TB real-time help!

[pfran42]

What the hell am I doing wrong? I read every thread on this. I must be missing something. For the T-bars I removed the front two nuts on the "torque arm", I then removed the anchor bolt completely. I was fairly concerned about rust on the splines but the BP did its job and I can move the TB in and out of the female coupling with my hand. The front wheels are off the ground, but there is no way to get enough clearance to free the TB from the rear female coupling. I need some real-time help. I have to work in the AM.

Note splines are completely free floating:

Front nuts are off

 

[jgray]

In your second picture where the two bolts attach the torque arm on you should be able to slide the arm back onto the bar and drop the front out first then remove the bar.

 

[pfran42]

In your second picture where the two bolts attach the torque arm on you should be able to slide the arm back onto the bar and drop the front out first then remove the bar.

Thanks...I think I figured a different way around it. I didn't notice till a minute ago but the outboard anchor bolt comes completely out enabling you to rotate the whole assembly in a manner which allows the anchor bracket in the rear to clear it's bracket.

I wasn't thinking the the torque arm side could side forwards or backwards.

Got it out.....other side should be cake.

 

[OregonLC]

yep, you leave the arm in place and slide the bar rearward. that's why there's a hole in the mounting bracket on both sides. in fact, IIRC, I left the 30mm bolt in place too.

 

[pfran42]

Finished...That was a job that you have to do to fully understand. My problem was that after I had unbolted everything, the torsion bar seated in the rear anchor (even though loose and floating) could not be moved far enough into the hole in the anchor arm frame to clear either the front or rear splines. The arm on it was rotated up and into the anchor arm frame in a manner that prevented it from sliding into the hole. Once I figured out that the outboard torque mount bolt in the front could easily be removed, I was able to rotate the entire assembly (front torque mount, torsion bar and rear anchor arm) so that the anchor arm could clear the anchor frame and slide into the anchor arm assembly hole. From there, I just slid the rear anchor arm off of the torsion bar, set it aside and passed the remaining connected torsion bar/forward torque mount forward through the frame and on to the ground.

I think I could now do this job in about an hour. Too bad this is a one and done type of thing.

 

[TheFuzz]

You can drive your motivated ass out here and do mine if you want to.

 

[pfran42]

You can drive your motivated ass out here and do mine if you want to.

I was planning on doing all of this over the weekend but those pretty boxes were just begging to be opened.

BTW Fuzz, my truck came from 10 years of life in Chicago. If the PO strictly stuck to aggressive mall-hoppin', there is a good chance your splines aren't in bad shape rust-wise. A couple of taps with a brass hammer was all it took to free them and I am not even sure that was necessary. All splines had a thick coat of grease and the only corrosion was right where they snugged up into their female counterparts.

If you have studied the threads (which obviously I didn't do well enough), this job should take under 2 hours. Make sure to clean the female parts and get a thick coat of grease on the spline interface as well as on the adjusting bolt threads. I did this and I can now easily adjust my TBs without having to keep jacking the truck up prior to every adjustment. It's nice to be able to dial in the front height without having to head home and pull out the floor jack just to raise or lower the front by 1/8".

Also, does anyone have the recommended torque specifications for the front torque mount bolts? I have a habit of breaking bolts and I don't want to over tighten them.....and are we supposed to use some sort of thread lock?

 

[2000UZJ]

I need to re-index mine. Or put your old, less abused and much newer ones in mine. I have no idea how any of that works, just the concept of how a t-bar works.

 

[pfran42]

I need to re-index mine. Or put your old, less abused and much newer ones in mine. I have no idea how any of that works, just the concept of how a t-bar works.

You can have them. I'll let you use tools, garage, etc. Can't do it this weekend as I have family in town but next weekend might work. Start with the PB Blaster now!

And now for the diff drop....

 

[jgray]

What shocks are you going with?

 

[1loudLX]

Make sure to clean the female parts and get a thick coat of grease on the spline interface

that just made me




Fuzz, you STILL havent done yours?

 

[2000UZJ]

You can have them. I'll let you use tools, garage, etc. Can't do it this weekend as I have family in town but next might work. Start with the PB Blaster now!

And now for the diff drop....

Sounds good, this weekend is no good for me either as I have to work.

 

[TheFuzz]

I was planning on doing all of this over the weekend but those pretty boxes were just begging to be opened.

BTW Fuzz, my truck came from 10 years of life in Chicago. If the PO strictly stuck to aggressive mall-hoppin', there is a good chance your splines aren't in bad shape rust-wise. A couple of taps with a brass hammer was all it took to free them and I am not even sure that was necessary. All splines had a thick coat of grease and the only corrosion was right where they snugged up into their female counterparts.

That is EXTREMELY good to hear, since my hoopty is a former Chi-town vehicle too.

Fuzz, you STILL havent done yours?

Dude, I have been rediculously sick this week. Spent all three days off primarily in bed. Started feeling better just in time for my work week to begin, what luck...

Since the rig is sitting in the parking lot all week, I might pull the tails off and de-orange/paint them this afternoon. I'll need your floor jack for the TB's though, can I swing by and pick it up some time this week?

 

[pfran42]

What shocks are you going with?

Sticking with whatever the PO had installed...Some Monroe "high-end" model. I can't make up my mind between, Bilstein HDs, Bilstein 5125s, JDs UCA + Bilstein 5100s, JDs King + UCAs, and Total Chaos UCA + Fox w/ remote reservoir. I know, I know, I am all over the place. Too bad I can't seen to nail down a price range.

It actually rides really, really good right now. I may just do sliders and rear bumper first in order to give me a feel for what I have since I have been rushing through the mods so fast that I can't remember what the Michelin LTXs felt like!

 

[Gunney]

cummon, im sure I did a pretty straight forward thread for this?

 

[bamabrock]

no before and after pics?

 

[pfran42]

no before and after pics?

Still tweaking the front. Got the diff drop installed last night and noticed that I was close to out of threads on the driver's side so I re-indexed the new OME bar. Now thread counts on both sides are a near match and have tons on adjustability left.

 

[pfran42]

cummon, im sure I did a pretty straight forward thread for this?

Your thread is great but it gets kind of hazy with the exact steps necessary to remove a torsion bar. Wasn't yours about re-indexing anyways?

 

[pfran42]

Got everything dialed in. Very impressed with the firmness of the ride.

Before:

After:

 

[scottm]

.....and are we supposed to use some sort of thread lock?

Medium or low-strength threadlocker would seal up the threads with a plasticky seal, keeping out moisture and preventing corrosion. I'd highly recommend it if you want to be able to adjust these on occassion. Low strength only comes in the liquid, not so convenient, but worth using.