Are Torsion Bars Sided?

[timoth123 37 1 Cars]

So during the rebuild of my rebuild I'm sure I put the right torsion bar back on the correct side.

 

But now the car is back on the ground one side is dropping slightly and the higher side feels firmer than the other.

 

I'm hoping I've just been a numpty and managed to swap them around during the rebuild. Would this make a difference?

 

I hoping the difference in ride height is down to having to compress one side a little to get the torsion bar in! I used two different dummy shocks (flattened copper tube) which I don't think I drilled that accurately. Now have one dummy shock that was done on a cnc machine so is now perfectly the right size.

[Tom Fenton 1,540]

Compressing one side is a recipe to get it uneven. You only need 1 dummy shock anyway as you do one side at a time.

Before anything else reset the ride height, the bars should slide into the splines with only gentle hand pressure. There are a different number of splines each end which gives a vernier effect. Keep rotating the bar until it will slide home without forcing it.

[mrfirepro 127 1 Cars]

Hi Tim,

 

Hope you dont mind me hijacking you thread, but I did the same. Infact I had to use Toms puller tool to pull them in as I could not get them to line up precisely. I was pretty sure I had them the correct way round but there was no way the end could be just pushed on by hand. Is there any way to check without the beam being on the car?

[jord294 91]

Yes. Torsion bars are handed.

 

At the d/e stud end there will either be 3 markings or 2, just on the edge of the m8 hole.

 

3 markings is o/s bar

2 markings is n/s bar

[timoth123 37 1 Cars]

Well there ya go. Quick and easy answer from people in the know. Thank you very much Tom and Jord.

 

Sounds like your in a similar boat as me paul with using not quite as accurate dummy shock. Or maybe not rotating the bt enough to line up so having to compress it slightly. I can send my dummy down to you if you need after this weekend? I'll be resetting mine on Saturday.

[Anthony 1,002]

Make sure that the splines on both the bar and arms are clean as you're going to struggle to get the bars back in if they're grotted up with rust. The drivers side splines are normally pretty bad for this as they're the most exposed to the elements.

 

As Tom said, they should slide in with minimal pressure once it's lined up correctly - you certainly shouldn't need to use a puller!

 

Also, use lots of copper slip or similar on the torsion bar splines and fixings - you'll thank yourself for it if/when you need to work on the beam again in the future as it'll all come apart nicely rather than being corroded together.

[mrfirepro 127 1 Cars]

Oh Crap.....thankfully I used copious amounts of copper slip.

 

I dont remember it being a problem with the splines matching up, but had to use the puller on the end of the TB to pull the shafts into the tube. Does this sound very wrong, have I ballsed it up.

 

Tim, that would be great let me know what the postage is?

[jord294 91]

Oh Crap.....thankfully I used copious amounts of copper slip.

 

I dont remember it being a problem with the splines matching up, but had to use the puller on the end of the TB to pull the shafts into the tube. Does this sound very wrong, have I ballsed it up.

 

Tim, that would be great let me know what the postage is?

you did fit inner bearings to correct depth i hope ??

[mrfirepro 127 1 Cars]

yes 20cm with the fat part of the old shaft, should the shafts fit in with little resistance?

 

 

 

http://s1238.photobucket.com/user/mrfirepro/media/205%20projects/P1020829_666x500.jpeg.html

Edited April 1, 2014 by mrfirepro

[welshpug 1,655]

An old shaft isnt the right shape on the end really, the arms should just slide on.

 

As the guys have said, it can be quite a task to get all the rust off, but even when theyre a bit stubborn you should still be able to get them started on the right splines easily.