Front Suspension re-install order
 

I am I the process of reinstalling the front suspension on my 83 sc. So far I have the steering rack, the crossmember and a-arms with ball joints installed. I never removed the struts/hub/brake lines.

Looking for suggestions on the order of installing the remaining parts.

1.Torsion Bars
2.Ball joints into bottom of strut
3. Tie rod ends
4. Sway bar

Also when installing the Torsion bars do I need to preload the control arms?

Thanks

Have fun putting that front swaybar back on. I'd rather drop the engine than do that job, I hate it. I always have to take an a-arm back off to do it right.

Memory is a little foggy, but IIRC you have to put the torsion bars in place before the swaybar. You might be able to work them past, but I don't think so. The others I don't think matter too much, order wise.

You could do it like the factory. Assemble everything and drop the car down on it. Struts with hubs/brakes are easy enough to drop and attach to the ball joints

Mine was a 914 but I did it this way. Assembled all the parts and then jacked it up into the car. It was pretty easy.

You'll have to take off 1 of the A arms to install the sway bar. You angle the ends of the sway bar into the A arms and then re-bolt the A arm back in place. Then re-attach the ball joints to the struts (you did give the crown nuts on the ball joints the ridiculous amount of torque they need, right?). Before you fasten the sway bar to the chassis, you can slide the torsion bar into place over the sway bar.
I was able to get the whole thing back together by myself this way.

There's a video on the site made by a guy in Germany showing him man-handle the sway bar into place with a set of nylon straps after both A arms and torsion bars are in place. The car was on a lift, and he was standing in a pit. Don't see how you could get enough leverage otherwise.

Here's that video on the A arm installation:

https://youtu.be/ib8L5YuEIXY

Drewr,

Thanks that is helpful. How did you attach the ball joint to the bottom of the strut. Since I did not originally remove the struts, the bottom of the strut is lower than the top of the ball joint post. So I need to either compress the strut or lower the cross member to get the ball joint lower.

I placed my jack under the wheel hub and raised to the right level. The shock will not immediately spring back down once compressed. You can move the ball joint into place. Make sure the wedge shape in the top pin lines up with the hole in the strut. You'll have to hammer it into place with a rubber mallet. The side pin goes in after and will also need to be hammered into place.

That video is a detailed walk through of the whole thing other than how he did the sway bar.

The video was helpful. Wish I would have seen it before I started! I got the sway bar back in but it only protrudes thru the busing about 1/2 inch on both sides. When I try and push it in further the other side slips out. I have the a-arms and cross member loosened up. Do you think when I tighten them back up it will prevent the ends slipping out?

I tightened them all up and let the sway bar hang. It should stay in place. After you get the torsion bars put in and the ball joints attached, finally attach the sway bar to the chassis. I lubed the sway bar bushings with silicone lube. I used a rubber mallet to tap the sway bar into place to line up with the attachment points. Its important to line up the holes in the chassis with the sway bar brackets and the undertray. It is easy to screw up the threads in the chassis. Do not crank on those bolts if they are binding.

Every thing is now installed. That’s for all the suggestions . I found that jacking up the a-arms helped with installing the sway bar.