BAFRAID
She’s looking like a Super Bee again!!
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Easy way to get new rubber seals on your torsion bars
- Thread starter BAFRAID
- Start date
Mike67
Well-Known Member
Where were you 3 months ago with this tidbit??? Lol!
BAFRAID
She’s looking like a Super Bee again!!
Well, although it’s a good idea it’s even a better idea to get the torsion bars slid through the torsion boxes prior to bolting the K frame into the car. Once that’s in it’s not possible to slide the torsion bar through The front side. so now the seals have to come off so that I can put them back on the correct side. Or I take the lower control arm off again. Son of a motherless goat!!!
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BAFRAID
She’s looking like a Super Bee again!!
Actually wasn’t so bad with everything new and greased up.
Mike67
Well-Known Member
Putting it on the torsion bar wasn't too bad lol!...but I did fight that thing what seemed like 45 minutes trying to get it to seat on the cross member..
BAFRAID
She’s looking like a Super Bee again!!
Well, removing the lower control arms wasn’t so bad. Got them both off, got the torsion bars in and everything back together. it also gave me a chance to torque the lower control arm pivots to their correct torque spec.
kp1226
Active Member
The best way I've found is to pack the seal with grease, install it on the crossmember, take a hose clamp and tighten it around the seal and the t bar socket, take the t bar and quickly stab it through the t bar socket and you're done. No heating,stretching, cussing etc. I've done this with poly and rubber and works like a charm.
ckessel
Well-Known Member
Hey, BAFRAID, do you know Chuck Fenly? He lives over by Pechanga. Had a Charger, now has a yellow Ranchero.
fastmark
Well-Known Member
I never had any problems with oem but these aftermarket ones are very hard to put in. With the bars in the car, it’s almost impossible. Thanks for the tip. That will help next time.
BAFRAID
She’s looking like a Super Bee again!!
I don’t. I honestly don’t see a lot of B bodies around town. I’ve seen one coronet RT near my house and a couple years ago I saw a charger 500 out at a car show quite a ways from my house.
ckessel
Well-Known Member
He sold the Charger to a guy in Ranchita that we both used to work with. Maybe 5 years ago. Anyway, will remember your tip on the boots when its time for me to do so.
BAFRAID
She’s looking like a Super Bee again!!
I know Ranchita well. It’s a nice little hide away before you drop into Boreggo Springs. Hope it helps when the time comes to do yours.
ckessel
Well-Known Member
When we used to live in Ramona, I would use 79 to drop into PD on my trips to Vegas. South of the 371/79 intersection, on 79, there was a guy who has a shop close to the road that had a b-body. Couple miles or so south of that rv park. Also in Oakgrove there was someone who had a few older b-bodies in the 63-5 era.
BAFRAID
She’s looking like a Super Bee again!!
I know the shop you are talking about. It’s gone now. A lot of the area is being developed. The oak grove area I drive through once in a while and have not seen anything recently.
ckessel
Well-Known Member
In Oakgrove, it was just past the fire station on the rh side if heading south.
Jeremiah
Well-Known Member
I beat them on with a rubber mallet at room temperature.
Should be playing golf
Well-Known Member
Excellent idea! My wife would be the one to come up with an idea like that right after I ruin them from beating on 'em for a few hours, cussing, going for more beer, then beating on them again. Should have asked her first!
I don't know why they don't make these things with a little bit larger hole. I slid 4 of them on to a chrome socket a hair bigger than the torsion bar - one at a time - with a greased funnel and 3 of the 4 tore at the front lip - one a complete split. I guess the partial split at the front won't hurt anything but why they make these things such a pain I don't understand. Maybe the hot water is the trick - not feeling like spending another $40 for another set.
Boiling water trick has come in handy a few times with poly gaskets. One time on my ’97 Dodge 1500, a nylon roller on the power window linkage that rides in a channel popped out. It was also flattened on one side. Go figure, no parts to be had; dealers said not rebuild-able, need to buy a whole new regulator...WDH. My brother who was a mechanic in his early days, remembered some GM parts that resembled the rollers (can’t recall exactly what anymore). He got me a couple at his bud’s dealership and were a near perfect match; but next hassle was how to press those suckers on the pin. Boiled ‘em in water and became pliable enough to press onto the pin. Had a similar hassle with the parking light gaskets on my ’63 Plymouth to stretch them enough to seat and align with the mounting holes. Anyone having a ’63 working on those damn gaskets might know. I never found anything so wildly out of spec than those gaskets, much less trying to find them.
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