Torsion Bar Indexing

[Joel Talka]

Hi Guys,

I think I have all my electrical gremlins sorted out thankfully. Now, things that are supposed to light do light when they are supposed to! Those #%$#$#&( LEDs that were in the dash; 5 of 8 were defective. I did find and install a new circuit board and checked all continuity to a new ground...

Now the next issue... Someone mentioned a while ago that torsion bars need to be "indexed". My car had a set of 6 cylinder bars which I swapped out for bars from a big block car. I have a shop manual and pretty much followed it when I made the swap... I know I have the left and right bars properly installed.. The question is "indexing" what should I have done when I installed the bars (that looks like I did not do). Is there anything that explains how to do this?

Thanks again!

Joel

 

[AR67GTX]

Well, the most important thing is to install them on the correct side. There is a left and a right side bar and they are identified as such. After that, if you have removed the upper a-arm rubber bumper, loosened or removed the shock, and loosened the lower control arm bolt to allow the suspension to hang at full droop, the bar should normally slide right into the LCA with no drama and it will be indexed or clocked properly. If it doesn’t slide in easily then Look for some reason the suspension isn’t hanging freely - or it’s possible it may need to be raised very slightly to allow the hex sections to mate up. You almost can’t mis-clock the bar with a hex fitting - it would be so far out you wouldn’t even be able to get the car cranked up off the LCA bumper.

 

[Joel Talka]

Well, the most important thing is to install them on the correct side. There is a left and a right side bar and they are identified as such. After that, if you have removed the upper a-arm rubber bumper, loosened or removed the shock, and loosened the lower control arm bolt to allow the suspension to hang at full droop, the bar should normally slide right into the LCA with no drama and it will be indexed or clocked properly. If it doesn’t slide in easily then Look for some reason the suspension isn’t hanging freely - or it’s possible it may need to be raised very slightly to allow the hex sections to mate up. You almost can’t mis-clock the bar with a hex fitting - it would be so far out you wouldn’t even be able to get the car cranked up off the LCA bumper.

Thank you for this explanation...but one other question. When the LCA is hanging down does the adjusting arm (in the middle) need to be all the way up or all the way down? I don't recall how it was situated when I installed the Torsion bars, most likely was all the way down....everything went together without a hitch. My problem is that even with the front end off the ground, I cannot turn the adjusting bolts..they just will not turn even when I use a 1/2" torque wrench. They stick out about 2" which seems like a lot and not what I remember from back in the 70's. Now to be honest, the bolts and plates are new and probably not the best.

 

[AR67GTX]

The adjusting bolts need to be backed off and the levers hanging down. If you can’t turn the adjusting bolts with the wheels off the ground I’m afraid they must be frozen with rust or possibly someone tried to adjust the height of the car without first unloading the suspension and galled/stripped the bolts. In they are new bolts/ plates they shouldn’t be as tight as you describe.

 

[Joel Talka]

Thanks again... These bolts are new as are the plates. Probably junk. I'll look around for a set of originals and refinish and put them in... A lot of the reproduction stuff does not work well. Hey, Thank you for your help, it is greatly appreciated.. Best, Joel

 

[AR67GTX]

Well, they are an interference fit but you should be able to turn them with a standard length 1/2” ratchet without any great struggle, but I’ve never bought new replacements so I’m not sure what to expect from them. You might try adjusters from PST and they give a discount to members here. At least if they are crazy stiff you will have someone to complain to about them.

 

[65wgn440]

I would check that when suspension is loaded, that the end of the adjuster bolt is seated properly into the receptacle/lever on lower control arm. Then, if you completely unload suspension and your adjuster bolt is completely turned out ( no threads showing on top of nut ), you should be able to actually lift the tire/suspension up by hand or with light pressure on a prybar. If you can, but still can't turn adjusters, then yes, it would seem you may have stripped/seized threads. If not, then you may not have bars indexed/clocked properly.