Sagging Demon, Help

[Demon_Dan]

ive got a 318, 1972 Demon. The owner before me upgraded the rear leafs to the "super stock" leafs ...the problem im having is the front end feels like its dragging on the floor , my poor hooker headers are flattened already and when i crank up the torsion bars the wheels come out of alignment. is there anything i can do to get that front end to sit higher?

 

[tobysoldblue]

dont let anybody tell you they never wear out either.Ever bend a piece of wire back and forth?eventually it breaks.torsion bars are made of spring steel,but after years of flexing back and forth,and carry the weight of the car,they were,or lose there spring.MY 73 dart wont even hold the slant six up with the bars crancked all the way up.You need new torsion bars.

 

[speedyb-cc]

Does the front end raise when you adjust the t-bars? if it does set it where you want and have the alignment checked.

 

[6pk2goDemon]

I agree with speedy.

When the torsion bars are adjusted up or down, the alignment will change drastically.

 

[Demon_Dan]

yes the camber (sp?) goes out and makes it impossible to get a proper alignment when you raise the torsion bars, im really at wits end with this front end, short of reinstalling stock leafs to lower the rear , im not sure how to make this front end float higher

 

[grumpuscreature]

If you can crank the torsion bars up enough to get the car sitting right but your camber is off, you may want to try a set of MOOG K7103 upper control arm bushings. These are offset and give you a bunch more adjustment. Personally, I would change the torsion bars since they have sagged to the point that the factory camber adjustment is out of range. The Super Stock springs were never intended for street use. I would get rid of them too unless this is a drag only car. A pair of .890" bars should work well with HD rear springs. A broken torsion bar is not a pretty sight, especially at speed. One other thing; you can't raise the front end high enough for a set of Hookers to NOT drag on the street and still be able to drive the car normally.

 

[demon seed]

Measure the O.D. of the bars in the middle, you may have a set of light duty ones in which case you can upgrade to a slightly larger bar.

Terry

 

[Demon_Dan]

just for ***** and giggles would it also make sense if i put OEM leafs back in the car the front end would be more inclined to come up a bit also?

 

[Ace]

The header problem's never going away, no matter what you do, at least with the Hookers. If the torsion bars are not worn out, set the front end height correctly, line it up, and be done with it. SS springs are fine on the street if you use heavy duty shocks and get the height where you want it. The rear can be lowered about 2 in. by flipping the front spring hangers upside down. This setup works great with SS springs on my Duster, looks stock, and I only ever drive it on the street.

 

[Demon_Dan]

ok so ill give up on the headers =( .thanks for all the really great advise its appreciated ..the rest of the problem is the wheels making rubbing noise when i make a turn , maybe the front tires are too big? ill have to write down the size and maybe even take a pic of the front end for you to take a look at

 

[LJS30]

It's definately your t-bars. Trust me, they do indeed wear out and when worn out, things can get dangerous on the freeway at high speed.

 

[2 Darts]

You didn't say if the previous owner had the T-bars out before. It's possible that the T-bars are not "clocked" properly. I had to disconnect the lower control arm from the brake and control rod to rotate sufficiently low enough on my .860 T-bars. I installed the T-bars with the least upward movement of the lower control arm. Upon completion, I had plenty of adjuster travel to bring the SB up to recommended ride height. In retrospect, I probably could have gotten away with the control rods attached to the lower arms.

 

[Aaron]

Before I rebuilt my suspension I had a similar problem. I can't say for 100% certain, but I though it was due to the completely worn out lower control arm bushing(s). I know the strut rod and t-bar center the lower control arm, but my bushings were almost all gone. Its hard to check them with the arms installed, but with the t-bars out it should be easy to see if there is alot of play in there, also make sure the t-bars are on the correct left and right sides.