Important! : torsion bar help assp plzzzzz

18th March 2009, 14:04

i ono this has been asked before and im sorry for asking again but im gonna try and upload pics of what i need help on,

basicaly got my old rear axle on stands in the garden and its being scraped tomorrow so im practiseing lowering it but need help plz,

so far ive dissconnected the dampers, removed the t40 torx (one at each side), removed the offset washer on the left side, so whats next? i think theres a washer on the right isnt there?

ill try and get some pics up
thanks

18th March 2009, 14:21

theres 4 washers and torx bolts you need to remove mate, 2 each side of each torsion bar

you may have to unbolt the brakeline brackets to make it a little easier to get to the ends of the bars aswell, well you dont have to, i did this and it made it a bit eaiser

then its a case of getting the bars out lol

but dont forget to measure before you get bars all the way out, although our only practising so dont really matter lol but still

18th March 2009, 14:27

Quote:

Originally Posted by vtr_chris90

theres 4 washers and torx bolts you need to remove mate, 2 each side of each torsion bar

you may have to unbolt the brakeline brackets to make it a little easier to get to the ends of the bars aswell, well you dont have to, i did this and it made it a bit eaiser

then its a case of getting the bars out lol

but dont forget to measure before you get bars all the way out, although our only practising so dont really matter lol but still

how the fuk do you get the antirole bars out? lol, do they need to come out?

o fuck im missing half a knuckle now lol

18th March 2009, 17:15

You need a slide hammer with i think its a 8mm bolt on to remove the torsion bar

18th March 2009, 20:59

as said slide hammer and wd40 mate!!!

18th March 2009, 21:03

bosh http://www.suzukituning.com/PSA/Suspension/Lowering.htm

thats how im gonna be doing mine when iv finished fuckin about with the engine

18th March 2009, 22:14

You'll be lucky to be honest if a slide hammer does the trick.

It very rarely works from experience. Socket method is more effective and even that doesnt work all the time.

18th March 2009, 23:06

ive looked at the suzuki goud but dont reli get it for some reason lol,

im gonna try using a bolt and washer to remove the torsion bar,

how do you get the anti role bars out?

19th March 2009, 00:39

you dont have to remove the anti roll bars when lowering, i dont usually remove it, just makes the job longer really as it doesnt need to be done im my opinion lol

but better idea than socket and bolt lol try getting a reasonably sized bar place it in the hole where the torsion bars are and give it a good few whacks lol this is how ive removed mine and other peoples with willsy, and failing that try the socket and bolt like willsy said

19th March 2009, 01:04

Quote:

Originally Posted by vtr_chris90

you dont have to remove the anti roll bars when lowering, i dont usually remove it, just makes the job longer really as it doesnt need to be done im my opinion lol

but better idea than socket and bolt lol try getting a reasonably sized bar place it in the hole where the torsion bars are and give it a good few whacks lol this is how ive removed mine and other peoples with willsy, and failing that try the socket and bolt like willsy said

when you say give it a few wacks lol do you mean knock it through,

good about the anti role bars lol, do you have to undo the torx under one of them?

19th March 2009, 01:19

best option is to hit it out mate.

you need a sturdy sized pole, i used the one from my jack (the extension used to pump it up)

19th March 2009, 01:32

Quote:

Originally Posted by wigansaxo

when you say give it a few wacks lol do you mean knock it through,

good about the anti role bars lol, do you have to undo the torx under one of them?

lol yer knock it out mate, it could take two good hits or 20 good hits, its just one of them things, but it will give eventually, just could take a while lol

and yer there is one under the endplate, all you do is undo the bolt on the end plate and slide the end plate up out the way, this can be a bit of a pain to movce sometimes, so a chisel and lump hammer works nicely with this, jus place the chisel under the plate and knock it up, does the job nicely lol

19th March 2009, 01:36

Quote:

