Re: Torsion bar help

["Dave Swingle" <swingle@xxxx>]

That happens a lot. It means someone before you adjusted the door 
with the allen bit not seated all the way into the torsion bar, 
causing the head of the bar to expand. 

NOTE - THE FOLLOWING IS NOT FOR THE FAINT OF HEART. SCREWING UP WILL 
COST YOU A BACK GLASS AND/OR T-ROOF. BEST TO FIND SOMEONE WITH 
EXPERIENCE. DON'T SAY I DIDN'T WARN YOU. YOUR MILEAGE MAY 
VARY.......With that caution. . . .

With the door open, the remaining twist in the bar is approximately 
90 degrees. You can see that a 90-degree twist in the clamp from 
normal puts the ends squarely thru the roof panel and the back 
window. 

To remove the clamp: 

Make sure that the allen bit is all the way seated in the bar - I 
prefer to hit the tool with a hammer when starting. Have someone hold 
tension on the torsion bar with the fixture while you remove the two 
clamp screws. Then pry on the clamp away from the body with two 
screwdrivers (actually I prefer using the tool used for removing door 
panels aka fir tree remover). 

If you are lucky, you'll be able to work the clamp off the bar this 
way. If it's really bad, "plan B" is what you have outlined, i.e. 
remove the t-panel and the glass. I once asked Steger what HE did in 
this situation, his answer was "cut the bar". In mechanic-hours this 
was probably cheaper than removing the glass. (Back when there were 
extras.)

Anyway - once you get the clamp off, remove the bar from the car 
(twist it the opposite direction until it releases from the front 
hinge - you'll feel a significant "snap" when this occurs). 

To "unmushroom" the torsion bar, tap the clamp back on with a small 
hammer, hitting the clamp alternately at either end. Remove it, rotate
90 degrees on the bar, and do it again. You'll probably have to do 
this several times, but it will compress the head back down. A liberal
coating of anti-sieze compound on the splines helps here. 

Good luck, and BE CAREFUL. 

Dave Swingle


--- In dmcnews@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx, "Paul Salsbury" <paul.salsbury@xxxx> 
wrote:
> Ok so I want to attempt to adjust my passenger side torsion bar, 
but I have a small issue.
> 
> The splined plate won't budge off the end!!! it looks like a 
previous attempt has splayed the end of the torsion bar slightly :-(
> 
> Any ideas for getting it off??
> 
> I am seriously considering removing the T-panel and the rear 
screen, so I can relax the bar with the bracket still on then do 
whatever I need to off the car.
> 
> Comments please