I found out today that I am joining the group of oddballs whose global west steering brace bolt holes don't line up properly.

I'm beginning to think that the car they used as the template was in a front end collision, because mine never has.

Anyway....need to know the best way to widen the bolt holes to fit. I just tried a cobalt drill bit and that didnot seem to do much. What else can I fit in a power drill that will do the trick?? I don't need to drill new holes, just widen the ones already there.

thanks,

 

Get a small dia. grinding wheel for a dremel and go to town on it.

 

That's what I had to do to one of the holes.

 

Strange. My Global West piece bolted right up.

JamesC

 

I was thinking about this yesterday; I did not have my suspension loaded when I tried to bolt it up. SO when it stops raining today I'm going to try it with a loaded suspension and hopefully it will bolt up. I guess the the K-member spreads a little with the force from the loaded springs.

I don't have ramps so I was going to jack the front end up and put cinder-blocks under each wheel to get the needed clearance. Unless there is a better idea.


Anyway.....let see what happens

 

Buy youself a dremel tool with all the bits and you'll never be sorry. One of the handiest tools I own.

 

I bought one of these then my tranny went out before I could install it. I gave it to a friend and told him to just order me a new one. He had the car worked on and gave the brace to the shop to install for him, and they told him it would not line up. He called GW about this and was told they had a bad batch of them that would not fit. You may want to contact them before you start grinding on it, they may be willing to replace it with a new one.

 

Hmmm...interesting. How long ago was this?

 

It was about mid-year 2002, my car has been parked since the spring and it was a couple of months later that I gave the bar to my friend. I purchased it about a year ago, so if that timeframe matches yours you may have gotten a bad one.

 

My GW bolted right up, you should also check really carefully for cracking in the steering box area, that might explain it if its not defective.

 

Well, this w/e I'll do exactly as the instructions say (i.e loaded susp.)

If that doesn't work, I'll look for cracks.

If it doesn't work, I'll expect its because of the Eibach springs and just grind the holes wider on the brace until it fits

 

My Global West Bar bolted right up also. I did have to bend that little tab flat, but other than that, perfect fit.

 

Loading the suspension shouldn't make any difference at all.

The 2 ends are not the same. Have you tried every possible orientation of it? If it's like the GM one, it will only go in one way out of the 4 possible ones.

 

Mine bolted right up also, and RB83L69 is right it will only bolt up
in one of the 4 possible orientations. I am pretty sure the mounting
plates point towards the rear of the car when it is mounted.
Correct me if I am wrong because my car is at the shop and I can't
check.

 

you are right...the bar goes forward. One way is way off. Flip it over and its close....but with one hole lined up, the other three are off significantly. Sucks. I'll try again Sat morn