Originally Posted by vtr_chris90

lol yer knock it out mate, it could take two good hits or 20 good hits, its just one of them things, but it will give eventually, just could take a while lol

and yer there is one under the endplate, all you do is undo the bolt on the end plate and slide the end plate up out the way, this can be a bit of a pain to movce sometimes, so a chisel and lump hammer works nicely with this, jus place the chisel under the plate and knock it up, does the job nicely lol

ive been at that wnd plate all day and i can only just see the torx lol, actually woull be easyer on the car lol

19th March 2009, 09:39

yh its easyer on the car mate cus you have got the wait of the car to help ya keep it all steady, but having mine done saterday hopefully

19th March 2009, 10:50

one thing i really want to try but ive heard so many nightmares about lowering the torsion bar.

19th March 2009, 13:47

Quote:

Originally Posted by wigansaxo

ive been at that wnd plate all day and i can only just see the torx lol, actually woull be easyer on the car lol

yer they can be a bit of a bugger to move, but just wedge the chisel uinder it, and knock it up out of the way

19th March 2009, 23:46

Quote:

Originally Posted by vtr_chris90

yer they can be a bit of a bugger to move, but just wedge the chisel uinder it, and knock it up out of the way

do you mean like bend it? been at it 2 days and i still not got though room to undo it lol

and it is a nightmare lol

20th March 2009, 00:15

Quote:

Originally Posted by wigansaxo

do you mean like bend it? been at it 2 days and i still not got though room to undo it lol

and it is a nightmare lol

nooo you dont bend it, it should just slide up

yer they can be quite tough though lol

just use alot of wd40 etc lol it should move eventually lol

you have undone the bolts both sides havnt you?

cause if you move one side it will move the other side, so both bolts have to be undone lol

20th March 2009, 01:15

Quote:

Originally Posted by vtr_chris90

nooo you dont bend it, it should just slide up

yer they can be quite tough though lol

just use alot of wd40 etc lol it should move eventually lol

you have undone the bolts both sides havnt you?

cause if you move one side it will move the other side, so both bolts have to be undone lol

what bolts?

only joking lol yea ive undone them, and im on my second tin of wd40 lol, im sore they will be moved by tomorrow lol

20th March 2009, 01:29

lol yer they can be a bit of a pain to be fair mate, but then some are easy, its just one of them things

keep at it they have to move eventually lol

french cars, why cant they be normal and use struts on the rear like most other cars instead of bloody torsion bars lol

20th March 2009, 21:31

Quote:

Originally Posted by vtr_chris90

lol yer they can be a bit of a pain to be fair mate, but then some are easy, its just one of them things

keep at it they have to move eventually lol

french cars, why cant they be normal and use struts on the rear like most other cars instead of bloody torsion bars lol

great news ive finnaly moved the antirole bars

lol

20th March 2009, 21:33

Quote:

Originally Posted by wigansaxo

great news ive finnaly moved the antirole bars

lol

Thats good news dude!! your getten there now!!

20th March 2009, 21:34

yea only took me 3 days lol

20th March 2009, 21:36

Quote:

Originally Posted by wigansaxo

yea only took me 3 days lol

But your learning as you go!!

.........you will soon be an citreon expert.....

20th March 2009, 21:43

Quote:

Originally Posted by saxokid100

But your learning as you go!!

.........you will soon be an citreon expert.....

thats what i thought but noone has asked me to lower there car yet

lol

20th March 2009, 21:48

Quote:

Originally Posted by wigansaxo

thats what i thought but noone has asked me to lower there car yet

lol

Done fer few saxo"s now,and alot of re build rear beams for people....

