Legal Metric Chassis Steering Upgrade

While we could have tried to source OEM replacement parts in better condition from a junkyard or even buying new ones at the local parts store, we found that Hotchkis Sport Suspension manufactures a robust Premium Steering Rebuild Kit for ’78 to ’88 G-body cars. The kit includes everything you see here; (2) inner tie-rod ends, (2) outer tie-rod ends, an idler arm, and a centerlink for an MSRP of $375.95.

Another comparison view with the Hotchkis on the right. Notice the additional material joining the ball joint cup to shaft. The extra heavy-duty tie rod will stand up to the rigors of racing much better than the OEM unit.

Take a look at the difference in heft of the inner tie rods. The stock one is on the left, the Hotchkiss is on the right.

The same holds true for the idler arm.

The same holds true for the idler arm. All of the components of this kit feature hardened steel, forged housings, and a corrosion resistant finish.

One item that wasn’t included in the kit was the pitman arm. While it looks pretty rough, closer inspection revealed that critical grooves were just fine.

So, we sandblasted the thing in the shop and then coated it with two coats of Eastwood’s Extreme Chassis Black Primer, followed by one coat of Extreme Chassis Black Paint. Both the primer and paint come in convenient spray cans for small parts such as this. You’ll see the finished product later on in the story.

Hotchkis manufactures heavy-duty tie-rod sleeves, but these are not them. The sleeves aren’t included in the kit and that’s OK because we’re trying to keep this thing as close to stock as possible (since the rule book says we have to). These are the original sleeves that have been cleaned up.

Because Metric Monte Carlos have a mount welded to the crossmember that gets in your way when reassembling the steering, you have to attach both inner tie rods to the centerlink before you do anything else. At this point don’t tighten the nuts, just leave everything loose. You can then adjust the length of your tie rods, like I’m doing here. Make sure your front tires are reasonably straight. You’ll actually align it later but having the toe somewhere close to what you want saves time.

Here you can see that mount. It sits just under the centerlink.

When you have finished attaching both inner tie rods to the centerlink, the very next thing you need to do is make sure that the centerlink and pitman arm are properly attached.

We were impressed with how good Eastwood’s primer and paint combo brought the freshly painted pitman arm back to life.