torsion bar adjustment puzzle

[shag766]

i finally got the nerve and the gumpsion to raise my front end on the 69 coronet friday evening. i placed it on the cement apron in front of the shop because i knew it was fairly level and jacked it up and put stands under it. using a 1/2" drive ratchet i could barely budge either nut. so i brought it in and put it on the 2 post hoist and stepped up to 3/4" ratchet and it still was a grunt to turn both nuts. got a lot easier with a 3 ft. pipe extension. with 4 rotations of each nut i gained about a 1/4" on both sides. hoping to gain about an 1" to 1.5". supper bell rang and i left it on the hoist for the night.
.
got back to it sat. pm and when i put the ratchet on and cranked, thinking a grunt was coming, i nearly fell on my noodle because it was real easy to turn. what i want to know is this normal for it to be that much different in required torque needed after it was off the ground all night, and how many rotations of the nuts is considered allowable. it seems like a lot to me. i have 6 rotations now. keep in mind this is the 1st time doing this. thanks; rick

 

[68sportsatelliteragtop]

From my experience, the adjusters shouldn't be that hard to turn. I would hose down the adjuster and the pivot point with some WD-40. Spray it in between the lower control arm and the actual torsion bar lever. I am able to crank mine up with the weight of the car on them. It depends on what bars you have in the car how much a turn will affect ride height. I have 1.03 bars in mine and a full turn will net about 1/2-5/8 inch. If you have to turn your adjusters in 6 turns for 1/4 in, that seems like a lot.The bars could be worn out. As long as the adjusters are not bottomed out, keep on cranking. After adjusting make sure you bounce the front end, I do it by, on a slow roll, hit the gas a couple times, followed by stab the brakes a few times, to settle in the suspension after adjustment. Then its off to the front end shop for an alignment.

 

[shag766]

bmp

 

[68sportsatelliteragtop]

You are turning the 3/4 head bolt that is located in the bottom of the lower control arm right?

 

[shag766]

You are turning the 3/4 head bolt that is located in the bottom of the lower control arm right?

its not 3/4, its 13or15/16 on the end of the torq. bar.

 

[68sportsatelliteragtop]

Here's a diagram

 

[Propwash]

its not 3/4, its 13or15/16 on the end of the torq. bar.

Sounds like you're tightening/loosening the Pivot Shaft nut and not what you need to Shag.

On the bottom side of your lower control arms are your torsion bar adjusting bolts. And when I say bottom side, I mean they face the cement under your car. Another thing, you should be adjusting a bolt......Not a nut.

Crawl under your car, look up at the underside of your lower control arms. About mid point of that Lower control arm you should see a bolt head. Use those to raise/lower/level your car.

BTW, if you were accidently messing with the pivot shaft straight forward from the torsion bar, you should re-torque that to 130 Ft/Lbs per the service manual.

Good luck.

 

[tpodwdog]

personally......i think you have POPEYE qualities and had yourself some SPINACH for dinner that night and the anchor on your forearm bulged with an overwhelming strength to easily turn the adjusting bolts for your torsion bars. thats what im thinkin '

 

[shag766]

good one dog

personally......i think you have POPEYE qualities and had yourself some SPINACH for dinner that night and the anchor on your forearm bulged with an overwhelming strength to easily turn the adjusting bolts for your torsion bars. thats what im thinkin '

well guys i facked up. yea go ahead laugh, damit. trust me i am laughing harder than you are and kicking my *** at the same time. not an easy trick. i can't find my manual since the hemi install and i was erie of doing this but it had to be done, scraped the dumps a couple of times. as stated in 1st post i was on the 15/16 nut and couldn't hardly budge it with 1/2 rachete so go big or go home, 3/4 rachete with 3 ft extension on the hoist. yea dog, popeye stripped them:angry9:.
.
thanks ragtop for showing me the light. now to straighten out the mess and order a NEW manual. oops reverse that. get the manual 1st., dumb ***.
. thanks guys!:confused5:

 

[Jim Bob The Dancing Bear]

So you where on the pivot shaft?

If so it isn't the end of the world. I have a set for sale used in the mechanical forum and you can get new one's from FirmFeel, Hotchkis, and PST. The Hotchkis and Firm Feel are greasable and what I have now.

 

[shag766]

thnx

So you where on the pivot shaft?

If so it isn't the end of the world. I have a set for sale used in the mechanical forum and you can get new one's from FirmFeel, Hotchkis, and PST. The Hotchkis and Firm Feel are greasable and what I have now.

thanks for the offer bear but i will order new grease-able ones. every thing else on the car is pretty much new and high end. this should be my last mopar for myself. a hemi coronet is getting close to the top of the heep. the couple of other ones i have are re-sales to make a couple of bucks. how much work is it to change the pivot shaft?

 

[Jim Bob The Dancing Bear]

Car up and front wheels off.
Losen torsion bar adjuster torsion bar retaining clip, slide torion bar boot up the torion bar (at the torsion bar crossmember) and slide torsion bar back.
remove lower ball joint from knuckle
losen bolt on pivot shaft
remove bolt on strut rod (I would do this at the lower control arm)
use a rubber mallet and on the lower control arm to remove the pivot arm from the K member

have the pivot shaft pressed out, (I would then sandblast or media blast and paint the arm)
use the mallet to install the new bushing and pivot pin.

reinstall in reverse order. grease the pivot shaft and torion bar on both sides. you need just enough grease on the lower control arm trosion bar register to keep it from squeeking. To much and you will never get the torion bar back in.

You should be able to do both sides in one day.

 

[coloradodave]

well guys i facked up. yea go ahead laugh, damit. trust me i am laughing harder than you are and kicking my *** at the same time. not an easy trick. i can't find my manual since the hemi install and i was erie of doing this but it had to be done, scraped the dumps a couple of times. as stated in 1st post i was on the 15/16 nut and couldn't hardly budge it with 1/2 rachete so go big or go home, 3/4 rachete with 3 ft extension on the hoist. yea dog, popeye stripped them:angry9:.
.
thanks ragtop for showing me the light. now to straighten out the mess and order a NEW manual. oops reverse that. get the manual 1st., dumb ***.
. thanks guys!:confused5:

Takes a big man to admit his mistakes and I, for one, respect you for it. We just keep learning lessons and the best outcome is a good laugh.......Any one of us could be next.