20th March 2009, 23:08

Quote:

Originally Posted by saxokid100

Done fer few saxo"s now,and alot of re build rear beams for people....

should come to wigan and teach me on my car

lol

20th March 2009, 23:54

lol

right halfway there then lol just the torsion bars now haha have fun

neah they shouldnt be tooo bad mate

but yer your getting there, learning as you go along, definatly a good way to learn like saxokid100 said and the next one will be alot easier now youvve done it once, after i did mine, i started doing other peoples aswell

but its pretty much strate farward now well you should hope lol

21st March 2009, 00:14

Quote:

Originally Posted by vtr_chris90

lol

right halfway there then lol just the torsion bars now haha have fun

neah they shouldnt be tooo bad mate

but yer your getting there, learning as you go along, definatly a good way to learn like saxokid100 said and the next one will be alot easier now youvve done it once, after i did mine, i started doing other peoples aswell

but its pretty much strate farward now well you should hope lol

lol, it would be alot easyer if it was still on the car lol, give me a quick guide of the top of your head lol, trust me it will sink in better if its just a quick shortone lol

21st March 2009, 00:48

lol hmm yer that might help alot more

ok then a quick guide...

right when you do this on the car measure the distance from bottom of arch and to somehwere on hub or disk up to you where

then knock out torsion bars, use a good sized bar and lump hammer and give a few whaks, or try socket and bolt

then the arms will drop as you get eachbar out, move the bar to desired hight using jack and slide torsion bar back in, and repeat on other side

then bolt everything back up

as far as i can remember, it is bit late lol haha
hows that though? theres not much to do really when lowering the torsion bars, its just all time consuming, when youve done it you will realise how easy it is and why it takes sooo long lol, but it just seems to take a while for some reason

the quickest we have lowered the back end is just under 2 hours i think

its just such a pain in the arse and drags on haha

21st March 2009, 01:10

yea that will do lol, but i aint sure what are the torsion bars anymore lol, ppl keep telling me to diffrent things, like i only foung out that there were 4 torx bolts the otherday lol

21st March 2009, 01:30

lol ok, well you have the beam off the car dont you, so its dead easy to spot them

the big yellow tube going through the middle has the anitrollbar inside it, which you know that

and the torsion bars are the two shorter red bars, you cant miss them, there is one either side of the antiroll bar, do you remember now?

21st March 2009, 01:36

Quote:

Originally Posted by vtr_chris90

lol ok, well you have the beam off the car dont you, so its dead easy to spot them

the big yellow tube going through the middle has the anitrollbar inside it, which you know that

and the torsion bars are the two shorter red bars, you cant miss them, there is one either side of the antiroll bar, do you remember now?

its not the same on a 1.1 axle lol, think thats just on r and s, mine are just black, think i got some pics that maybe some kind person could lable for me

21st March 2009, 01:46

found some pics, could someone maybe put some lines to were the torsion bars pull out?

21st March 2009, 14:40

right then, on the one with endplate still on, you will need to get the bolt off and move plate up and knock it from that side, and it will come out the passenger side, or unless you use a slide hammer it will come out ur side lol

and vice versa on other side give it a knock the side you are then it will come out drivers side

butttt you will need to put them back through the arms the opposite way youve knocked them if that makes sense unless you can get them out a diff way, im sure you will figure that bit out though lol

21st March 2009, 21:05

Quote:

Originally Posted by vtr_chris90

right then, on the one with endplate still on, you will need to get the bolt off and move plate up and knock it from that side, and it will come out the passenger side, or unless you use a slide hammer it will come out ur side lol

and vice versa on other side give it a knock the side you are then it will come out drivers side

butttt you will need to put them back through the arms the opposite way youve knocked them if that makes sense unless you can get them out a diff way, im sure you will figure that bit out though lol

ermmm now you have confused me lol, lets stick with pulling them out like lol, i aint got a shortenough socket

21st March 2009, 22:21

lol haha okl now im confused, what exactly did you want to know lol haha

21st March 2009, 22:24

Quote:

Originally Posted by vtr_chris90

lol haha okl now im confused, what exactly did you want to know lol haha

i dunnoooooo its messed with my heap now lol, let me upload these pics of were im up to lol

