My Grandpa Carl's Truck and How it Became Mine" 1966 Chevelle (Wife's Hot Rod) | 2013 Chevy Silverado (Current daily driver) US Army MSG Retired (1977-1998) | Com Fac Maint Lead Tech Retired (1998-2021)
Just an observation but hopefully it will help anyone thinking about making an adjustable drag link.
Many years ago (maybe between 12 and 15) I bought these parts (all made by MOOG) when they were still being produced and made this adjustable drag link. The 269-2078 part after only two years failed completely...and the solitary positive thing was there was a small metal collar which kept the ball from popping out. Otherwise the outcome would truly have been catastrophic.
I talked to a man at MOOG (very helpful gent) and he said he would be happy to replace it but it was out of production by then and all inventory had been sold to folks handling out of production stuff. He also said he figured the problem was a plastic (or maybe nylon?) part which was known to crack and it had caused some failures for them.
From what I understood that part sat at the back (sealed) side of the ball and was held in place by a spring. When that part fails, the ball is free to move in and out by around 1/4" to 3/16" and it also flops around from side to side. It will make your steering feel wonky and loose. After that I went back to the old style drag link.
~ Jon 1952 1/2 ton with 1959 235 | T5 with 3.07 rear end
My project took a different direction last summer (due to my lack of planning and also my inner cheapskate)….but my intent was to research the feasibility of THIS part as a drag link end and perhaps even for use as the tie rod ends that connect one wheel to the other.
*MOOG ES416R/ ES416L*
Only using the Moog number because it’s easy to cross. Used in FJord applications over 2-3 decades. Super affordable. If you’re like me and very leery of modern parts, they are still very common and cheap in NOS form.
When combined with one of speedway’s threaded tie rod tubes in 11/16, and a couple jam nuts…voila. Adjustable drag link for less than $100. You can buy a cheap 7 degree reamer for $50ish bucks or have your machine shop do it.
What I never got around too….was verifying if there was any dimensional conflict with either the steering arm or pitman arm that would prevent this from working. If they fit, seems like a no brainer. All it would take me is a few minutes in the garage with a dial caliper to know for sure.
My hunch: there was a reason the author of that tech tip was using a couple fairly obscure tie rod ends for the conversion. And that my idea has a flaw.
