Rear Torsion Bar Removal

[hal7600]

Some advice on a 1983 model as I don't undertand the good book. As you can see from the image the shock absorber is off (along with the body) and chassis propped up so the nearside rear is in the air. Hitting the left hand of these bars with a mallett (I'd have to put the chassis back down flat) would not work unless the inner and outer mounting bolts are removed. Is that what I should be doing?

View much appreciated.

 

[DavidN]

To remove/separate the torsion bars from the axle the complete axle mounts have to be removed from the chassis.
(Both connections.)
The torsion bars are just "pluged in" the inner axle mount.
It helps to spray the connections with WD40 a few days in a row before you try to disconnect the bars from the axle.
And use something "stronger" than just a mallet!
I would suggest a sledgehammer.

David

 

[malcolm]

I've never managed to get the rear torsion bars out. I treat the rear suspension as a unit - if it's broken I'll fit another. The only parts I have replaced are the outer suspension mountings.

Others have managed to remove the rear torsion bars so it must be possible, but I'd suggest something bigger than a sledgehammer.

 

[angel]

It definitely is possible to remove the rear torsion bars.
In theory, when the shock absorbers are removed, there is minimum tension on the bars (=only from the rubber bushings). So, by hitting the end of the bar with a metal bar and a medium-to heavy hammer, it should move. I remove them with a steel bar, and i have never had a bar mushroom at the end, but better use a bronze drift for this.
You must soak both ends with WD-40 and ideally repeat this several times in a day, then try to remove the bar the next day. That said, I have removed some rusty looking bars after only 1-2 hours after spraying WD-40.
The hard part is to get the bar start moving, I do this by hitting it from its arm end, not the mounting, as it allows me to hit it at a straight line. Then, when I see it has moved, I tap it out from the mounting end through the arm hole. This helps with the right hand bar, as it should be tapped at an angle. It may help to remove the left hand bar first, then use the dummy shock absorber tool to compress the suspension arm a little against the rubber bushing tension, to allow a better tapping angle for the right hand bar.

Failure of the above methods makes it necessary to remove the complete rear suspension, to completely release tension of the rubber bushings. If the torsion bar splines are too rusty, you will still need a lot of patience and alternating tapping/WD-40 sessions to finally release the bars.