21st March 2009, 22:53

rite this is were im up to so far, dunno if you can see it in the pic's but ive removed the ofset washeres!
is it ready to have the torsionbars pulled out yea? lol, what exactly do i need to do from now?

thanks

21st March 2009, 23:01

:O u hav took everything out :O
all u do now, if all bolts are undun, wack it, shud start moving, right hand side first, wack it until the bar is about 60mm out, hen the arm can move freely, then pull it upto the amount u want, hit back into place, carefully, do same to other side....ta da, that probs dnt help but hard to explain tbh lol

21st March 2009, 23:02

tbh mate id smack them in towards the otherside, then lightly sand the inside where they have been and the groves on the torsion basr then use socket method to pull them back throw. complete on both sides, then set height and put them back in. job done

22nd March 2009, 00:00

Quote:

Originally Posted by jayjaylui

:O u hav took everything out :O
all u do now, if all bolts are undun, wack it, shud start moving, right hand side first, wack it until the bar is about 60mm out, hen the arm can move freely, then pull it upto the amount u want, hit back into place, carefully, do same to other side....ta da, that probs dnt help but hard to explain tbh lol

na i get ya lol cheers mate

22nd March 2009, 00:02

lol gdgd, i learned the hard way
payed £150 at the garage to hav it dun, watched em, they lowered it a lil
so decided to do it myself, and tbh, its a piece of pi..ss

gd luck

22nd March 2009, 00:13

ahh yer i see where you are now, yer you just need to whack them out now, i was under impression it was still on the car lol

makes it alot eaiser off car, except you cant measure how much youve lowered it by lol

but yer jayjaylui has summed it up just nicely, i couldnt have said it better myself lol

22nd March 2009, 00:22

Quote:

Originally Posted by vtr_chris90

ahh yer i see where you are now, yer you just need to whack them out now, i was under impression it was still on the car lol

makes it alot eaiser off car, except you cant measure how much youve lowered it by lol

but yer jayjaylui has summed it up just nicely, i couldnt have said it better myself lol

o rite lol, well still good info cheers for all ya help mate, and everyone else, but keep an eye on this thread because it isnt over yet lol, think it this seems ok im gonna lower my torsion bar 10 or 20mm just to free it up till i get some springs

22nd March 2009, 00:26

10-20mm!!
:O
it wont be any difference dudee

22nd March 2009, 00:56

lol i kno mate, its just to free it all up for when i go 40mm

22nd March 2009, 00:59

100mm! lmao

22nd March 2009, 01:04

Quote:

Originally Posted by jayjaylui

100mm! lmao

low rider style lol

22nd March 2009, 16:08

how do you femove the drums aswell? did it in collage but forgot, i just remember taking a hammer to them

22nd March 2009, 16:09

watcha takin them off forrr, u jus wack em, then they will pull off

22nd March 2009, 16:12

no reason, just strip the breakes down for practise, its only going to the scrappy this week so i may aswell do

22nd March 2009, 16:33

Quote:

Originally Posted by wigansaxo

how do you femove the drums aswell? did it in collage but forgot, i just remember taking a hammer to them

Hub nut off, Make sure handbrake is off (or shoes are disengaged) then i used a small bar and smacked the outer drum towards me with a hammer and just work your way round till it pops off. easy. and if ur taking shoes off make sure u take pics of each side as a reference to how all the springs go back.

23rd March 2009, 00:42

cheers gaz,

what do ppl use to knock the bars through? i used a hammer (obvs) and towing eye because it dont matter if i damage it but i ruined the towing eye and they still aint moved lol, only tryed for 5 mins today and got pissed off when i realised id ruined something as strong as a towing eye

23rd March 2009, 00:54

a mahusive lump hammer and absolutely batter it, plenty of wd40, it will move, lmao, dnt literally batter it tho

23rd March 2009, 01:03

Quote:

