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Torsion bars still won't budge...HELP PLEASE. #291895 04/18/09 03:14 PM 04/18/09 03:14 PM
Joined: Aug 2004 Posts: 8,526 Tenn. jrwoodjoe OP master
jrwoodjoe OP master Joined: Aug 2004 Posts: 8,526 Tenn.	The car is on stands with no load on the suspension, the tensioners have been loosened and the bump stop removed. Using a torsion bar tool, I have banged and banged on them with no luck. Some of you have mentioned loosening the lower control arm and then knocking it back to force the torsion bar out. So I may try that now but have 2 questions. Question 1: I have the jack stands supporting the frame rails at the firewall area. Is the front of the car flexing to the point that it is still causing the tension on the bars? I have a photo showing where the jack stand is located. 5172447-DSCF0018.JPG (179 downloads)

Re: Torsion bars still won't budge...HELP PLEASE. [Re: jrwoodjoe] #291896 04/18/09 03:15 PM 04/18/09 03:15 PM
Joined: Aug 2004 Posts: 8,526 Tenn. jrwoodjoe OP master
jrwoodjoe OP master Joined: Aug 2004 Posts: 8,526 Tenn.	Question 2: To loosen the lower control arm I will need to loosen the nut in the photo and then knock the Bolt towards the rear of the car...correct? Thanks. 5172449-DSCF0022b.JPG (189 downloads)

Re: Torsion bars still won't budge...HELP PLEASE. [Re: jrwoodjoe] #291897 04/18/09 03:31 PM 04/18/09 03:31 PM
Joined: Jan 2003 Posts: 8,064 Arlington, Texas earlybee master
earlybee master Joined: Jan 2003 Posts: 8,064 Arlington, Texas	My rust free 65 flexed bad when I put the jack stands in that spot with a 440 in it. Now i use the k-frame.

Re: Torsion bars still won't budge...HELP PLEASE. [Re: jrwoodjoe] #291898 04/18/09 03:32 PM 04/18/09 03:32 PM
Joined: Jan 2003 Posts: 13,585 md M mopars4ever I Live Here
mopars4ever I Live Here M Joined: Jan 2003 Posts: 13,585 md	Yes, tap the lower control arm towards the rear. I wouldn`t tap on the bolt. I tapped on the control arm with a piece of wood for cushion. Also, put a jack under the k frame to relieve the stress.

Re: Torsion bars still won't budge...HELP PLEASE. [Re: jrwoodjoe] #291899 04/18/09 03:33 PM 04/18/09 03:33 PM
Joined: Jan 2003 Posts: 21,072 Niles , Ohio T therocks oh wait.but hey.lets see.oh yeah.
therocks oh wait.but hey.lets see.oh yeah. T Joined: Jan 2003 Posts: 21,072 Niles , Ohio	Try melting some wax around the hexs.I had one in the 65 that wouldnt budge.Heated the hex with a propane torch and melted a bees wax candle in it and it came right out.Rocky Chrysler Firepower

Re: Torsion bars still won't budge...HELP PLEASE. [Re: jrwoodjoe] #291900 04/18/09 04:23 PM 04/18/09 04:23 PM
Joined: Jan 2003 Posts: 5,268 NY 7 70440+6bbl master
70440+6bbl master 7 Joined: Jan 2003 Posts: 5,268 NY	Quote: The car is on stands with no load on the suspension, the tensioners have been loosened and the bump stop removed. Using a torsion bar tool, I have banged and banged on them with no luck. Some of you have mentioned loosening the lower control arm and then knocking it back to force the torsion bar out. So I may try that now but have 2 questions. Question 1: I have the jack stands supporting the frame rails at the firewall area. Is the front of the car flexing to the point that it is still causing the tension on the bars? I have a photo showing where the jack stand is located. Probably a silly question, but I assume that you removed the lock rings at the back of the T-bar anchors? I have had a couple of tough t-bar removals and usually a BIG hammer does the job with some PB blaster sprayed in the sockets.

Re: Torsion bars still won't budge...HELP PLEASE. [Re: jrwoodjoe] #291901 04/18/09 04:47 PM 04/18/09 04:47 PM
Joined: Apr 2007 Posts: 807 Toronto, Canada D dirtybee super stock
dirtybee super stock D Joined: Apr 2007 Posts: 807 Toronto, Canada	i noticed that no one else mentioned it so... don't forget to also remove the nut on the front of the strut rod or the lower control arm won't budge either.

