dillon410021

I can't seem to see the torsion bars! I replaced the rear struts/shock absorbers with koni's that I had on my parts car and never saw the torsion bars. Where are they located and can they be seen easily or are the hidden?

Calmchaos

lol... I'll have a picture up of mine soon. I just took out everything in my car (transmission, rear suspension, and engine).

The torsion bars are under the torque tube in front of the transmission. They are in that tube that runs all the way across. Hard for me to explain lol.

Darwantae951

Inside this:

dillon410021

how does that help with handling? Is that like a sway bar?

Darwantae951

A torsion bar is a spring. Its a bar with two splined ends. One end fits into that piece I posted a picture of and the other attached to the spring plate which is what the trailing arm is bolted to. As the trailing arm moves up and down, it is trying to twist this torsion bar. There are different diameters as well as hollow or solid torsion bars.

Darwantae951

21a is the torsion bar, which installs inside number 1
22 is the spring plate

dillon410021

Now I understand! Which are better, hollow or solid?

Darwantae951

I'll let someone else chime in here because I've never messed with TBs before.

Calmchaos

IIRC hollow is better. You can get the same strength from a smaller bar... again... if I remember correctly

Darwantae951

I think hollow was primarily to save weight.

Calmchaos

Oh one more thing while we're on it.... do torsion bars ever "NEED" to be replaced? I never see anything about that. Do they wear out over time?

Thanks

Darwantae951

Good question, and one I've wondered myself. I'm pretty sure metal does fatigue.

-Darwin

dillon410021

My car sits pretty low in the back! If I got new torsion bars, wouldn't the back go up? Theres only 68K on my car but the struts were gone, so that could have made the torsion bars worse.

Scootin159

I'm not sure if torsion bars really 'wear out', but as said before the metal could fatigue. If anything, their effective spring rates would change (likely get softer).

If the rear of your car is riding low, it's possible to adjust the ride height by up to 3/4" using the rear eccentric (search on "rear eccentric" and I'm sure you'll find instructions), without actually replacing anything. You could also re-index the torsion bars (using the same parts), and raise/lower the ride height to pretty much anything. Re-indexing is quite the job though.

harrisonrick

When I was restoring a 1973 914 2.0 the front right torsion bar had snapped in half. I got a used one for like $25 and replaced it. I have never heard of one breaking in a 944, but who knows....I`d say your car is sitting low in the back `cuz your rear shocks are toast. Just my opinion.