The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area General Truck Talk Question for torsion bar owners

Hi

61 apache fleetside with torsion bar front suspension. I am busy with replacing worn ball joints and the bushings on the a-arms. This weekend I installed the bottom a-arm and what a story to get the bushings in (Long breaker bar and 3/4" socket. Being new they are really a tight fit into the a-arm. My question is how tight should they be after bottoming out the bushings against the a-arm? Mine is really tight...cant turn the bar by hand any longer. Fitted to the crossmember it is possible to move the a-arm up and down, but it is tight. I really dont want to damage the bushings. Also how do I check the centerness of the bar on the arm? Eyeball?
Thanks

my expeirience with torsion bars is that you shouldnt be able to turn them bye hand and tight is prob. really good ...as that means you have them preloaded correctly ...Your old ones musta been plain worn out ...Just my 2 pennies

I'll be doing mine in a month or 2. Ask me later BTW Where did you get the lower ball joints and how much? If you don't mind me asking.

I got a set of lowers from a place on Ebay. Hecho en S. America, but visually they looked like quality castings. They were $75 for the pair, plus shipping.

-Brad

When I lowered the front of my truck I took a breaker bar and just urned the torsion bars down, not sure if that means my front end is "loose" or not. I have not even begun the nightmare of maintinence that is my front end. I am waiting to decide anout a v-8 swap, cause if I do that I might ditch the old front end for something newer and more sophistimicated...not sure though.

Kyle

I will just trust then that everything is in order. I got my ball joints from classicparts. $89.95

They seem good quality, but I waited for ages! The upper ones are actually from Moog - I think that is a brand name? The a-arm shafts are my actual problem at the moment. Hope I did not tighten them too much!

Moog is like GE. They make everything from car parts to motors and controls for factory automation to complex high reliability sub systems for commercial and military aircraft.

Bob J

I think you might have 2 different companies mixed up there. Moog automotive is a subsidiary of Federal Mogul, not related to the other company. However, they do make the best front end parts on the market. I use them exclusively on my cars.