tbar reference

[timma]

hey guys, has anyone got an article on how to reference your torsion bars if you run out of threads when lifting?
thanks

[Zaphod]

Geez! How much are you (planning on) cranking them?

I've been reading about T-Bar lifts for over 18 months and never once heard about anyone running out of threads!

[timma]

oh ok, i just wanted to have it there just in case. might just give it a go then. have you ever heard of the cv joints and boots breaking straight away after the lift?

[BigSwede]

I have this saved:

Trooper Torsion Bar Re-indexing

If you have run out of adjustability when trying to crank your torsion bars to raise the ride height, it may be time to re-index the torsion bars. This operation simply regains room for the torsion bar adjustment arm to swing while cranking the adjustment bolt.

1. Jack up one side of your vehicle until the front wheel is off the ground, and place a jackstand under the frame. Don’t support the vehicle by any part of the front suspension, your goal is to unload the suspension as much as possible. Refer to your owner’s manual for safe jacking procedures. I recommend safety glasses as well, mostly to protect your eyes from the grit that will inevitably fall off the vehicle while you are working under it.

2. Using a half-inch socket wrench or breaker bar and a 27-mm socket, get under side of the vehicle, midway between the tires. Locate the torsion bar adjustment bolt (these are my terms, not necessarily the same terms Isuzu uses). It is easy to see, just inside the frame rail, on a crossmember roughly in line with the B pillar (the B pillar is between the two side doors).

3. Remove the bolt, counting the number of turns until tension is entirely relieved on the bolt. The newer the vehicle, the easier this bolt will be to turn. Due to inevitable corrosion, older vehicles may require the use of a long breaker bar and/or penetrating oil. After the tension is off, continue removing the bolt until it comes out, along with two large half-moon shaped nuts.

4. Get a 17-mm socket and loosen (but do not remove) the nuts on the lower control arm bracket at the other (front) end of the torsion bar. This will allow the bar to pivot slightly and take the remaining lateral tension off the bar. Without doing this, the tension will make it difficult to lift the rearward end of the bar from the crossmember. The nuts are very tight, so a breaker bar is helpful to break them loose.

4A. Alternative to #4: use a jack to force the torsion bar up off of the crossmember. I don't recommend this idea, working in close proximity to large springs under tension makes me nervous.

5. Make a mental note of the angle of the arm on the torsion bar. Lift the rearward end of the torsion bar enough to pull off the tensioning arm. It isn’t held on by anything but friction at this point.

6. Rotate the tensioning arm so the end away from the torsion bar is higher than before, and re-insert it onto the torsion bar. It should only be necessary to rotate the arm one or two splines on the torsion bar. Also, it's not a bad idea to re-grease the splines before re-installing the tensioning arm.

7. Line up the tensioning arm so it will fit into the U-shape channel of the crossmember, and set the torsion bar/tensioning arm assembly down on the crossmember.

8. Tighten the nuts on the front torsion bar bracket on the lower control arm.

9. Grease the curved surfaces of the half-moon tensioning arm nuts. Reinstall the tensioning arm bolt and half-moon nuts. Once you feel some tension on the bolt, start counting the turns. Crank about the same number as it took to get the bolt off, this should get you in the ballpark of the ride height you started with. If your goal was to take the ride height higher than before, you should be able to do so now. Either way, some fine adjustment will almost certainly be necessary to even out the height side to side and front/rear.

10. Repeat Steps 1 through 10 for the other side.

11. Go for a drive around the block to settle in the torsion bars and adjustments.

12. Check your ride height again, front to rear and side to side. I just do this by eye, because you can drive yourself nuts trying to measure the height precisely. Exact ride height will vary due to a variety of factors, including vehicle load (even how much gas is in your tank), slope of the ground you are measuring on, basic slop in the suspension, temperature of the shocks, etc.

This is a pretty easy operation, certainly no more difficult than replacing shocks.

[manyhats87]

The 2" tbar crank, and bj flip, have been great for a couple of months now, but today, after some lowrange 4wheeling, I shifted back to 2H and forgot to release the hubs. Drove forward maybe 20mph, and the left outside cv boot ruptured. Maybe the bj spacers would help prevent this? I have to take it down anyway now, so maybe should go ahead and add the spacers,...anyone have experience with them?