Re: Torsion bars still won't budge...HELP PLEASE. [Re: dirtybee] #291902 04/18/09 06:29 PM 04/18/09 06:29 PM
Joined: Apr 2005 Posts: 4,920 new berlin wisconsin M Mr T2U master
Mr T2U master M Joined: Apr 2005 Posts: 4,920 new berlin wisconsin	sometimes if the car hasn't been driven in some time the tension arms for the torsion bars rust in place. just because you loosened the bolt doesn't mean you released the tension on them. maybe check that. also i just removed a torsion bar to replace the starter and had to loosen the nut in the suspension pic to get the are to release enough to reinstall the bar. another simple thing that is sometimes forgotten is the clip at the rear of the bar. did you remove them? i don't think they will hold the bars in that good but you never know. just tossing those ideas at you. Last edited by Mr T2U; 04/18/09 06:33 PM. perception is 90% of reality

Re: Torsion bars still won't budge...HELP PLEASE. [Re: 70440+6bbl] #291903 04/18/09 07:04 PM 04/18/09 07:04 PM
Joined: Aug 2003 Posts: 8,716 Baltimore/Denver 64Post master
64Post master Joined: Aug 2003 Posts: 8,716 Baltimore/Denver	Quote: Probably a silly question, but I assume that you removed the lock rings at the back of the T-bar anchors?

Re: Torsion bars still won't budge...HELP PLEASE. [Re: 70440+6bbl] #291904 04/18/09 07:43 PM 04/18/09 07:43 PM
Joined: Aug 2004 Posts: 8,526 Tenn. jrwoodjoe OP master
jrwoodjoe OP master Joined: Aug 2004 Posts: 8,526 Tenn.	Quote: Probably a silly question, but I assume that you removed the lock rings at the back of the T-bar anchors? Thanks but yes, that was the first thing I did. Quote: sometimes if the car hasn't been driven in some time the tension arms for the torsion bars rust in place. just because you loosened the bolt doesn't mean you released the tension on them. maybe check that. Thanks, They are extremely loose and wriggle around so I don't see a problem there. The one thing I noticed was that that the torsion bar at the rear mount looked like it was "pushed up", I'm starting to think that the reason is the front end of the car is flexed down causing it to bind some. I'm going to jack some tension off the front end as some of you have mentioned to see if that helps. I'll also shoot some WD-40 or Blaster on the bushings tap the control arm back as suggested. Probably be a few days before I can work on it again. Thanks for all the advice everyone. It very much appreciated. Last edited by jrwoodjoe; 04/18/09 07:49 PM.

Re: Torsion bars still won't budge...HELP PLEASE. [Re: mopars4ever] #291905 04/18/09 07:52 PM 04/18/09 07:52 PM
Joined: Aug 2004 Posts: 8,526 Tenn. jrwoodjoe OP master
jrwoodjoe OP master Joined: Aug 2004 Posts: 8,526 Tenn.	Quote: Yes, tap the lower control arm towards the rear. I wouldn`t tap on the bolt. I tapped on the control arm with a piece of wood for cushion. Also, put a jack under the k frame to relieve the stress. Thanks, I wasn't thinking when I said tap the bolt.

Re: Torsion bars still won't budge...HELP PLEASE. [Re: jrwoodjoe] #291906 04/19/09 12:26 AM 04/19/09 12:26 AM
Joined: Feb 2005 Posts: 4,884 Michigan MNobody master
MNobody master Joined: Feb 2005 Posts: 4,884 Michigan	I had one bar on my coronet that wouldn't budge, when i backed off the adjuster the arm didn't rotate down it was froze where it pivots. I beat the crap outta that bar even with the correct clamping block on it until i realized what was going on.

Re: Torsion bars still won't budge...HELP PLEASE. [Re: jrwoodjoe] #291907 04/19/09 07:11 AM 04/19/09 07:11 AM
Joined: Jan 2003 Posts: 2,402 Wichita,KS B Blakcharger440 top fuel
Blakcharger440 top fuel B Joined: Jan 2003 Posts: 2,402 Wichita,KS	I recently had a problem installing some torsion bars as my lower control arm would not droop enough for the hex to align with the torsion bar. I loosened the upper ball joint (with a ball joint remover keeping the nut on but loosened so the whole brake assembly wouldnt drop). This allowed the lower control arm to fall enough for me to install the torsion bar easily.

