ok so forgive if this is a dumb question and I'm probably misunderstanding and I haven't taken anything apart yet but if the TB is keyed how would reindexing help since the TB can only go into the splines in one configuration. Wouldn't this end up in the same configuration every time?
For those with torsion bar questions (3 Viewers)
- Thread starter Gunney
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awesomeissquid
SILVER Star
The groves on the TB are like a 12 point socket. They can rotate any way and still fit. That’s how the splines work.
Maybe an odd question, but should I aim to have the same measurement from hub center to wheel arch on the left and right sides?
My 100 currently sits 1 1/4 inch lower on the driver’s side. Of course this is like due to this side carrying more weight over the course of 22 years, and possibly never being adjusted. (Stock suspension)
My 100 currently sits 1 1/4 inch lower on the driver’s side. Of course this is like due to this side carrying more weight over the course of 22 years, and possibly never being adjusted. (Stock suspension)
Okay, so lacking a quick reply, I took advantage of the cool weather here in SoCal today and put something like 8 full turns in my left side TB which brought the whole car into balance as far as I see it. The front fenders sit 20 inches over the wheel center and the rears sit 21” over.
To bring the front and back closer than that was going to require re-indexing, and since I have a lift kit coming in the next few weeks, I don’t want to tackle that right now. Right now I don’t know the ideal balance of front and rear heights.
One question though, if all that I did was turn one TB without re-indexing, do I need to have it re-aligned?
To bring the front and back closer than that was going to require re-indexing, and since I have a lift kit coming in the next few weeks, I don’t want to tackle that right now. Right now I don’t know the ideal balance of front and rear heights.
One question though, if all that I did was turn one TB without re-indexing, do I need to have it re-aligned?
20 front, 21 rear is good.
If you're doing a lift soon then it's okay to wait for an alignment, unless you have steering issues.
If you're doing a lift soon then it's okay to wait for an alignment, unless you have steering issues.
Thanks for the thoughts on interim alignment.
No steering issues to report in a drive across town, but the fronts did settle back down to 19 1/4” while the rear is still balanced at 21. It will have to stay that way for the next few weeks.
No steering issues to report in a drive across town, but the fronts did settle back down to 19 1/4” while the rear is still balanced at 21. It will have to stay that way for the next few weeks.
Hello from Bavaria, Germany everyone,
I need some serious help please.
I just replaced all Four (bags), with brand new ones (purchase them from a gentleman in England).
I have also replaced almost all suspension components (too many to list).
I have flush the system (AHC). Twice within the last 30 days.
Problem:
I still have a bouncy ride, what can I do?
Will adjusting the torsion bar eliminate the bouncing in the rear? If so how May I approach the fix?
Thank you,
Alex
I need some serious help please.
I just replaced all Four (bags), with brand new ones (purchase them from a gentleman in England).
I have also replaced almost all suspension components (too many to list).
I have flush the system (AHC). Twice within the last 30 days.
Problem:
I still have a bouncy ride, what can I do?
Will adjusting the torsion bar eliminate the bouncing in the rear? If so how May I approach the fix?
Thank you,
Alex
I may be confusing myself here, so please help me understand this better. Right now my droop is 3 inches, or about 76 mm. Since 50-60mm is the minimum droop, does that mean I’m OK? Or do I need to lower the front end to get to that 50-60mm range.
50-60 mm is the minimum. If you have more thats even better.
For anyone reading and fearing the TBs, after doing them they were much easier than I initially feared. I actually think I prefer them to dealing with coil springs.
That's said, be careful when trying to knock the torsion adjustment arm off the end. On one side mine came off fairly easily. On the other it was not budging, so after seeing some of the rust belt horror stories I start smacking it harder and harder. And I mean HARD. Every whack or two I'd look and there was no movement. My method was to put a vice grip on the TB right in front of the cross member so the bar couldn't slide back. If not the bar will just slide back and the torsion adjust arm hits the back side of the pocket it lives in and so driving the adjustment arm will just smash the arm against the frame. After bashing and bashing with no movement I reached up and found I could just slide it off by hand! My only theory is that hitting the arm hanging down twists the bracket on the TB so maybe it was binding up on the splines. Otherwise I can't explain why hitting it had no effect when it was so easy to get off.
Just thought I'd let others learn from my idiocy. Sometimes more force is not more better.
