Any tricks to getting the front torsion adjuster off?
 

I'm in the middle of lowering the front of the 76 and can't seem to get the front torsion bar adjuster off. I have taken the adjuster screw all the way out and jacked up the front hub to relieve tension (still seems loaded to me), but it still won't come off. I have tried puting a screw driver thru the access hole in the cross member and tapping it out (from the front of car to back). I'm afraid I might damage the adjuster this way. Any tricks to getting this thing off?

Keep tension off and lightly tap it all around. It probably has some rust on the spline.

Do you have the entire front end up or just one corner? If just the corner, your sway bar might be transmitting a load onto the torsion bar, even if it doesn't look like it is.

Jeff,

The adjuster is really tough metal. No worries of messing it up. The alloy crossmember is what can get damaged. I've seen a couple of them with the area around the adjusting screw broken off. Prying too hard against the thin alloy might not be the best idea.

Try taking the cap off the other end of the A-arm, and you can drive the torsion bar out with a hammer and dowel.

I'm guessing the adjuster is rusted to the torsion bar. Happens alot. Especially in the front of the car at the end of the A-arm.

Good luck! SmileWavy

I've encountered some that were frozen on so badly that even an air hammer on the end of the opposite end of the torsion bar wouldn't do it.

But that's rare. The adjuster end usually isn't as bad. You need to apply even pressure. See if you can get something to pry on the opposite side with so the cap won't bind on the torsion bar.

Thanks guys,

Eugene, I do have only one side up. Didn't even think about the sway bar applying pressure, DOH!

Well, Eugene nailed it. It was the sway bar loading the torsion bar. The adjusters (actually the adjusters and the torsion bars) came right off after that. I indexed them 2 splines and fine tuned it with the adjuster screws and it is sitting good now.

Thanks guys.