GlobalWest Tracklink

Updated 9/29/99

UNDER CONSTRUCTION
I'm still working on this, I keep running outta time to finish it. Email me if you have any questions. - Nick

The GlobalWest Tracklink is a replacement torque arm for 4th generation F-body cars.

The main problem with the stock torque arm on these cars is its length. The arm is too long to effectively push the axle down under accelleration. This results in a lot of body squat under hard accelleration. It also results in the inside wheel lifting in a turn. This results in not being able to apply power in a turn early.

The Tracklink was installed on my Camaro while the car still had the 1LE springs and front bar installed on it. I immediately noticed considerably less nose dive under braking, and less squat under hard acceleration. Its also possible to get onto the gas much much earlier in the turn.

Installation of a Tracklink is not as bad as its made out to be. Below are some notes and instructions that were the result of the installation on my 1998 Camaro.

To do the installation on jackstands, you'll need the following parts:

1) Extra set of washers for the bolts. We ened up putting washers on both sides of the bolts, just "because"

2) Jackstands

3) A bottlejack - you'll use this to hold the base plate in place while you drill the holes.

4) A thick blanket to lay on (Your back will thank you later)

5) 2' or so of fuel line.

Notes:

These pictures are huge (1280 x 1024) in order to ensure that no details are lost at a lower resolution.

Some of these pictures were taken off of my '98 Camaro, otheres were taken off of a 1995 Camaro.

Globalwest has three Tracklink kits for 4th generation F-body cars. They are for 1993 - 2000 cars with manual transmissions, 1993 - 1997 cars with automatic transmissions, and 1998 - 2000 cars with automatic transmissions. The difference between these cars are the the beams. The transmission crossmembers are different between these three types of cars. The instructions below apply to a manual transmission car. I have not done an automatic transmission car, but I belive the installation is the same, but don't quote me on that :-) - On a side note, if you have an automatic trans car, and have done a Tracklink, please email me and let me know how it went, and if you can get pictures of the front transcrossmember mount, I'd greatly appreciate it.

Installation Instructions:

There are a few minor differences between '93 - 97 cars and 98 and later cars. I'll attempt to document the differences we encountered on my 1998 car here.

1. Get the car up on jackstands as high as you can get it.

2. Remove the driveshaft tunnel crossmember.

2. Remove the stock torque arm. There are two bolts in the back on the rear axle, and two at the front mount point that hold the bushing in place. You may have to tug and twist to get the arm out of the front.

3. Undo the clips that hold the fuel and brake lines to the inside of the transmission tunnel. Figure 4 shows where the final resting place of the plate will be to give you an idea of how much you'll need to relocate to get the rear plate in. Don't forget to loosen up the fuel and brake lines up the driveshaft tunnel (indicated by the arrow in Figures 3 and 4). These will need to be free in order to allow the beam to sit as close to the side of the tunnel as possible.

4. For 1998 and later cars only:

LT1 cars have 4 steel lines running down the driveshaft tunnel. They are the fuel feed, fuel return, evap and brake line. As you can see from figure 4 these lines are organized in a vertical stack.

LS1 cars have three lines, fuel feed, evap and brake. LS1's have an in-tank fuel pressure regulator, and the return line is Tee'ed off between thef uel filter and the tank. On an LS1 car, these three lines sit in the plastic clips in a triangular stack.This makes them "thicker" than the LT1 lines. This extra thickness will not allow the beam to sit close enough to the driveshaft tunnel to clear the driveshaft. You will need to remove the plastic clips that these lines sit in, and grind off the two 'outboard' clips on the driveshaft side of the clip, and then relocate the third line underneath the other two lines in a spare clip mount. This will allow the lines to site vertically so there's enough room for the beam to clear. You will want to take some fuel line, cut it into 1" strips and place it every 6" or so on the lines down the driveshaft tunnel to prevent them from rubbing together and puncturing.

5. Remove the the lower part of the driver's side rear seat. There's a single bolt in the front that holds it in place. Lift up the carpeting so you can feel the metal of the floor through the hole in the carpet.

6. Position the beam so that the front of it sits ontop of the trans crossmember, and the plate is sitting roughly in place. Use the bottle jack to hold the back plate in place. You'll need to move the fuel & brake lines to slide it in. CRITICAL: Make sure that the donut on the beam clears the driveshaft with about 3/4" room. Double check this twice, and then check it again and then have a friend check it. This is very important, once you start punching holes in the floor, there is no turning back. The plate needs to be solidly on the bottom fo the car, and the front of the beam needs to be resting on the top of the trans crossmember, and shoved all the way agains the side of the driveshaft tunnel.

7. Once the plate has been secured, proceed with drilling the holes. Follow the sequence that are in the instructions from GW (I belive you start at the center and work your way out). Unfortunately, I dont have the copy of the instructions that came with the Tracklink. One key note, be sure to torque the bolts down completely. Go through the bolts one more time after torquing them.

8. Here's where I differ from GW's instructions. Globalwest's instructions say to scripte the hole for the front beam mount point, pull the crossmember and drill it. I opted to drill a small pilot hole with a 'guess, and the line it up with the larger drill bit and make the final hole. The choice is yours, if you don't feel comfortable with your hole drilling capabilities, go with pulling the crossmember. To pull the crossmember, simply support the transmission with a jack, unbolt the trans mount from the crossmember, and undo the four bolts holding the crossmember in.

9. For 1998 and later (LS1) cars.
On these cars, the trans crossmember is slightly different, its double walled. Simply drilling one hole through both walls and attempting to torque the bolt down will not work, you won't reach the required 70 ft/lbs. To do this installation right, you will need to pull the crossmember. Go ahead and scribe the top where the beam will sit and pull the crossmember. Drill the hole from the top down through both sides, and test fit the crossmember and make sure the hole lines up. Then with a larger drill bit, enlarge the hole in the bottom part of the crossmember. This new hole will need to be large enough to accomodate the bolt and washer. Re-install the crossmember and bolt everything up and torque it up to 70-ftlbs.

Nick: snicko@noid.org