That's said, be careful when trying to knock the torsion adjustment arm off the end. On one side mine came off fairly easily. On the other it was not budging, so after seeing some of the rust belt horror stories I start smacking it harder and harder. And I mean HARD. Every whack or two I'd look and there was no movement. My method was to put a vice grip on the TB right in front of the cross member so the bar couldn't slide back. If not the bar will just slide back and the torsion adjust arm hits the back side of the pocket it lives in and so driving the adjustment arm will just smash the arm against the frame. After bashing and bashing with no movement I reached up and found I could just slide it off by hand! My only theory is that hitting the arm hanging down twists the bracket on the TB so maybe it was binding up on the splines. Otherwise I can't explain why hitting it had no effect when it was so easy to get off.
Just thought I'd let others learn from my idiocy. Sometimes more force is not more better.
Suspension upgrades are very popular in Australia and one of the first things many of us do to our 4x4s. I have read through most of the posts here and didn't see any mention of the possible problems associated with lifting a 100 series.
Being IFS vehicles with CV joints when you adjust the torsion bars and raise the front you are also changing the angle of the CV joints and can dramatically increase the rate at which they will wear out. It is generally thought that lifting the front end anything over 2 inches (50mm) will cause headaches and create the need for a diff drop kit to be installed as well. The diff drop kit does what the name implies, it is a replacement crossmember where the diff mounts to. This will lower the differential and lessen the angle of the CV joints as a result which will decrease the extra wear and tear on them. In addition to the diff drop kit you may also need to replace the upper control arms with adjustable ones to allow the wheels to be correctly aligned.
So please take note and be careful just how far you go with your lift. You might just cause yourself a world of pain and damage.
Also thank you to the OP for the great post, I need to re-index my torsion bars despite them being recently upgraded.
Being IFS vehicles with CV joints when you adjust the torsion bars and raise the front you are also changing the angle of the CV joints and can dramatically increase the rate at which they will wear out. It is generally thought that lifting the front end anything over 2 inches (50mm) will cause headaches and create the need for a diff drop kit to be installed as well. The diff drop kit does what the name implies, it is a replacement crossmember where the diff mounts to. This will lower the differential and lessen the angle of the CV joints as a result which will decrease the extra wear and tear on them. In addition to the diff drop kit you may also need to replace the upper control arms with adjustable ones to allow the wheels to be correctly aligned.
So please take note and be careful just how far you go with your lift. You might just cause yourself a world of pain and damage.
Also thank you to the OP for the great post, I need to re-index my torsion bars despite them being recently upgraded.
Very good points. I should have mentioned that I have dobinsons UCA and a Trail Tailor differential drop.
GTV
SILVER Star
As others in this thread have noticed, rotating the drivers (left) side torsion bar counterclockwise is incorrect. Since the adjustment arms point towards the inside of the vehicle and the goal is to increase the distance between the arms and the threaded blocks above them, the arms (which are attached to the rear of the torsion bars) must go downward. That means the left side must rotate clockwise and the right side must rotate counterclockwise.
Once again, this is incorrect:
This thread is very helpful but this oversight in the first post by @Gunney should be amended.
Once again, this is incorrect:
This thread is very helpful but this oversight in the first post by @Gunney should be amended.
Last edited:
GTV
SILVER Star
Sift through this thread and you will find them. I wasn't the first to notice it.
Easy enough to fix and if you take a moment to think about how the torsion bar works, it makes sense.I think the topic is a bit confusing, as it depends on what you're talking about. @GTV is correct if you're talking about direction to offset the splines in the front mount to pre-load the bar. The bar itself rotates counter-clockwise at the adjustment arm on the DS. But that means if you want to pre-load, which means moving the end of the torque adjustment arm DOWN when it is installed (as he noted), that will actually rotate the bar clockwise where it inserts in the mount on the LCA. That said, if you're looking at the adjustment arm from the front and offsetting it there to add pre-load (which is the angle you're looking at it if you're trying to line up a spline with the master spline on the adjustment arm), when you move the end of the arm down to get the pre-load you're rotating the arm counter-clockwise 
Ultimately I found the clockwise/CCW stuff more of a pain. At the end of the day if you want preload you move the end of the adjustment arm down, regardless of passenger or driver side. Turn the bar in the direction that moves the end down more and not up more and you'll always get more pre-load, which in turn lifts the front.
Ultimately I found the clockwise/CCW stuff more of a pain. At the end of the day if you want preload you move the end of the adjustment arm down, regardless of passenger or driver side. Turn the bar in the direction that moves the end down more and not up more and you'll always get more pre-load, which in turn lifts the front.
GTV
SILVER Star
I understand what you're saying but this is flawed. Equally flawed would be to say if you're looking at the vehicle from the front then the drivers side (US) is the right side. It is not. SOP is the drivers side is the left side as you sit in the vehicle and the left side torsion bar needs to rotate clockwise from the same perspective.
The photo I reposted shows the left side torsion bar reindexed in the wrong direction, plain and simple.
