Is There A Guide Anywhere

[ScoobyJawa 23]

Mate is sticking springs on the front, and needs to adjust the rear torsion to suit. Done a search but must be a muppet as not coming up with anything too helpful!

 

Its for a Xsara VTS - but same principles as Pug sus

 

Cheers

[Jonmurgie 2]

http://www.205gtidrivers.com/ - then look in articles

[ScoobyJawa 23]

http://www.205gtidrivers.com/ - then look in articles

 

Ah flipping eck - I always forget about that! *slaps himself round head*

 

Thanks chap

[richiew205 0]

Use the search option you muppet lol

[bren_1.3 1]

Done a search but must be a muppet as not coming up with anything too helpful!

 

Use the search option you muppet lol

 

errrrrrrrrrr he did??

[richiew205 0]

Yeh Im pulling his leg before he did . He would of said the same to me I bet

[pug_ham 244 3 Cars]

IMO that guide isn't very good & I'm in the process of writing a better one for both the spline method & with the TB's removed (better way imo).

 

With both ends of the TB removed, taken from the guide I'm writing;

• Undo the Torx head screw that locks into the offset washer at the end of the torsion bar & with that removed also take the washer out.
  
  
   
  
  
   
  
  
• At the oppsite end of the torsion bar, remove the 13mm nut from the stud.
  
  
   
  
  
   
  
  
• Thread a threaded bolt (M8) into the end of the torsion bars with a nut & washers that are bigger than the offset washer hole in the radius arm into the torsion bar. Support the weight of the trailing arm so it isn't under any load from gravity. This is where a slide hammer can be helpful but if the beam has been rebuilt in the last few years they should come free easily. If the torsion bar can't be pulled out of the splines by hand tighten the nut (13mm) against the washer & radius arm to pull the torsion bar free, once it is moving you can hopefully pull it clear by hand, if not extra spacers will be needed. A suitably sized socket & longer M8 threaded bolt is useful here.
  
  
   
  
  
   
  
  
• Adjust the distance between the shock abosorber mounting points to the required distance to give the lowering you want (1.0mm of shock absorber length difference equals 3.0mm of difference in ride height). Support the arm properly to keep it this way whilst the torsion bar is refitted.
  
  
   
  
  
   
  
  
• With the splines in both the radius arms & on the torsion bats cleaned & freshly greased, slide the torsion bars back into place. The bars are specifically sided & marked accordingly from the factory (one painted ring for the right hand torsion bar & two for the left). Aftermarket bars might not be marked in this manner, if at all so one side at a time is the best way to avoid mixing them up or better still, mark them before removal. If you removed the stud from the inner end of the torsion bar whilst cleaning & greasing the splinbes, screw it fully back into the torsion bar.
  
  
   
  
  
   
  
  
• With the torsion bar fully seated home, refit the offset washer & torx bolt & tighten the torx bolt up so it pulls the torsion bar tight up against it. Then unscrew the stud at the opposite end until the instant you feel resistance & then lock the 13mm nut with it in that position.
  
  
   
  
  
   
  
  
• With both sides fully re-assembled & set at the same distance between shock mounting bolt centres, re-fit the antiroll bar in the same direction as it was removed, the ARB is also specifically sided as standard. At this point if you are unsure about the ride height compared to the front, refit the wheels & lower the car back onto the ground with the arb & shocks still removed, bounce on the hatch opening a few times & see how it looks compared to the front. If its a near match & you are happy (it will settle slightly more & change when the shocks are refitted), refit the ARB.
  
  
   
  
  
   
  
  
• With the antirollbar re-fitted & all tightend up, refit the rear shock absorbers. This is where it can be awkward if the lower bolt is stuck in the radius arm because the upper mount is harder to align to fit the upper mounting bolt through but if the lower bolt is free do the upper mount first but don't fully tighten any of the shock mounting bolts up until the car is back on its wheels. Once the shock absorbers are both re-fitted, fit the wheels again & remove the car from axle stands.
  
  

 

Graham.

[bren_1.3 1]

Undo the Torx head screw that locks into the offset washer at the end of the torsion bar & with that removed also take the washer out.

