Installing torsion bars- shouldn't this be the easy part?

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MRGTX

MRGTX

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I struggled a bit getting the old torsion bars out of my '73 318 car...but eventually, they yielded after coughing up a few bucks for the torsion bar removal tool that I didn't want to buy. :D

So now I'm in the process of putting the new 1.08" Sway Away bars (yeah, I probably should have gone bigger for optimal handling)...and they're giving me a bit of trouble.

I started with the arm fully un-supported and I couldn't quite get it to seat into the socket so I raised the arm a few degrees, made some progress...The passenger side bar is about 1/2 of the way into the socket on the control arm...and it has taken a lot of whacking with the rubber mallet to get that far. Now the arm is flush with the body mount and I'm starting to hesitate before getting too aggressive with the torsion bar tool for the purposes of installation.

Before I go any farther;
Is it typical to have the bars put up a fight before sliding in? What am I doing wrong?

I did put a small amount of grease on the end of the bar and in the socket...could the tolerances be so tight that this is causing a problem?

Thanks for any tips!
 
Did you remove the upper control arm bumpers? Loosen the lower control arm nut?
Loosen the strut rod? Take off either tje upper, or lower sjock mount? Loosen the torsion bar adjuster completely? Removing the bump stops will give more drop. Everything else will give some wiggle room for the bars to slide in.
 
Mine were a pain also . Screw out the torsion bar bolts that are in the lca . Unbolt the shocks then undo the upper control arm ball joint from the spindle and lower the whole lower control arm assembly . They torsion bars should slide in . Hope this helps and it makes sense , kinda medicated right now hahaha !!!!! Back pain
 
Also , looking at the torsion bar crossmember , do the sockets that hold the rear of the torsion bar are fine meaning like they didn't break and somebody welded them clocked wrong ?
 
Since you had removal issues I'm thinking the sockets aren't quite in alignment. Did you loosen up the bushing nut?
Other than that I think I'd be checking for a burr being raised in the socket from a sharp edge on the bar end or even a high spot on the hex.
 
I beat the crap out of my old bars to remove them. I upgraded from slant 6 bars to 1.03" and didn't want to save the old ones. But the new ones slid right in by hand with a light coat of grease.
 
MRGTX said:
I struggled a bit getting the old torsion bars out of my '73 318 car...but eventually, they yielded after coughing up a few bucks for the torsion bar removal tool that I didn't want to buy. :D

So now I'm in the process of putting the new 1.08" Sway Away bars (yeah, I probably should have gone bigger for optimal handling)...and they're giving me a bit of trouble.

I started with the arm fully un-supported and I couldn't quite get it to seat into the socket so I raised the arm a few degrees, made some progress...The passenger side bar is about 1/2 of the way into the socket on the control arm...and it has taken a lot of whacking with the rubber mallet to get that far. Now the arm is flush with the body mount and I'm starting to hesitate before getting too aggressive with the torsion bar tool for the purposes of installation.

Before I go any farther;
Is it typical to have the bars put up a fight before sliding in? What am I doing wrong?

I did put a small amount of grease on the end of the bar and in the socket...could the tolerances be so tight that this is causing a problem?

Thanks for any tips!
Click to expand...

Are the bars powder coated on the hex's? If they are you need to sand that off to bare metal, grease them with a high quality lube and the should slide right in if they are not binding as a result of the issues mentioned above.
 
jbc426 said:
Are the bars powder coated on the hex's? If they are you need to sand that off to bare metal, grease them with a high quality lube and the should slide right in if they are not binding as a result of the issues mentioned above.
Click to expand...
My new bars were hard to get back in as well. Mine were powder coated and I didn't sand enough of it off the hexes before I put them in. They were greased well.
 
If they’re powder coated on the hexes it all has to come off. That was always my only complaint with Firm Feel, they powder coat the hexes.

Other than that I always install them with everything removed from the LCA as everyone else has already said- shock out, LCA pin nut loose, torsion bar adjuster completely removed (not just backed out), strut rod unbolted, sway bar unhooked, etc.
 
Excellent advice and input here, guys. Thanks to all. I never regret coming to this forum with my hat in my hands and admitting that I'm a total moron...and usually, I become slightly less of a moron each time! :D

Fortunately, SwayAway does provide the bars with the hexes un-coated. That is a good suggestion but not an issue here.

My car has lived a pretty easy life, never needed any significant repairs so I don't suspect that the body mounts are anything other than OEM/sold...but that's an interesting question so I will take a good look at them before I try again.

Where you guys were pretty unanimous (and something that I neglected) was in the suggestion to unbolt basically everything. I have the adjuster backed all the way out (finger tight)...but it's still in place. The new shocks are bolted up...which I didn't think would be relevant since the suspension appeared to be fully bottomed-out...but of course, it wouldn't take much to change the clocking of the socket.

So...I've got some stuff to try tonight! Thanks a million to all.
 
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67dodgedartconv said:
My new bars were hard to get back in as well. Mine were powder coated and I didn't sand enough of it off the hexes before I put them in. They were greased well.
Click to expand...

So obviously sanding off the coating is necessary but is there any worry about damaging the (heat-treated?) surface of the hex area? Evidently, nicking the surface of the spring elsewhere can lead to a failure due to how torsion bars bear the stress.
 