Originally Posted by jayjaylui

a mahusive lump hammer and absolutely batter it, plenty of wd40, it will move, lmao, dnt literally batter it tho

mate ive litrally battered it and it judt aint moved lol, i dont kno what im talking about but i think as far as torsion bars come id say this one is badly stuck lol

its stood up leaned againsed the shed atm filled with wd4 to soak through over night so fingers crossed lol

23rd March 2009, 01:36

Quote:

Originally Posted by wigansaxo

mate ive litrally battered it and it judt aint moved lol, i dont kno what im talking about but i think as far as torsion bars come id say this one is badly stuck lol

its stood up leaned againsed the shed atm filled with wd4 to soak through over night so fingers crossed lol

Your getten there bud!!...........

23rd March 2009, 01:39

looks like ur gonna hav to get a bigger hammer out

, make sure u hav got the lil hidden bolt aswell on the tortion bar btw, theres 4 bolts, and then 2 10mm 1's

23rd March 2009, 01:50

Quote:

Originally Posted by jayjaylui

looks like ur gonna hav to get a bigger hammer out

, make sure u hav got the lil hidden bolt aswell on the tortion bar btw, theres 4 bolts, and then 2 10mm 1's

ermmm i think ive removed them all lol, if i got a pic could someone else sircle that bolt plzz?

cheers for all your help guys, supprised i havent had the piss taken out of me for being so dumb lol

23rd March 2009, 01:53

Quote:

Originally Posted by wigansaxo

ermmm i think ive removed them all lol, if i got a pic could someone else sircle that bolt plzz?

cheers for all your help guys, supprised i havent had the piss taken out of me for being so dumb lol

Your doing realy well bud!! keep it up........good work so far..

23rd March 2009, 01:55

Quote:

Originally Posted by saxokid100

Your doing realy well bud!! keep it up........good work so far..

cheers, i just hope it goes well when i do it to my car

23rd March 2009, 01:59

Quote:

Originally Posted by wigansaxo

cheers, i just hope it goes well when i do it to my car

You will be fine!! i could always pop up and help you out

had metro gti meet up your end last weekend.........

23rd March 2009, 02:03

Quote:

Originally Posted by saxokid100

You will be fine!! i could always pop up and help you out

had metro gti meet up your end last weekend.........

yea cheers, whats your metro like? saw a couple last weekish

23rd March 2009, 02:05

Quote:

Originally Posted by wigansaxo

yea cheers, whats your metro like? saw a couple last weekish

Blue gti......Mr houston put some pics on here while back!! turns heads for metro.......

23rd March 2009, 02:14

Quote:

Originally Posted by saxokid100

Blue gti......Mr houston put some pics on here while back!! turns heads for metro.......

tbh i probs saw every colour metro exept for a blue one lol

23rd March 2009, 02:15

Quote:

Originally Posted by wigansaxo

tbh i probs saw every colour metro exept for a blue one lol

Yer mines got custom body kit on it.........

24th March 2009, 01:11

rite bought myself a big socket today

lol, so anybody gonna explain the socket methored to me lol

24th March 2009, 13:37

put the socket over the torsion bar end then a washer use 2 for more strength then put the nut on the bolt right to the top then put the m8 bolt through, Screw it into the torsion bar quite abit to get a good grip inside, then turn the nut down the bolt untill it gets to the washer, get 2 spanners hold the stop of the bolt from spinning and spin the nut down the bolt against the washers which pulls the torsion bar out.

There is a very good guide on here *animated* guides drawn up by steve vts i shall have a qucik look for you...

24th March 2009, 13:42

So basically

1. Put socket over torsion bar end
2. Put 2 washers on the socket or the bolt
3. Push the M8 bolt through the socket and screw into the torsion bar, enough to get a good grip.(making sure a nut or 2 nuts are already on the m8 bolt)
4. Push the nuts down to the washers
5. Get 2 spanners one on a nut one on the end of the m8 bolt
6. Hold the m8 bolt still with the spanner and with the other spanner turn the nut so its forcing into the washer, therefore forcing/pulling the torsion bar outward.
7. Remove torsion bar, select dersired hieght, wack this back in !

