• When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.

CenterLink Rubbing on Oil Pan

Brendanchambers

Well-Known Member
Local time
5:08 AM
Joined
Jul 27, 2020
Messages
173
Reaction score
126
Location
newcastle, Australia
Hello All,

i got my roadrunner last week and it's getting compliance done at the moment so i can register it in Australia.

the brakes seem to've turned to crap so i'm getting them redone and while the mechanic was sorting this out he noticed that the centerlink rubs the oil pan even with the wheels straight........unfortunately i dont have any photos as i don't have the car however i will take some and update later.

any ideas on how to fix this....could i have a oil pan that's larger than normal, or could the engine be sitting too low (buggered mounts)....or could the center link be installed incorrectly.....

if anyone else has had this issue i would be interested to know what was the cause and the remedy
 
If it's a stock pan and it's rubbing I would look at how the center link is installed!
 
its a crate motor, so i'd say the oil pan is definitely not original however i dont know if its "stock" or not.

a photo may help clarify things.
 
To answer your question, yes. All three can be the cause. Wasted motor mounts, the centerlink can be upside down, but my bet is it's the wrong pan
I have seen drawings here of pan shapes, dimensions and measurements.....but i dont remember where or who had them .
Im sure someone will come up with them.
 
Found em! Go to schumachers site, "engine swaps simplified,"has oil pan dimensions in their tech section.
Edit: is your drag link rubbing on the back of the sump, or on the bottom of the pan behind the sump?
 
Last edited:
Found em! Go to schumachers site, "engine swaps simplified,"has oil pan dimensions in their tech section.
Edit: is your drag link rubbing on the back of the sump, or on the bottom of the pan behind the sump?

its rubbing on the bottom of the pan
 
It could also be incorrect steering parts i.e. pitman arm / idler arm. Pics will help, otherwise we're just guessing.
 
Explain your compliance inspection ... just curious.. if you don’t mind. I thought they would make you dump the asbestos brakes— which is great in reality but what else?
 
When you get some pics, get the number stamped into the pan, three digits, about an inch tall. That will help tell what you have now.
 
Mine also hit with a larger pan, crate motor from FHO did not change pan what I did is add fast ratio arms and that gave me more clearance it’s not perfect but better didn’t really at this point want to change the pan
185F6C97-9166-4E7F-B23B-C909A528D141.jpeg
9EDDB843-422B-40BE-8CB9-FB3CD97584F1.jpeg
 
Maybe not applicable; but thought I'd toss in comment since I have a clearance issue just identified. The pitman is angled up also cocking the end rod upwards enough to hit the torsion bar and center link plays the violin on my left TTI header. Noticed the center rod was ever so slightly angled up on the left. Going to put in another pitman and if this doesn't work, will see about bending it...now I'm trying to determine just HTH this happened. New mounts are in with engine rebuild, and a FF box. Suspect it could have something to do with the box but TBD...
 
Explain your compliance inspection ... just curious.. if you don’t mind. I thought they would make you dump the asbestos brakes— which is great in reality but what else?

The Asbestos inspection is done in the USA, if you bring Asbestos into Australia you can be liable for a massive fine.
i don't know the specifics of everything they check here for compliance however it was required that my brakes were replaced as they were shot, also i needed to add a passenger side wing mirror, different headlight bulbs (left hand dip instead of right hand dip) and replacement lap-sash seatbelts rather than lap belts.....also the car would need to go through whole heap of engineering requirements if its been modified.....so its best to import more original cars
 
Even though it's an aftermarket oil pan, I don't think it's that. It's not that deep at all. Could be engine mounts, but the angle of that idler arm looks a bit off where it mounts in the k frame. Could be my eyes though.
I've attached a few photos I just took under my car to show how much clearance you should have. It will differ from car to car (depending on engine) but it should be probably a half inch to an inch or so I would think.
Also have a check through your front end - some of those balljoints look pretty dodgy.
20201218_124015.jpg
20201218_124057.jpg
 
Even though it's an aftermarket oil pan, I don't think it's that. It's not that deep at all. Could be engine mounts, but the angle of that idler arm looks a bit off where it mounts in the k frame. Could be my eyes though.
I've attached a few photos I just took under my car to show how much clearance you should have. It will differ from car to car (depending on engine) but it should be probably a half inch to an inch or so I would think.
Also have a check through your front end - some of those balljoints look pretty dodgy.
View attachment 1041904 View attachment 1041906

Thanks.
once i get it back next week and in my garage i will have a closer look at this...also i should probably check the motor mounts.
 
Same problem but with 72 Satellite with 440 transplant.

Was checking to see if mount was broken by jacking the motor up and found play/slack in mounting bolts. Able to lift motor a bit and tighten mounting bolt to keep pan off link, but only temp fix.

My rubber mounts might be too short, forget where I got them. Whole thing has been pieced together, so nothing is stock.
 
Auto Transport Service
Back
Top