The load is carried primarily on the outside of the bars. But the hexes aren’t loaded like the bars, there’re basically the fixed portion with the loading happening from where they start to neck down. You wouldn’t want to gouge the crap out of them, but sanding the powder coating off the hexes isn’t going to hurt anything. As far as the heat treat goes, unless you heat them up to just short of glowing red you’re not going to hurt that.
 
Here's my home remedy. if you like!
To remove the torsion bars, I use an 18" pipe wrench and I have my car on a frame lift. You'need some height to work the 18" wrench and the tires off the ground. I don't know the correct nomenclature, but here goes.

First check the back of the TB and mark their position.
Take out the wire clip in the end of the T bar. Then move up front and, remove the height adjusting screws by turning it counter clock-wise until it comes out. But first, ( You will want to measure, and write down, how much of the hex head end of the screw is exposed and paint a corner of the hex. ) So you can put it back together exactly how you found it. 3/4" socket and a ratshit, it's fine threaded so don't use power tools.

If you're doing the drivers side and you are facing forward, place the open jaws of the wrench on the round looking socket- unit that holds the front of the bar. The jaws should be open to the right. Spray the T bar end with a little penetrating oil.

Close the jaws down and push or pull the bottom of the handle to the right ( counter clock-wise ) about an inch, it will stop, hold it there.
Pull the torsion bar straight back with your other hand, may need a glove or a rag if it's slick, it should easily come right out.

If you're doing the passenger side, the wrench goes on the opposite way, with the open jaws facing to the left. turning clock-wise just a little, hold, and remove.

Handle it the same way to insert the T Bars.

You may want to use a rag or a sand paper under the jaw teeth to prevent teeth marks on the round socket.

A shorter handled 14" pipe wrench may also work, if the jaw is wide enough.
Do not use a pipe wrench on the torsion bar, it's unnecessary and you will ruin the T BAR.
Do not scratch or nick the bar.
EASY PEEZY !

Johnny Dart quote:
Something else to remember.

Dont tighten the lower control arm nut(bolt through k-member), untill the car is on the ground, and the suspension height has been set.

Always loosen the lower control arm nut, when adjusting the height.

Failure to do either will damage/rip the lower control arm bushing.
 
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You say "rubber mallet". Get rid of that and get a real hammer. A real BIG hammer. If you are worried about the T bar, use something in between like a HARDwood block or a big scrap of brass. You want a "solid" hit. Personally, I'd just use a (preferably dead blow) hammer
 
You HAVE to REMOVE the upper rebound bumper, or forget it, they wont go in. The should slide right in. Always have for me, never had an issue...
 
I had to help a family member move this weekend so I didn't have too much time but after unbolting everything, I was able to get the passenger side to slide the rest of the way in...but it still took some whacks with the hammer and I don't even know if unbolting the shock made a difference.

Driver's side is still stuck half way in and I ran out of time...at this point I'm inclined to back it out, clean everything up, make sure there isn't excess grease anywhere and try again.

Just a quick question: Has anyone else actually installed Sway-Away torsion bars yet? Could they have a tolerance issue?

67Dart273 said:
You say "rubber mallet". Get rid of that and get a real hammer. A real BIG hammer. If you are worried about the T bar, use something in between like a HARDwood block or a big scrap of brass. You want a "solid" hit. Personally, I'd just use a (preferably dead blow) hammer
Click to expand...

Yeah, I've done a bit of that too. I have a trusty one-hand sized sledge hammer that solves all kinds of problems in my life. I gave the driver's side bar a bunch of whacks with through a piece of hard wood which didn't help...then I tried smacking it directly a few times...and my fear of doing real damage to the control arm, body mount and spring set in.

Usually I only resort to the big hammer when I'm 100% sure of the results and that's not where I am at the moment. I'm imagining damage to parts that I can't really afford to replace at the moment. :D

Thanks again for all of the input. I'm getting there little by little.

Fortunately or unfortunately, My part of Connecticut just got a fresh coat of road salt on Friday and the temps remain March-like for the next week so I don't feel like I'm missing out on hotrodding time just yet...but we're getting close. I already missed my March 30th deadline for wrapping up my list of winter projects.
 
With the upper ball joint and shock loose use a c clamp between the LCA and tensioner arm to rotate the torsion bar into position. you can watch the back mount to see when you are lined up, use your mallet to drive the bar into place, this has worked for me in the past.
 
Shouldn't need the "torsion bar removal" tool to install since easier to tap on the end of the T-bar. I never needed that tool to remove them. Just pry the LCA away from the K-frame (remove front nut first and wire retainer at end of T-bar). If the pivot bolt is stuck in the K-frame, tap its end w/ a hammer. Once the LCA and T-bar slide back, let it rotate so the T-bar aft hex no longer aligns w/ the base's hole, then tap the LCA forward. Since the T-bar can no longer go forward, it will slide out of the LCA. On install, if you pack too much grease, you may build up air pressure. Grease is just to stop corrosion, both at front and rear. I hope you installed the better polyurethane rear boot.
 
Old thread I know, but I had enough tension on the strut rod to pull the lower control arm out of alignment to make the bar hard to remove, impossible to install. Loosened strut-slide right in & out, no tool needed.
 
RogerRamRod said:
Old thread I know, but I had enough tension on the strut rod to pull the lower control arm out of alignment to make the bar hard to remove, impossible to install. Loosened strut-slide right in & out, no tool needed.
Click to expand...

Better late than never, Roger!
I can absolutely imagine that this tension could be a factor.

I've since pulled and reinstalled mine and they went in easier the second time when I had just installed new strut rods so that variable was different.
 
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