Torsion bar removal

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imager

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Ok this is what I have done so far.

1. Remove Upper control arm bump stops
2. Jack up car, remove wheels

The bolts will not move, i have used oil and let it sut for over a day.

I have used a 24" pull bar

I have used a 24" pull bar with a 36" black iron pipe for more leverage.

I have tried impact wrench...

It will not move either way...:banghead:


Any help or ideas??
 
"The bolts." What bolts? You mean the LCA pivot stud NUTS? Bigger (3/4 drive) or bigger (3/4 drive!!!????!?!??!) impact
 
if it's the torsion bar adjusting bolts, have you tried heating them with a torch?
 
Heat the flat nut that the bolt screws into,not the the bolt and X2 on the pb blaster. IF they are super rusty hit the threads with a wire brush. Did you try tightening them a tad before backing them out?
 
Yes Sir I tried to work them back and forth with no luck...

I do not have a large torch do you think a small hand held propane torch would get them hot enough??


Sedanman said:
Heat the flat nut that the bolt screws into,not the the bolt and X2 on the pb blaster. IF they are super rusty hit the threads with a wire brush. Did you try tightening them a tad before backing them out?
Click to expand...
 
Any heat will heat them up, and X2 on heating the flat "nut" instead of the bolt! Let that propane torch heat that puppy for a good couple minutes and try to work the bolt a little each way, it should comply with heat and patience!! Geof
 
imager said:
Yes Sir I tried to work them back and forth with no luck...

I do not have a large torch do you think a small hand held propane torch would get them hot enough??
Click to expand...


Yes, try propane on the "flat nut" for the adjusting bolt/nut. Penetrating oil, and a good "cheater bar" on the end of your wrench.


They sell replacement ones through Mancini.
 
Did u re move the rear retaining clip at the back of the torsion bar?
 

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You could just skip the step with the adjuster. Unbolt the shock, have a floor jack under the LCA and pop a ball joint loose it will allow the suspension to drop much farther releasing tension from the torsion bar. Once it is unloaded you should be able to pry the adjuster bolt/block out of the arm. Had to do it this way on a challenger that the head snapped off of the adjuster.
 
I just had the lower control arms on my '65 dart off, from my experience you may as well find some more bolts now so you're not waiting on them to put it back together like I was. I was able to get mine off with a 1/2" breaker bar, it took about an hour each side, and when I got them off the threads were stripped on the bolts
 
This seems weird. If there isn't something seriously wrong with those threads he should be able to get them going with some penetrant and a breaker bar at least. And with a 24 inch and pipe he could ring them off.
I've never had that much trouble with many cars on this part.
 
I scared the hell out of my self when I used the 36" iron pipe and i saw the jack stand move....:shock:

I will heat them up this weekend and try again....


Thanks everyone for all the help......



adriver said:
This seems weird. If there isn't something seriously wrong with those threads he should be able to get them going with some penetrant and a breaker bar at least. And with a 24 inch and pipe he could ring them off.
I've never had that much trouble with many cars on this part.
Click to expand...
 
adriver said:
This seems weird. If there isn't something seriously wrong with those threads he should be able to get them going with some penetrant and a breaker bar at least. And with a 24 inch and pipe he could ring them off.
I've never had that much trouble with many cars on this part.
Click to expand...


And where in this fine world do you live? Here in the rustbelt bolts freeze, seize, and weld themselves together. The t-bar adjuster bolts are large fine thread bolts which means a very large amount of contact surface for corrosion. Those strange people that don't get to experience real rust will never understand just what it is.
 
mcnoople said:
And where in this fine world do you live? Here in the rustbelt bolts freeze, seize, and weld themselves together. The t-bar adjuster bolts are large fine thread bolts which means a very large amount of contact surface for corrosion. Those strange people that don't get to experience real rust will never understand just what it is.
Click to expand...

Somewhere they don't weld themselves together, I guess.
Clean the threads if possible and try Kroil before you ruin anything.
 
Beside heating the flat nut, try hitting the bolt with a hammer many times. Not hard enough to distort the threads. Your goal is to vibrate the penetrating oil into the threads and lubricate the rust. As oil gets in the threads, any motion from hammering acts like a hydraulic pump, generating tremendous pressure, which drives the oil in further.

As mentioned, if you can unload the T-bars, even without backing out the loading bolts, you will be able to slide the pivot bolt back and get the T-bar out. Don't give up on the car. If your LCA's are rusty junk, you could get new rust-free ones from CA or AZ, maybe even w/ sway bar brackets. Cheaper than trying to clean and paint pitted ones. If you disconnect the upper ball joint, there should be nothing left loading the T-bars. BTW, I am a Jax native (Sandalwood HS) and know corrosion. Glad to leave it mostly behind in NorCal.
 
clean off offending threads, right up next to the shoulder the flat nut--smack the 3/4 head with a bfh, (repeat) spray pb blaster-- acetone/t fluid mix on the threads,

if your on jack stands-- place car on ground to use maximum force leverage on offending bolt.

it should 'pop' when it breaks loose-- if you have impact-- break it loose manually then impact it tighten /loosen/spray

I would be leery of leaving tension on & popping the ball joints loose.

Lawrence
 
First point... Impact wrench will not work. The rotating hammer effect it has is lost in the movement of the nut block.
Second point.. many years of stress distorts the threads in that nut block as much or even more than the bolts threads within it.
Third point.. it is a replacible nut by design.

If you are rebuilding suspension...
You could...
Take the lower ball joint apart. Take the strut rod apart. Take the lower bushing pivot pin apart. Drive the entire lower arm assembly rearward.

If your task is torsion bar replace only... Cut the adjust bolt above the nut block.
Don't be surprised if the torsion bars are still frozen in place. If so the rebuild suspension method will be required. Good luck with it
 
Oh, try a little heat on the nut before you spray it.
Seems to suck the oil into the area for some mysterious reason.
And tap it like he said.
Repeat as necessary.
 
VDART said:
I would be leery of leaving tension on & popping the ball joints loose.

Lawrence
Click to expand...

Nothing to be afraid of as long as the arm has a floor jack supporting it. When you lower the jack the arm will swing down through its travel. This is nowhere near as dangerous as the same job on a coil front spring car(GM) where the only thing holding the spring in place is the arms and the springs can shoot out. On a torsion bar mopar you just have to be careful that the arm doesn't swing down and hit you or the floor. But you must unbolt the front shock on one end since it is a suspension travel stop and you don't want to overextend the shock .
 
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