Note, i have never done a torsion bar but have read the guides soo many times to get them into my head as i am going to do this myself !

24th March 2009, 16:46

ermmm you lost me a bit there mate lol, when you said bout the two bolts/m8 bolt? thanks for the info im sure it will click soon lol

rite ive finally lowered it wheyyyyyyyyy lol, still got a few mor questions regarding the actuall bars and teeth on the bar befo i attempt it on my car lol, but thanks for your help and bearing with me because as you now kno i am not the sharpest tool in the box,

baker if you can try and explain that methored again id be greatfull, be great if you can find the guide

thanks

24th March 2009, 22:34

anyone any advice/tips for rebuilding it?

25th March 2009, 00:07

when u knock the bars out, are they meant to come out of both holes like cos the firstone did and obvs it spun round a bit so sisnt go back on the same teeth it was on origonaly, anyone got any pics of how much they knocked the bars out?

25th March 2009, 00:33

How far have you actually got with this now mate?

Im lost at how far you've progressed? lol

25th March 2009, 00:47

haha i didnt even think ppl would follow this but some have, ive done it now

yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay i mean cool lol, just need to kno about how far you knock the bars out and how they go bk in, should they turn ect?

25th March 2009, 00:53

the best thing to do is to get both of the bars all the way out. Give the ends a good going over with the wire brush so that they are clean (get rid of all the dirt and crap between each of the grooves) then apply plenty of copper grease and put them back in

As you cannot lower accurately when the beam is off the car (is is still off the car right?) its best to grease them up and then tap them back into the beam (dont knock anywhere near the threads at the end when you knock them back in else you'll risk damaging it)

Then when you have the beam onto the car you can whip them out really easily, measure up accurately and then reinsert them properly

25th March 2009, 01:07

u can, i just lowered it as far as it would go lol, this is a fuked axle btw lol was just practiceing befo i do my car, whet you mean by: (dont knock anywhere near the threads at the end when you knock them back in else you'll risk damaging it)
do you mean were the t40 torx bolts go? or do you mean the teeth?

and so it dosent matter if the bars get moved out of there origonl place? (like lineing up with the same teeth as they were origonaly)

25th March 2009, 01:16

Yep thats right dont damage the threads on the end where the t40 bolts go else you wont be able to get the bolts back in without needing to retap the threads

It doesnt matter atall if the bars get moved from their original place, as long as you clean the ends thoroughly they should go in pretty much any way without any fuss

So just take the bars out, clean them thoroughly, apply copper grease.

Obviously before you take the torsion bars out make sure you measure the standard height (centre of the hub directly vertical to a point at the bottom of your arch is usually a good place to go from) then with the bars out use a jack to raise the trailing arm to the desired position securely (obviously jack cant move whilst you put the bar back in) so that the new distance is for example 40mm shorter or whatever 'lowness' you want.

Then pop the bar back in.

25th March 2009, 01:31

ahh cheers mate, think i kno everything i need to kno to attempt it on my car,
cheers for everyones help

25th March 2009, 16:06

No problem mate best of luck with it

26th March 2009, 15:26

here you go mate its a very good animated guide which gives a clear understanding of how they work aswel !

http://www.saxperience.com/forum/sho...lowering+guide

28th March 2009, 18:28

cheers mate,

got anoth question lol, will vtr/s springs fit on my y reg forte? because ive seen some cheap

28th March 2009, 23:59

Yes they will fit however they wont lower your car as much as they would the vtr/s as those models will be heavier on the front end that your 1.1 (vts much heavier)

29th March 2009, 14:49

Quote:

Originally Posted by willsy

Yes they will fit however they wont lower your car as much as they would the vtr/s as those models will be heavier on the front end that your 1.1 (vts much heavier)

ahh didnt think about that, dont think ill bother
thanks