Inner fender clearance issue

[chev-obsession]

When I converted to power steering/disc brakes (10 years ago when I was 17 lol) I took the inner fender off (uncut) completed the conversion, put the inner fender back on and boom there’s the steering shaft and new brake lines hitting the inner fender... so I trimmed the inner fender rather than fix the issue. I added the power steering box added new lines etc that weren’t there before.

I have a couple extra inner fenders and would like to fix the issue that was/would be causing the shaft to hit the inner fender. I’m at a loss, in my mind if I replaced the cab mounts it would just raise everything up.

Any idea or suggestions what could be causing this? Any help is appreciated!

[68bowtie]

Seems like the PS box may be too far from the frame. Not sure how that would happen.

[ohboy321]

My truck has the same issue. The PO installed an aftermarket inner fender and hacked it up badly to clear the steering shaft.

Truck has a 67 body mounted on a 70 K10 chassis, so I'm wondering if that is part of the issue. I'd like to replace the hacked up part, and will be interested to hear if anyone has a solution.

[chev-obsession]

The power steering box did come off a 71 suburban, but thought all that stuff was the same. I will look at that and compare it to others. Hoping they are the same since it doesn’t leak and is nice and tight

[AussieinNC]

Post a pic of the steering box where it is mounted to the chassis....both from the top and bottom...

I am assuming the original steering was a manual steering...if so, the chassis needs to be dimpled in to accommodate the larger diameter of the power box.

I have seen and repaired two trucks that others had added large amounts of washers between the chassis and steering box, forcing the box over the left causing interference between the steering shaft and the inner fender.

There are several threads on the forum that go into the dimpling process....all it really takes is to heat up the chassis in the area needed and massage the chassis rail inwards with a FBH....

[tim_mc]

Here's a pic of how I trimmed my LH inner fender to clear the p/s lines. I can't remember if I had to trim around the shaft or not, but I don't think I did. The p/s gearbox is mounted flush with the frame rail, which as Aussie stated had to have a strategically placed smack or two with a 20lb hammer so that the gearbox protrusion would fit without interference from the frame. Before the rebuild, the PO used a stack of zinc plated washers to fit the original gearbox - not classy and had lots of flex. I replaced it with a Lares 3-1/4 turn reman unit from RockAuto...steers like a dream.

[FirstOwner69]

I have no first hand knowledge regarding frame differences for manual vs. power steering. However, I seem to recall reading here that the '67 frames need to be dimpled, but the '68-'72 frames are all dimpled.

That said, here are some pictures of my '69 that show the frame dimple and how the factory routed the power steering hoses and brake lines. This required no modification to the inner fender.

[chev-obsession]

So I was able to snap a couple of pictures, they’re decent at best. I took some brake clean and washed the grease away and verified the p/s box is tight up against the frame with no spacers or washers between the box and frame. There is a dimple for the mounting bolts and for the bulge in the casting for the power steering box. I don’t know what else would be causing this. I had a hell of a time finding the right ball joints for the spindles when I did the disc brake conversion and all the p/s and disc brake stuff came from the same 1971 suburban (1/2 ton).

Is there more than one style of p/s box?

[FirstOwner69]

Did you compare it to my post above?

[sick472]

It sure looks like your box is tight up against the frame. Your inner fender did not get used as a place to sit while of the truck and get deformed enough to crowd the column did it?

[chev-obsession]

Originally Posted by FirstOwner69

Did you compare it to my post above?

Yes I did, aside from the power steering lines not being perpendicular to the frame. It looked identical.

[my67c20]

When you did the power steering upgrade did you remove the steering column? Is the steering column all the way up under the dash and installed with the u-clamp? What does the firewall look like where the steering column exits?

[Andy4639]

It looks to me as if the fender has been pulled out of shape. I just put my inner fenders back in this past weekend. One new & one old. They both fit nice.

Question:
Do you have all the bolts in the fender. The ones going into the battery tray and fender itself? These will help if not already installed.

[chev-obsession]

Ok so I got out to the shop assessed the problem taking everyone’s advice into consideration and put a new (different) inner fender on that I had laying around. The old fender was missing the big bolt that bolts the inner fender to the slanted part of the cab towards the bottom and 1 bolt on the edge of the fender. Took the old inner fender off, put the new one on with all of the bolts in place (what’s the sense in using the old one when we know it fits because it’s trimmed) The new one fits way better, a little tight towards the firewall side but i think it may go down when I’m able to find the piece that connects the area around the steering shaft.

Thanks for everyone’s input!