Cranking the torsion bars...

[espidus]

Hey everybody, stupid question....but I have not done this and could not find the answer in these threads. I was going to crank my torque bars, I found the Bolt to turn but have no idea which way to turn it to go up ( as im not too strong , I dont wish to do extra work by doing it both ways to find out ). I also noticed that that on the passengers side, the screw which sticks out opposite of the bolt to crank has about 1" 1/4 sticking out as opposed to the drivers side which has a little over 1/2" sticking out. Both sides seem even and I could only assume that the previous owner might have cranked one side to compensate for the suspension being bad on one side, does this seem like an accurate hypothesis? Thanks in advance to your replies.

[Y33TREKker]

Found this at Planet Isuzu

Torsion Bar Adjustment

Not sure why the adjustments would be currently different if the vehicle currently rides level though. Maybe someone incorrectly indexed one of the bars in the past?

[espidus]

You don't think it could be the suspension that was going bad on one side and then the owner cranked that side to level it off before selling it off instead of replacing the bad suspension? Thank you for the article.

[Y33TREKker]

You don't think it could be the suspension that was going bad on one side and then the owner cranked that side to level it off before selling it off instead of replacing the bad suspension? Thank you for the article.

Well, from what I understand of these kinds of suspensions, the torsion bar IS the spring part of the suspension, at least for the front anyway. Our torsion bars do for the front of a VX what the rear coil springs do for the back as far as lift, so unless one of your torsion bars broke and was replaced by a more worn torsion bar that required more adjustment to achieve the same amount of torsion/lift, my first guess would be that someone just installed it wrong. An example of that would be the difference a person would get if they installed a torsion bar with the vehicle sitting on the ground as opposed to installing one while the vehicle was on jack stands with the a-arms hanging down.

That's just a guess on my part though and is the best I could offer without knowing the actual history of work that's been done on your VX. I suppose it could also be that you just got two torsion bars in the factory that weren't rated exactly the same torsionally and that this is a more common occurrence in our vehicles than either of us are aware.

I think the only way to know for sure if one of your torsion bars is more worn than the other would be to take them both out and reinstall them under the same conditions on both sides.

[89Vette]

Just a thought...most roads are crowned. As such, the outer (passenger side) is lower than the DS (middle of the road).

Could someone adjust the suspension to make it ride more level on the average road -- or is that the opposite of what you're seeing with the adjusters?

Roads are crowned to promote water run-off.

[Riff Raff]

I was going to crank my torque bars.......

WHY??? What size tires are you planning on running??? The VX can handle up to 32" O.D. tires on the OEM stock height without any TB cranks or lifting. If you don't have to lift due to necessity (> 32" O.D.); then it's best not to.

[VXorado]

WHY???

He'll need a couple inches to fit the 35s

http://www.vehicross.info/forums/showthread.php?t=21304

[VXorado]

Just a thought...most roads are crowned. As such, the outer (passenger side) is lower than the DS (middle of the road).

Could someone adjust the suspension to make it ride more level on the average road -- or is that the opposite of what you're seeing with the adjusters?

Roads are crowned to promote water run-off.

I notice this on a road I drive everyday to work but I've never heard of adjusting the suspension to compensate for the road level

[espidus]

Well, I cranked the torsion bars about 7 turns each, gave me 1 and a half extra inches in the front besides the 3" body lift i idid. Trimed the clading under the front, then I test fit the 35"s. Steering turned nicely to one side then when I turned the other way did not clear the back side of the cladding where the bolt is.....
It looks like I'll have to trim, or should I say hammer the hell out of, the back side of the cladding / inner wheel well steel. Any tips on doing this, anyone done this before? I took out the bolt, cut out a little bit of the cladding and am thinking about taking a malet to the sheet metal part that sticks out where the cladding attaches, how does that sound....do I have my work cut out for me?

[Ldub]

Well, I cranked the torsion bars about 7 turns each, gave me 1 and a half extra inches in the front besides the 3" body lift i idid. Trimed the clading under the front, then I test fit the 35"s. Steering turned nicely to one side then when I turned the other way did not clear the back side of the cladding where the bolt is.....
It looks like I'll have to trim, or should I say hammer the hell out of, the back side of the cladding / inner wheel well steel. Any tips on doing this, anyone done this before? I took out the bolt, cut out a little bit of the cladding and am thinking about taking a malet to the sheet metal part that sticks out where the cladding attaches, how does that sound....do I have my work cut out for me?

When I did it, it was all like: BANG...BANG...BANG........

I recommend a 2 pounder...

Might wanna peek under the fender liner when done, & do some priming/bedliner/or whatever your preference, to prevent corrosion where any paint has flaked off.

[espidus]

When I did it, it was all like: BANG...BANG...BANG........

LOL......awsome reply. If this was facebook you would see "espidus likes this".

2 pounder huh, I guess this will be fun. What did you do with the plastic part of the cladding, did you put the bolt back in, did the plastic lining just push back?

[tom4bren]

PO on mine cut the cladding and metal behind it at the rear of the front fender, then doped it up good with RTV. I may be able to snap a pic tonight since the driver side is currently without the RTV.

Keep in mind that as you remove each interference, another will be presented. The outer tread on mine now rubs on the inner fender at full lock (but only in reverse).

[espidus]

Thanks.

Does anyone know if I should use a steel mallet or a rubberized one.

[tom4bren]

Steel ... absolutely ... steel.

Hitting your fender with a rubber mallet would be almost like hitting a basketball with a baseball bat.

Just kidding. I think you'll want a steel mallet but I'll wait for the Dubster to chime in.

[espidus]

Well, what ended up working best is a pair of pliers to pinch then bend back the steel. I used a small hand saw to cut the piece of cladding that stuck out. It is still very close, turning seems fine while going forward, reverse is going to need some work, does not turn to well in reverse. Have pics will post soon...