Torsion Bar Install

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Joel Chapman

Joel Chapman

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Jul 28, 2019
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Location
Mountain Home, ID/ Hughson, CA
So I am in the process of swapping out my old bars, and ran into a little bit of a hickup. Any one have any tips on how to get the bar to seat all the way in so I can install the clip? Right now I have everything lose and I can get the torsion bar in to the point where the rear of the new bar is even with the end of the socket where you install the clip. So again any one have any ideas on how to get it in there the rest of the way with out just beating on it? FYI when I try and tap on it the rest of the way in it just bounces in and out. All this is in a 71 dodge dart with a 360.
 
Was the socket in the LCA cleaned out Properly? I have seen some where a bent rail would let em out, but not back in! Have you tried a wooden dowel, or chunk 'o Broomhandle with a baby sledge tap?
 
Ironracer said:
Was the socket in the LCA cleaned out Properly? I have seen some where a bent rail would let em out, but not back in! Have you tried a wooden dowel, or chunk 'o Broomhandle with a baby sledge tap?
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Yea it was a few times to makes sure nothing is wrong with it! lol I haven't tried a wooden dowel or broom handle yet. Not gonna lie just as soon as I typed out my post I thought why not trying an old socket that would fit in the key way. But since I had already typed it all out and I always get great answers on here and I figured Id let it go and see what turns up. Some people here are really great at thinking out side the box at things I would never have thought of.
 
Joel Chapman said:
Yea it was a few times to makes sure nothing is wrong with it! lol I haven't tried a wooden dowel or broom handle yet. Not gonna lie just as soon as I typed out my post I thought why not trying an old socket that would fit in the key way. But since I had already typed it all out and I always get great answers on here and I figured Id let it go and see what turns up. Some people here are really great at thinking out side the box at things I would never have thought of.
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Really good group here! I've beat one fee with an old deep impact socket. Just thinking metal is Frowned upon Highly due to the twisted Torsional load....Definitely Don't used Vise grips to remove / install. Someone with more knowledge than me will pop in soon, I reckon
 
The main thing is making sure there is zero load on the LCA. It needs to be absolutely hanging loose. Keep turning the adjuster bolt out until it is flopping. Unbolt the shock if it's still attached. Unbolt the swaybar if you have one. Remove the bump stop on the upper control arm.
 
mvh said:
The main thing is making sure there is zero load on the LCA. It needs to be absolutely hanging loose. Keep turning the adjuster bolt out until it is flopping. Unbolt the shock if it's still attached. Unbolt the swaybar if you have one.
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Its to the point where I can twist it in my hand. The only thing still attached is the strut rod.
 
Was there any powder coating on the new bars hex ends? If so, it should be removed.

You can also hydrolock the socket if you put in too much grease. A little bit of grease is good, but if you put a ton of it in there it can actually prevent the torsion bar from seating.

I would never use those torsion bar tools on a new bar, they can slip and damage the bar. Personally I think those tools are useless, I remove the bars using the LCA. And once you go much past a 1” bar those tools don’t fit all that well anyway.
 
I'm working on a car that has no engine installed, so that gives me a little bit of wiggle room. Plus, the bars had not been installed for a long time, so they were not full of grunge. Here is how I knocked the torsion bar loose.
I had a piece of 1/4" neoprene that I wrapped around the bar. I loosely put a pipe wrench on the neoprene, cocked the wrench a little toward the back of the car and whacked the wrench one time. Presto!
Pulling T-bar20220729_123628.jpg
 
There’s no need to grab the bar with anything. Disconnect the LCA from the spindle and shock, remove the strut rod nut and the LCA pivot nut. Use a dead blow hammer or rubber mallet to tap the LCA back and presto! Torsion bar comes out.

If you think that sounds like a lot of work, well, pretty much everything that has to be disconnected to use the LCA to push the bar back has to be disconnected or loose to install the torsion bar again. And using the LCA there’s no chance your tool or grips or clamp will slip and damage the bar.
 
Alright @charliec, I gave you a chance to post your thoughts and I don't see them, so I'll post mine.

I've installed and removed torsion bars dozens of times on these cars. I've used multiple different tools and methods, from pipe wrenches to commercially made tools, and using the LCA is by far the best and easiest way to do it. No tool needed, and very little chance you'll damage anything.

And, using a pipe wrench on a torsion bar you plan to re-install is a really terrible idea. I don't care about the neoprene you used, it's really easy to screw up and put a gouge in the bar using a pipe wrench. And if you nick the bar with a pipe wrench, it's garbage. There are plenty of people that have had torsion bars literally explode when a crack forms off of a gouge in the bar.

Most of the time with recently installed bars if you completely unload the LCA by disconnecting the parts I listed above, the torsion bar will just slide out by hand, no tools needed at all. Which makes disconnecting a couple of extra things more than worthwhile.
 
72bluNblu said:
Alright @charliec, I gave you a chance to post your thoughts and I don't see them, so I'll post mine.

I've installed and removed torsion bars dozens of times on these cars. I've used multiple different tools and methods, from pipe wrenches to commercially made tools, and using the LCA is by far the best and easiest way to do it. No tool needed, and very little chance you'll damage anything.

And, using a pipe wrench on a torsion bar you plan to re-install is a really terrible idea. I don't care about the neoprene you used, it's really easy to screw up and put a gouge in the bar using a pipe wrench. And if you nick the bar with a pipe wrench, it's garbage. There are plenty of people that have had torsion bars literally explode when a crack forms off of a gouge in the bar.

Most of the time with recently installed bars if you completely unload the LCA by disconnecting the parts I listed above, the torsion bar will just slide out by hand, no tools needed at all. Which makes disconnecting a couple of extra things more than worthwhile.
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Ok
 
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