Re: Torsion bars still won't budge...HELP PLEASE. [Re: Blakcharger440] #291908 04/20/09 05:40 AM 04/20/09 05:40 AM
Joined: Jun 2004 Posts: 409 R runningman super street
runningman super street R Joined: Jun 2004 Posts: 409	I had some problems with mine recently also, I loosened the LCA nut and used a pry bar between the k-frame and LCA and pushed the entire assembly back with broke the torsion bar free.

Re: Torsion bars still won't budge...HELP PLEASE. [Re: runningman] #291909 04/20/09 12:46 PM 04/20/09 12:46 PM
Joined: Dec 2007 Posts: 18,157 Mass DAYCLONA I Live Here
DAYCLONA I Live Here Joined: Dec 2007 Posts: 18,157 Mass	Having parted an untold number of Mopars over 30 years,...I've come across a few torsion bar removal problem were the hex end swelled, and distorted the hex receiver in the crossmember, the bar seemed loose, but wouldn't slide out.......remedy, lose the bar, cut it, so you can slide the rear cut section of bar forward out of the hex,.....now you can file, or dremel the rear of the hex bore to size, to slide in your replacement

Re: Torsion bars still won't budge...HELP PLEASE. [Re: DAYCLONA] #291910 04/20/09 01:30 PM 04/20/09 01:30 PM
Joined: Nov 2008 Posts: 1,565 tennessee P pushbutton pro stock
pushbutton pro stock P Joined: Nov 2008 Posts: 1,565 tennessee	Hit the socket on the LCA that the bar slips in with a hammer, sometimes this helps.

Re: Torsion bars still won't budge...HELP PLEASE. [Re: pushbutton] #291911 04/20/09 04:38 PM 04/20/09 04:38 PM
Joined: Jun 2003 Posts: 3,318 Southern Maryland klunick master
klunick master Joined: Jun 2003 Posts: 3,318 Southern Maryland	When I took mine off I had a similar problem on the drivers side. As I am doing a complete rebuild, I loosened the LCA all the way and finally just took an angle grinder and cut the stupid bar. I was positive there was no pressure on the bar and their wasn't, but I sure was nervous as all heck while doing it. Finally, I beat the bars out from the back as even with cutting them and pulling the one end out the front, the back would just not budge. 67 Barracuda FB 69 Superbee "Southern Maryland: If you want a good looking woman, you had better bring her with you"

Re: Torsion bars still won't budge...HELP PLEASE. [Re: runningman] #291912 04/20/09 06:55 PM 04/20/09 06:55 PM
Joined: Mar 2007 Posts: 5,660 Flint, MI Gusteve I Love the Unicorn Song!!
Gusteve I Love the Unicorn Song!! Joined: Mar 2007 Posts: 5,660 Flint, MI	Quote: I had some problems with mine recently also, I loosened the LCA nut and used a pry bar between the k-frame and LCA and pushed the entire assembly back with broke the torsion bar free. Yup - just did that same thing about a week ago. 3 foot claw-bar between the K-Frame and the LCA.

Re: Torsion bars still won't budge...HELP PLEASE. [Re: jrwoodjoe] #291913 04/22/09 04:50 AM 04/22/09 04:50 AM
Joined: Jul 2005 Posts: 51 Martinez, California C Challenged member
Challenged member C Joined: Jul 2005 Posts: 51 Martinez, California	A couple years ago I had allot of trouble removing mine. I eventually ended up putting a floor jack under the LCA and raising it a bit while checking the t-bar side, I could actually see the LCA loosen up around the T-bar when the flat areas lined up, this also helps if you have trouble reinstalling the t-bars. Before putting the t-bars back in I gave them a good greasing at both ends, recently I removed them again and they came out easily.

Re: Torsion bars still won't budge...HELP PLEASE. [Re: jrwoodjoe] #291914 04/24/09 11:37 PM 04/24/09 11:37 PM
Joined: Nov 2007 Posts: 372 PA M moparboy66 enthusiast
moparboy66 enthusiast M Joined: Nov 2007 Posts: 372 PA	I had to cut one off on my '66 Coronet. I then saw the LCA bushing holding the pivot arm was so worn out to one side, that the torsion bar still had tension on it. The harder I hit it, I simply increased the tension momentarily. I finally cut the bar, and both end simply dropped out. 5186707-LCAbushing.jpg (96 downloads)

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