 

round off the torx bolt due to 15 years of crap, siezing it solid to the washer........... maybe you should include ways of getting the bolt unstuck????? not nitpicking just those torx bolts rarely come out as simply as it reads in the guide. maybe think about using a impact driver? mulgrips, or worst comes to worst drill the head off!

 

similarly the 13mm stud is normally 12mm by the time anyone thinks about undoing it.

 

i agree the main website guide can be slightly vague at times.

[pug_ham 244 3 Cars]

maybe you should include ways of getting the bolt unstuck?????

I've yet to have any trouble with them when using a decent impact driver.

 

Graham.

[BuD 0]

Some pics (click here) but I would follow Grahams technique, you could measure the hub to arch as well tho if you wanted to confirm the change.

Edited August 11, 2006 by BuD

[ScoobyJawa 23]

Cheers for all the replys fella's - turns out we didn't need to bother with the rear bar. Fitted the springs which dropped the front nicely (they fit all Xsaras with a 40mm drop but since the VTS is already 15-20mm lower than a standard car it just sat the front down another 20ish mm), but the rear of his Xsara has always sat lower than the front so its leveled out nicely and looks much better - not to mention how much better it drives now

[richiew205 0]

Good job dude, give yourself a goldstar

[niklas 1]

[*]Thread a threaded bolt (M8) into the end of the torsion bars with a nut & washers that are bigger than the offset washer hole in the radius arm into the torsion bar. Support the weight of the trailing arm so it isn't under any load from gravity. This is where a slide hammer can be helpful but if the beam has been rebuilt in the last few years they should come free easily. If the torsion bar can't be pulled out of the splines by hand tighten the nut (13mm) against the washer & radius arm to pull the torsion bar free, once it is moving you can hopefully pull it clear by hand, if not extra spacers will be needed. A suitably sized socket & longer M8 threaded bolt is useful here.

 

What do you do when this isn't enough??

[B1ack_Mi16 67]

What do you do when this isn't enough??

 

Take down the beam from the car, and bash inside of radius arm with sledgehammer.

That's the way I had to do it on a siezed 309gti beam that I just wanted the ARB and TB's from.

Ended up bashing it so hard the trailing-arms separated from the bearingshaft that was stuck in the tube

[niklas 1]

Take down the beam from the car, and bash inside of radius arm with sledgehammer.

That's the way I had to do it on a siezed 309gti beam that I just wanted the ARB and TB's from.

Ended up bashing it so hard the trailing-arms separated from the bearingshaft that was stuck in the tube

 

When that isn't enough then?

[B1ack_Mi16 67]

When that isn't enough then?

 

Then you throw it in the bin...

[niklas 1]

Then you throw it in the bin...

 

[pug_ham 244 3 Cars]

What do you do when this isn't enough??

Strip the radius arm off the beam & put an M8 nut & washer in the end where the stud fits, support the radius arm solidly with the TB vertical & using a sledge hammer hit the now protected end of the torsion bar to shock it free. I had to do this at the weekend on a beam I was adjusting (luckily rebuilt quite recently) & have done it several times on previous beam I've rebuilt with no problem.

 

Brutal but it works very well.

 

Graham.

[niklas 1]

Strip the radius arm off the beam & put an M8 nut & washer in the end where the stud fits, support the radius arm solidly with the TB vertical & using a sledge hammer hit the now protected end of the torsion bar to shock it free. I had to do this at the weekend on a beam I was adjusting (luckily rebuilt quite recently) & have done it several times on previous beam I've rebuilt with no problem.

 

Brutal but it works very well.

 

Graham.

 

I've tried it on a few difficult cases but on the worst ones it doesn't work. I'll try to beat harder the next time!

And I better find another solid support than the ground of the garage, now there's a little hole

[B1ack_Mi16 67]

I've tried it on a few difficult cases but on the worst ones it doesn't work. I'll try to beat harder the next time!

And I better find another solid support than the ground of the garage, now there's a little hole

 

I always use a couple of heat-guns (1kW each) that I point on the arm around where the splines is.

Then I go inside and do somethgin else for 10 minutes.

 

Afterwards when I come back the arm is really hot around the splines.

Always seem soo much easier to get it loose when doing this.

[pug_ham 244 3 Cars]

I've never had to use heat to free them yet but maybe I've been lucky.

 

Graham.