shiners780

What holds the torsion tube to the chassis?

The trailing arms are completely unbolted. There is the bolt that mounts the forward spring plate cover to the chassis, and there's the bolt that mounts the torsion tube cantilever arm to the chassis way up high. With these 2 bolts out, shouldn't the torsion tube be able to be dropped? The front bushing looks snug, do I just need to pry that down? The torsion tube still seems solid on there, but I can't see any bolts holding it on.

Here's a pic of where I'm at:

dgz924s

Look in the middle of the tube at the top of the carrier you should see 2 steel hook like tabs attached to the body. The top of the tube has a section that hooks on the the body. So to remove the carrier you can take a jack and place it dead center, lift up just enough to clear the hooks and pull outward(rear) at the same time. iirc there is a bolt or 2 up near that hook somewhere. The "hooks" will resemble a V shape with rounded ends of the carrier hooks.

Been awhile so I can't recall a better way to describe.

Dal

shiners780

Thanks Dal,

I see the two Hook-Like things, but no bolts. To free the torsion tube from those hooks, you have to move the torsion tube forward. However, the tube won't move forward unless the 2 forward spring plate cover bushings have been pried down first. I've got one side pried down, but the driver side won't budge any farther down. I'm thinking I just have to muster up some super-human strength to pry that down, but it just doesn't seem like it should be that difficult. Could it really be that hard to pry that forward spring plate bushing down? I don't want to break anything (especially me). Anything else that could be holding this sucker in there? Do I just need to swear louder???

edit: I could use some assistance from those 2 in your avatar.

theedge

You have to drop the whole rear suspension, right off the car. Then theres a crossbar with four big bolts tucked up there that you have to remove too, THEN you can get the torque tube out.

You have to pry at that big bushing in the bottom left of your pic, but you have to be careful to support the suspension towards the back of the car. You have to get the whole thing to drop STRAIGHT down, if you pry at the bar with no support on the trailer arms, their weight will twist that bushing in the mount and it makes it a bitch to get it out. You have to lift the trailing arms back up, jimmy it around, curse, etc. Guess how I know?

Rebuilding the torque tube or getting another one?

shiners780

Hey Brian,

I am eliminating the torsion bars and installing Leda coilovers.

The trailing arms have been disconnected from the torsion tube, and the lower shock mounting bolts are removed. The trailing arms are being supported by jack stands. Brake flex hoses are disconnected, and rear section of exhaust is out. Seems like this should be fine, as long as nothing's connected to the torsion tube, no?

I don't see the cross bar with 4 bolts that you refer to. I'll look again.

Grrrrr.

theedge

Dont worry about the four bolts, I thought you were talking about the torque tube and removing that lol. For the torsion tube, its that big bolt on each side that you have you have out, the ones right by the shocks for the sickle looking things, then if you look in the middle upper part of your pic, theres that arm that goes to that block. Theres a nut that bolts it to that block, and two bolts that bolt that block to the chassis. That should be everything. The big rubber bushings easily hold it in the car, so you have to pry downwards on those. Its a bitch, since you have to go straight down as much as possible but its doable.

I suggest replacing those blocks, theyre made of dinky rubber. If you email Chris at bridge_msport@rogers.com, he makes new mounts out of aluminum for $200CDN+shipping. Ive got a set for my car, very nicely made. Theres also the ones from Elephant Racing for $250USD I think.

He also machines that end arm peice that bolts to the chassis to get rid of the rubber bushing and replace it with solid aluminum

shiners780

Actually, Brian, you were right! There is a brace/support/thingy located just forward of the torsion tube held on with 4 bolts. I'm not sure what it's there for, it bolts to the chassis, but doesn't have anything else attached. What was happening, was when I pried down on the spring plate cover bushings, the torsion tube was twisting forward and hitting against this brace/thingy. I took this brace/thingy off, and the torsion tube dropped no problem.

I'm no mechanic, so this is a big deal for me to do. Thanks for the help, as I'm sure I'll need more when I go to put it all back together.

Woo Hoo, and I haven't even broken anything (YET)!

Oddjob

That alum. cross brace is used to stiffen/support the tub (floor pan) around the center torque tube tunnel. The little parking brake brackets on the torsion bar carrier like to get hooked up on that cross brace when dropping out the rear suspension.

Sounds like you have it figured out now. Just know that it can require quite a bit of prying and pushing to get it all back in - so dont be timid about using some big flat bladed screw drivers, pry bars, hockey sticks, etc....

Good luck.

shiners780

Thanks Odd,

Yeah, I couldn't quite figure out what that cross brace was for, as it didn't attach to anything in particular, but that makes sense, thanks. That's exactly what was happening.

Torsion bars are now out, and I am now moving on to bushing replacement. I'm trying not to think about having to put it all back together now, but at least I now know where everything goes. Whew, what a PITA! How anyone could reindex their bars in 4-5 hours, I have no idea. It took me probably around 8 hours just to get this far.

Oddjob

Well, after doing it 6 times, on 3 different cars, using about 3 different methods, it does get faster. Also, after the suspension has been disassembled for the first time since the factory did it 17 plus years ago, it comes apart much easier the next time....

dgz924s

I cut the end caps off the tube so I could access the T bars. Tapped hole in the bar end to place a bolt, pull the bolt along with the bar, only need to pull it out just enough to clear the splines to reindex. Made caps out of aluminum tube and cut a slot down the side so it can be pinched when clamped on.

500

Maybe I missed this, but I'm interested in what bushings you are choosing. I have my torsion tube out right now too...

shiners780

I'm replacing the rear bushings that will make the most difference, the spring plate bushings. I am using the Racer's Edge delrin bushings (I know, I know, everyone is going to say use the ER polybronze bushings). I have looked into this quite a bit. Many, many people have used the RE delrin, some have had good success, others not so much. I believe that proper fit is key to making these work. I am using a brake hone to smooth the mating surfaces in the torsion tube and spring plate cover, so the bushings rotate freely (although snugly) without binding. With proper fit and appropriate grease, I think they will do just fine.

Right now I am in the process of removing the old rubber bushings, a tedious job. I hope to begin reassembly by early next week. Then...it's up to the front of the car with new control arms, coilovers, solid motor mounts, and manual steering conversion.

500

Thanks,

I'm sort of pondering the same questions. When I bought all my suspensions stuff (and what a bill that was...) I just got the Weltmeister bushings and then started to hear that they may not work that well. It sounds like you are going to take some time to maximize your chances of success.

Do you know if the RE units are much different than the Welts?

Thanks again,

Allan

shiners780

I have heard the same regarding the Welt bushings, that they are not good. Put it this way, I haven't heard of anyone that uses the Welts and is singing praises, so that tells me something.

The Welts, IIRC, were around $35 for the set of 4 spring plate bushings, and the RE were around $170, so I certainly hope there's a difference or I just wasted a bunch of money. I don't think RE would sell these bushings if they weren't top quality, they have a good and long standing reputation.

Again, I think the success of using the RE delrin bushings is taking the time to achieve the proper fit. You can't just jam them on there and expect good results. That being said, from a non-mechanic like myself, it doesn't seem like achieving a good fit is all that difficult. It's just a matter of taking the time to do it right.

Allan, what suspension components are you upgrading other than bushings? Sounds like you have a major project under way as well.