This is only one side. I can’t remove the other even with penetrating oil and propane torch with shovel on breaker bar for leverage.
Torsion bar adjustment bolt completely wrecked on a rust free vehicle.
- Thread starter JungleMunkee
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Front wheels off the ground right?
Try and screw in first- then clean off with penetrant- Sometimes crud will build up around the exposed threads- then gets hung up on its way through and binds when you start unscrewing it
Try and screw in first- then clean off with penetrant- Sometimes crud will build up around the exposed threads- then gets hung up on its way through and binds when you start unscrewing it
they should not be hard to turn at all. (make sure your front wheels are off the ground) and try tightening it first, then loosen
I don't think I've ever seen threads stripped like that. Kinda looks like someone used JB Weld at some point to fix the stripped threads - added material to recut the threads. Strange either way.
Looks like someone tried to adjust with an impact and wheels on the ground.
Mauser
Supporting Vendor
It galled, probably from trying to adjust the torsion bars with the tires on the ground. I had that happen, ended up cutting it with a torch to replace it. You will need both the bolt and the nut part. Pretty sure I paid around 80 bucks for both parts.
- Thread starter
- #9
Yeah looks like I’ll need to cut. I ordered 2 bolts and 2 swivel nuts…$154.
- Thread starter
- #10
Driver’s side… finally. Really didn’t want to cut so I risked breaking it off instead lol
Glad you are doing things the right way. And isn’t it so disappointing that simple things like this get wrecked by s***ty technicians or idiot prior owners!?!
Brutal
i can't believe that DS came out without breaking. take the small wins where you can...
Sorry to hijack this thread. I think I just learned something new. I did not know that I need to keep the wheels off the ground when adjusting the torsion bar.......
I had turned the DS clockwise 4 turns about 10k miles ago and turned the PS clockwise 4 turns about 1k miles ago with the wheels on ground.
So did I cause any damage by doing that? And is there any remedy I can do?
I had turned the DS clockwise 4 turns about 10k miles ago and turned the PS clockwise 4 turns about 1k miles ago with the wheels on ground.
So did I cause any damage by doing that? And is there any remedy I can do?
^ you can get underneath and have a look to see if exposed threads are damaged. If you look at the pictures posted above you can see the threads are rounded the entire length of the bolt- the area above the galled section. This is from being run in/out with wheels on the ground.
IndroCruise
SILVER Star
If you have been using generous doses of thread penetrating oil before starting and if you were able to turn the torsion bar adjusters without too much drama, then it is less likely that any damage has been caused. Best to have a close look at the exposed bolt threads.
It helps to reduce the load on the torsion bars by raising the vehicle with wheels clear of the floor. This makes actually turning the adjusters easier.
This would be a good idea where the adjusters are very stiff, such as if a lot of rust or road grit is present, and/or there are concerns about ‘galling’ between parts (meaning metal is transferred from one part to the other in contact, as shown in the dramatic pics in this thread). In this case, suggest clean up visible parts of bolt threads as best possible with a wire brush to minimise rust, mud, road grit being dragged between the threads on the bolt and the nut, then be very liberal with thread penetrating oil – apply multiple doses several days before making torsion bar adjustments. Then start with multiple turns counter clockwise to ease the bolt – working with, not fighting against the torsion bar spring, aiming to ease the contact pressure between threads of bolt and nut and improve oil penetration, Then have another look at what thread you can see, use the wire brush again, more thread penetrating oil, then turn the bolt in opposite directions aiming to free the thread. Gently. Steady force rather than violent wrenching leverage which can cause or worsen 'galling'. Vibration can help -- by firmly striking the bolt head with a hammer. Sometimes flame heat may help, aiming to have the nut warmer than the bolt to increase thread gaps and relieve thread contact pressures -- see plenty of youtube videos on the general idea – in this case just be very careful to avoid flame contact with wiring, fuel lines, brake lines, aircon lines, AHC lines and especially AHC pressurised components.
Whatever, actual measurements of the effect of the adjustments must be done with the wheels on the ground, preferably after a short drive around the block to settle the suspension.
Assuming that your LX470 still has a functioning AHC system, note that the torsion bar adjusters have only two purposes:
1. ‘cross-levelling’ the vehicle – measured with vehicle on a level surface (like a garage floor not in the street), wheels on the ground, without uneven side-to-side load distributions or weight additions in or on the vehicle – see attachment. [The point is to equalise the load carried by each torsion bar, to avoid different spring effects and different turning effects side-to-side,, and also eliminate any side-to-side ‘lean’],
2. adjusting the Front AHC pressure – done by increasing the share of vehicle weight carried by the torsion bars by turning the torsion bars adjusters clockwise, thereby reducing the share of vehicle weight carried by the AHC system and in that way reducing the AHC pressures. The reverse is done in the less usual circumstance of the AHC pressures needing to be increased. [The point is that damping -- and therefore ride comfort -- is best when the AHC pressures are well within the FSM-specified ranges. The Toyota Electronic Modulated Suspension (TEMS) real time adaptive damping is controlled by the Damping Force Control Actuators (to which the ‘globes’ are attached}, in response to signals from the Suspension Electronic Control Unit (ECU). Damping is poor when AHC pressures are too high or too low or when 'globes' are in poor condition -- or when a fault condition (usually with a relevant DTC) causes the ECU to prohibit operation of the AHC and TEMS systems and places them into 'fail safe mode'].
Different to a conventional suspension, the torsion bar adjusters cannot be used to adjust the vehicle ‘ride height’ on a functioning AHC suspension – this can be done only by using the Height Control Sensor adjusters to set the ‘ride height’ at “N” height setting.
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Thats galling, stainless does this when to look at it wrong. You shouldn't adjust with the weight of the vehicle on the springs and use some kind of oil on the threads. Sometimes it's unavoidable, it's caused by fiction.
@IndroCruise Thanks so much for the detailed reply. Yes, my LX470 AHC is functional. I did not have much resistance when I turned the torsion bar bolts on both sides. I turned the driver side bolt to reduce the AHC pressure. The turns on the PS are aiming to level the front end as I recently noticed that DS is about 1 inch higher than PS. The FSM pdf is very helpful. I believe I will need to tighten one side and loosen the other side.
- Thread starter
- #19
Of course, nobody around me has the swivel anchor so I get to wait forever with a disassembled vehicle. The worst part of these aside from mpg…
Where can one purchase these parts? I am having a hard time finding them.
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