confused again

[mopar stu]

in putting in my torsion bars I'm having a problem.It seems the adjuster is either too high or too low depending on the placement of my lca..i can't get it where i think it should go.I am rotating the bar the minimum amount and it goes from too high to too low.does this question make sense?any ideas?thanks.

[NYrr496]

At the risk of stating the obvious, I'm pretty sure they're clocked to work on one side and in one direction. Did you try swapping them sise to side or end to end? Are they brand new? If they've already been in a car, you can't have them switch direction.

[mopar stu]

they are marked L and r,but as far as forward and backwards i don't see that making a difference.if you flip em' the hexes line up in the same place anyways right?

[Jim_Lusk]

Flipping them end-end doesn't make any difference. I had problems with the left side torsion bar on the Barracuda I just put together. Make sure the adjuster is backed all the way out. You may need to force the whole thing down. It might also help to loosen the strut rod.

[mopar stu]

everything is loose and the adjusters are way loose,it's just once the bars are in, the adjuster is either way too high up or so low that the adjuster bolt sticks out an inch below the lca.about how far should my lca be from the frame with everything installed and the car up in the air?

[Jim_Lusk]

Don't worry about how it is with the car in the air. You will need to crank on that bolt a lot more once it is on the ground. I try to set about an inch between the top of LCA bumper and the frame rail.

[mopar stu]

ya thats where i thought it should be but its either cranked all the way up,or the next setting lower puts the lca way too low(over 6 inches below frame)the thing thats confuses me is I don't see any other options than the 2 settings,this should'nt be that difficult.
I'll try to post pics later but without a digital It takes time.

[signet]

mopar stu

are they the bars you took out?

[mopar stu]

no,but they have the same dimensions

[mopar stu]

well it's obvious ther are only two different settings for the hex socket.one puts the adjuster higher up than the other.the higher setting does'nt look right because the adjuster bolt does'nt sit flush because it's so high.the lower setting puts my lca over 6 inches below the frame and i have'nt even put in the adjuster bolt yet,which means when i tighten it it's just going to go even further away.

[jet-taz]

if the lca is not in the right position will cause that problem .make sure the arms are in the middle of it's travel then install the bars, had the same problem too.

[mopar stu]

so how do i get the lca set in between the settings i have?

[Jim_Lusk]

Stu, post some pics if you can. Just because things don't look right now, doesn't mean it isn't. Set the car on the ground and see where things settle out.

[mopar stu]

here are some pics showing my torsion socket location.it looks too low as you can see the adjuster bolt sticking out.The upper control arms are on the stops,if i tighten the adjusters it's just going to go lower.When i jack up on the lca it just lifts the whole  car up.Do i just not have enough weight on the car to push the lca's up into place?I have'nt even tightened them yet.
   santa said i was bad so i went to best buy and mugged one of his elves,i have a digital camera now so i can post other pics if it helps.  thanks  stu
these pics show the adjuster


this pic shows the adjuster bolt

another pic

[b569rr]

I just put my front end together and it looks like yours. I thought the same thing and thought to myself that I didn't remember my road runner looking like this.

anyways, I left the LCA's like yours and dropped the block and trans in and the front end bottomed out. I had to crank up the t bars to get the nose up and it looks OK. You must not have any weight in the front right?

Tom

[mopar stu]

thanks tom that makes me feel a little better,were your torsion adj. bolts that far out too?
  If you look closely at the last pic you can see a spare wheel holding the car down ,with nothing in the front and the rear fully assembled it got interesting when i leaned in the trunk and it did a wheelstand.

[b569rr]

Mine was like that. I even put a jack under the LCA to try and compress thinking it was off. Put Then put the drive train in and down (or up) it went. It takes quite a few turns to get the nose up with a 440 and .890 bars.

Also, my bars were marked L and R and installed them that way, but I didn't see it making a difference as to which side or end went where. they were the same all the way around.

[mopar stu]

i don't know why they have left and right either,my only guess is it looks like the metal in the bar has candy cane effect in it and they want the wraps to go against the torque of the engine.

[bbscamp]

ON all the stock front end cars I've done (4 different cars in the past 3 yrs).....the front torsion bar setting required tweaking....for the first few miles of driving.  One side was low...leveled it out...the other side went low...leveled it out...the other side went low....you get the idea.  I was measuriing the inside of the front fender wheel wells each time.  My concern was too get it "looking" level.   Once leveled, I checked the amount of adjuster sticking out AND measured the distance between the LCA and frame.  They always came up the same on both sides.   I liked using the fender edge, 'cause I could make the measurement quickly with in 1/16" from side to side.   Now I know some will say you can't count on the fenders lining up, with the frame even.  Yeah..I know. but optically.....the fender level is what you see.

On the rear...I've been lucky.  All have sat level.  2 had rebuilt OEM leafs, 1 JC Whitneys....1 Mop. Perf.

Someday....alterkation.   I'm thinking more and more that the chally is the Keeper...if so...that may get the alterkation.  I'm going to decide this spring on which way to go.  I've got 2 complete V8 Ebody setups (OEM T bar).  I could probably sell them off and get a good chunk set aside for the alterkation!

[b569rr]

Yes I've been told that it takes at least 500 miles to break in a set of T bars

Tom