HD Torsion Bars: Independent4x.com

[princejazzbo]

OK, so...

Ordered Monday, arrived today. As in just now.

Oh. My. God. These are some ridiculously beefy bars. The weight on them is so deceiving. I went to pick up the box and it was like, nah, I'll stay right here where I am thank you. Got them inside, took them out to make sure they didn't accidentally send me Thor's hammer instead.

Shocks are supposed to arrive Friday, so Saturday should be the day!

Can't wait.
-V

and having just finished my lift like two days ago. a word of advice. take a hose to the underside of your vx before you crawl under it and start trying to remove things. i knocked so much dirt in my face it wasn't funny.

[LittleBeast]

I have ordered the 1.5" (1" really) spring spacers to accompany my 912's in the rear because the 2" spacers I have were too much with the 912's and just the 912's is not enough for the 35" tires.

My question is: how do you replace the torsion bars? Has anyone done a write up? And please more feedback on the HD torsion bars, opinions? Will it be worth it with the 35's up front? I have hit the inner fender with the 35's when turning to go up a driveway over 20mph.

Oh and has anyone else got the adjustable lower links yet? They are my favorite lift related purchase because they completely eliminated post lift driveline vibrations, and move the rear tire backwards in the wheel well so there is no concern rubbing in the rear even with 35's :-)

[BigSwede]

They are pretty easy to replace.
Jack up the vehicle by the frame, until the front wheel is off the ground.
'Unscrew' the 27mm torsion bar adjustment bolt all the way and remove. Don't sweat the number of turns, it will be different with the new stiffer torsion bars anyway.
At this point, you want to pull the torsion bar from the front mount of the torsion bar on the control arm. You may have difficulty due to interference from the crossmember at the rear end; if so, loosen the 17mm bolts holding the front mount of the torsion bar on the control arm (might take a breaker bar for this, they are pretty tight in my experience), this will allow you to move the rear end of the torsion bar high enough to clear the crossmember. The front mount is not fastened to the bar, the splined end of the bar just slides into the splined mount.
Pull the adjustment arm off of the old torsion bar, again it is not fastened to the bar but just slides off.
Install is pretty much the reverse of the above process. A few notes:
The new torsion bars should be marked L and R, so pay attention. Check with the maker as to which end goes forward, I forget.
Grease the splined ends of the new torsion bar before install. Doesn't hurt to grease the bearing surface of the half-moon nut also.
'Clock' the adjustment arms up enough to give you enough swing for cranking up to your desired ride height.

[Marlin]

They are pretty easy to replace.
Jack up the vehicle by the frame, until the front wheel is off the ground.
'Unscrew' the 27mm torsion bar adjustment bolt all the way and remove. Don't sweat the number of turns, it will be different with the new stiffer torsion bars anyway.
At this point, you want to pull the torsion bar from the front mount of the torsion bar on the control arm. You may have difficulty due to interference from the crossmember at the rear end; if so, loosen the 17mm bolts holding the front mount of the torsion bar on the control arm (might take a breaker bar for this, they are pretty tight in my experience), this will allow you to move the rear end of the torsion bar high enough to clear the crossmember. The front mount is not fastened to the bar, the splined end of the bar just slides into the splined mount.
Pull the adjustment arm off of the old torsion bar, again it is not fastened to the bar but just slides off.
Install is pretty much the reverse of the above process. A few notes:
The new torsion bars should be marked L and R, so pay attention. Check with the maker as to which end goes forward, I forget.
Grease the splined ends of the new torsion bar before install. Doesn't hurt to grease the bearing surface of the half-moon nut also.
'Clock' the adjustment arms up enough to give you enough swing for cranking up to your desired ride height.

True except one part, we do have bolts at the forward end of the torsion bar. I only have one bolt on one side, it broke when I did the SFIFS install.

[BigSwede]

True except one part, we do have bolts at the forward end of the torsion bar. I only have one bolt on one side, it broke when I did the SFIFS install.

What is it, like a set screw?

[Marlin]

What is it, like a set screw?

Nope. The front of the torsion bar bolts to the lower A arm mount. Not sure on the technical jargon there, but here is a pic:

[Ldub]

Nope. The front of the torsion bar bolts to the lower A arm mount.

Inside the "thingy", bolted to the "lower control whatzit", are where splines live...

At least that's what I got out of it, using my "Big Swede decoder ring"...

[Marlin]

Inside the "thingy", bolted to the "lower control whatzit", are where splines live...

At least that's what I got out of it, using my "Big Swede decoder ring"...

Damn, I have been calling the "thingy" the wrong word for the last 4 years!!

[BigSwede]

Nope. The front of the torsion bar bolts to the lower A arm mount. Not sure on the technical jargon there, but here is a pic:

Ah, OK well that configuration is actually what I was trying to describe, pics are much better than words for this...Larry is on the right track - both ends of the torsion bar are splined, and the end of the torsion bar slides into that female splined fitting that is bolted to the control arm. Make sense?

[SilverBullet75]

the whole job takes about an hour total...
:-)

[LittleBeast]

Got my HD torsion bars in the mail last week I should install them tomorrow. Fri night I installed the 1.5" spacers, installed new mounting bracket for rear bumpstops, added length to the lower links, and installed newly rebuilt and LENGTHENED driveshaft. The lengthened driveshaft allows me to lengthen the lower links to avoid all driveline vibrations on the highway without fear of the driveshaft spline coming out when rear suspension is extended.

[Marlin]

Weird, I ordered mine last night, and this morning, I see your post! Coincidence.

[LittleBeast]

Just got done with the install. Super easy. But I don't see how you could do this without removing the two 17mm bolts that hold the torsion bar on the front lower a arm. Easy once everything was loose. Took a 5lb hammer to break the splines from the two attachments.

One weird thing though: I took my time and cleaned all threads super well and greased everything, and now I do not have to lift the VX off the ground to turn torsion bolt and adjust height. Granted it was not super easy but I did not need a breaker bar (my socket is pretty hearty though). I was just turning and adjusting with the VX on the ground and it was raising and lower the VX accordingly down to the 1/4" for every half turn. Once you take everything off and see how it works you will never forget that tighten the bolt will force the lower a arm down. Can't wait to road test.

From ground to top of wheel well I am now:
40" REAR
39-1/4" FRONT

[VXorado]

Just got done with the install. Super easy. But I don't see how you could do this without removing the two 17mm bolts that hold the torsion bar on the front lower a arm. Easy once everything was loose. Took a 5lb hammer to break the splines from the two attachments.

One weird thing though: I took my time and cleaned all threads super well and greased everything, and now I do not have to lift the VX off the ground to turn torsion bolt and adjust height. Granted it was not super easy but I did not need a breaker bar (my socket is pretty hearty though). I was just turning and adjusting with the VX on the ground and it was raising and lower the VX accordingly down to the 1/4" for every half turn. Once you take everything off and see how it works you will never forget that tighten the bolt will force the lower a arm down. Can't wait to road test.

From ground to top of wheel well I am now:
40" REAR
39-1/4" FRONT

Interested to see how they do with the 35s...

[LittleBeast]

Well from the first day of driving I am very impressed and very happy with the outcome. I feel like these should be standard on any lifted VX.

2 main things I have noticed so far:
1) front nose dive while braking is MUCH better now! I did not realize how badly the front end was compressing during braking until the first time I hit the brakes with the new HD bars installed, VX felt so much more stable and in control.
2) front ride quality now matches rear ride quality much better. I overall think this is a very good thing. It was very odd to get a softer bump on the front and then a hard smash on the rear when rolling over something jarring, but now it just feels more natural. These HD torsion bars definitely match the OME springs much better!