Snapped Torsion Bar ??

[DCred911SC]

While reversing my SC out of the garage this morning, I moved back about 2 feet then heard a loud crack followed by the back end instantaneously dropping virtually to the floor (my back end wasn't too clever after that either !).

What do you reckon, snapped torsion bar ??

If so, is this a difficult job to tackle and what is involved

comments, suggestions and tips are welcome


Thanks

David:

[rexav8r]

WOW, that sounds pretty odd really !

...Just backing out, gently??

If you don't SEE anything else sounds like the T- bar is a really good guess !!

Check your damper (shock absorber) mounts too, but I wouldn't thing the car would necessarily fall close to the floor for that.

The T-bar job can be a bit of a bear, especially if your spring plate covers don't want to come off. I've got an older 1970 911 and got it done without too much problem though.

You have to pull off the deco trim on the side first, remove the small cover plate on the car's body, THEN get to work on removeing the spring plate...

That's the easy part. I think part of you problem is going to be that with a BROKEN torsion bar, you are (probably) going to have to pull the opposite torsion bar out as well so that you can stick a dowell rod through and push out the inner broken part. You probably ought to replace your T-bars as a pair anyway to make sure that they act the same side-to-side and you don't force a break on the opposite side.

The hard part, if you've never done it before and don't have a "gig" (whatever the hell that is) is actually getting them indexed correctly and evenly when you put them back in.

I would also STRONGLY recommend replacing the spring plate bushings "while you're in there" (GOD I HATE THAT PHRASE NOW) too. I just put Neatrix on mine this spring and LOVE them !! The indexing is just such a pain that if your bushings are worn I'd replace them now so you don't have to pull every thing back off soon and go through it again.

[Jerome Ryals]

Richard is pretty dead on with his comments. You will need to do a good inspection of the torsion tube while you are at it - rust??? You will have to pull the other torsion bar out to be able to remove the broken one out. The ends of the torsion bars (middle of the torsion tube) insert into an hour glass shaped piece that is welded and crimped in the middle of the tube, there it is open all the way through the center but it is a small opening (I am guessing here I posted a picture of this on the board one time about 5 or 6 months ago) youe would need to use aa small diameter piece of pipe to drive the broken end out. Good luck and keep us posted. Inspect for rust while 'you are in there'. J R

[rexav8r]

To push one of my "stuck" T-bars out, I just used a wood dowell rod about 3/4" or 1" thick and about four and a half to five feet long.

I also used a shop vac with a long skinny attachment to get all the crap out of the tube after the bars were out.

[Jim Richards]

what brand t-bar was it? or was it OEM?

[widebody911]

When you need to re-index, go to http://rennlight.com/cgi-bin/spring.cgi

I had a pair break a couple weeks ago; Sway-A-Way 31mm hollow bars. This is allegedly a random mfg defect, and a new set are on the way.

[DCred911SC]

As far as I am aware, they are OEM.

Looks like I'll have to replace the pair, so does this make setting up the ride height even more difficult due to the fact that I cannot, "just put everything back in the same position as it was".......as they say!!

Any suspension tuning guys out there can give me some pointers for the initial set up ??

Much appreciated

David

[wholberg]

Be thankful it broke in your driveway and not at the apex of a high speed turn!!!

[DCred911SC]

too right !! ......... the thought of it makes the actual fixing job pale into insignificance

David

[Joe Bob]

Consider upgrading....if you like a more "competitive" suspension to larger bars and install, new bushings and adjustable plates.

[cbeers]

Hey David,

If the spring plate, torsion bar cover and the trailing arm are all still in place, you can scribe the alignment of the spring plate near the torsion bar cover as well as where it mates to the trailing arm so that when you put it all back together, you have a pretty good guide to getting the set up correct. You should probably get an alignment after, just to be sure, but you should be able to get it really close if those parts have not moved.

Let us know what you find!

-Chris

[cbeers]

Like this:

(only, hopefully, you will have a more steady hand )



Also scribe the ride height adjustment near the torsion bar cover.

-Chris