Bump stop without clearance - cause of squeaking?
Yes, that could definitely be the reason for the squeaking and groaning noises. Your suspension is pretty much entirely that bump stop at this point
Yes, you should raise the suspension using the torsion bar adjusting bolt, if you can. I doubt you have enough adjuster left to get 1” of clearance.
It looks like your adjusters are already most of the way in, so, you probably won’t be able to get the car where it actually needs to be. That’s a symptom of worn out torsion bars. Just like any spring, torsion bars sag over time. They just do it radially, so the car lowers itself.
Based on your pictures, it looks like it’s time to rebuild the suspension with new torsion bars, bushings, and probably even shocks if you intend to drive the car much. Personally I would increase the size of the torsion bars as well, but given that I don’t know what your plans for the car are I’ll leave that alone for now.
If you do raise the car with the adjusters, you’ll need a new alignment as well. This is the method for setting the factory ride height, it’s in the factory service manual. “V&L” is the carline for an A-body.
And if you’re running radial tires and not bias ply tires ignore the factory alignment specs and use these
Yes, that could definitely be the reason for the squeaking and groaning noises. Your suspension is pretty much entirely that bump stop at this point
Yes, you should raise the suspension using the torsion bar adjusting bolt, if you can. I doubt you have enough adjuster left to get 1” of clearance.
It looks like your adjusters are already most of the way in, so, you probably won’t be able to get the car where it actually needs to be. That’s a symptom of worn out torsion bars. Just like any spring, torsion bars sag over time. They just do it radially, so the car lowers itself.
Based on your pictures, it looks like it’s time to rebuild the suspension with new torsion bars, bushings, and probably even shocks if you intend to drive the car much. Personally I would increase the size of the torsion bars as well, but given that I don’t know what your plans for the car are I’ll leave that alone for now.
If you do raise the car with the adjusters, you’ll need a new alignment as well. This is the method for setting the factory ride height, it’s in the factory service manual. “V&L” is the carline for an A-body.
And if you’re running radial tires and not bias ply tires ignore the factory alignment specs and use these