My 1970 A108 steering would occasionally make a clunking sound on a hard turn. Last fall, I noticed the drag link was cocked to it's extreme on the pitman arm, and loose enough to swivel easily by hand. I searched here and found a number of posts discussing the scarcity of NOS A100 DS 702 drag links, as well as some negative comments on the expensive ($250.00 + shipping) reproduction Rare Parts RP25757 drag link. The steering clunk seemed to be occurring more often. I started searching eBay for a new DS 702. Nothing turned up for months, so I went ahead and ordered the repro part from Rare Parts. It appears to be a nice piece, although it differs in construction from the old OE drag link - it's two separate threaded parts held together at the steering arm end by a heavy, 4" long sleeve swaged permanently in place. This sleeve was the reason (along with the high price) some people complained. The sleeve doesn't bother me - a lot of eBay searching had turned up NOS MOPAR drag links assembled with swaged ends, and they didn't look as stout as the Rare Parts drag link. I haven't found any first hand reviews of the RP25757 - anyone here care to comment? The RP 25757 shaft diameter is marginally bigger at 1.03" versus OEM at .93" and the DS702 at .96". As it always happens, a DS702 turned up on eBay in February so I went ahead and bought it too - I couldn't help myself. On the way to and from a cruise in yesterday the clunking finally became too much. Since the old one is off now, I thought I post some pictures of the three drag links for comparison. Which of the two new ones would you use?
Top - old drag link , middle DS702, bottom RP25757
RP25757 sleeve
The sleeve is 1/8" thick
RP 25757 are undercut for greater travel
Top - old drag link , middle DS702, bottom RP25757
RP25757 sleeve
The sleeve is 1/8" thick
RP 25757 are undercut for greater travel