Hotchkis front sway hits idler - 2nd gen

[BonzoHansen]

Ok, just throwing this out for comments/thoughts. I installed my front Hotchkis (1 3/8”) sway bar on my 77 Z28. It hits the idler arm. I loosened it up & moved it by prying it off the idler & then tightening the clamp. Now it just barely touches the idler arm, mainly the dust boot. The Hotchkis tech guy told me the sway into the idler is due to aftermarket (MOOG) idler arm being a bit ‘beefier’ in size. He suggested a light grinding of the idler arm. He also mentioned that the Spicer idler arm is forged and should be smaller, thus offering a bit more room. The clamp for the bar doesn't offer much room to enlarge the hole any.

Anyone ever run into this? Would you be comfortable grinding an idler? I can’t find a Spicer one local or I’d get one & eye it up (rockauto does carry them). The MOOG one I have is brand new, so I am not real hot to spend for a new one that might work.

[Mean 69]

I'm not surprised that it hits. Using the stock bracket location, in conjunction with a larger diameter tube for the front of a second gen is really, really tight. In fact, we looked at this specifically two weeks ago while we were finishing up the details on our own anti-roll bar for the second gens. The car we looked at had a large, solid aftermarket front bar (unknown manufacturer) and it was really, really tight. I am not sure if the idler was stock or replacement, but there was literally no extra room, at all. It actually forced us to take a different approach on our own design (it's tricky around the steering box too).

Not sure about clearancing the idler arm, clearly it'll have to depend upon how "much" you'd need to take off to avoid interference. With any bar, you need clearance, but CERTAINLY it is needed with a tubular bar, espcially if it is a relatively thin wall, it might not take too much to wear through the tube and create a potential failure point.

Mark