HELP - Torsion bar frozen in radius arm.

ulrichd · 06-23-2006, 03:35 PM

The pic below (from another thread) shows were I am. The torsion bar moves freely in and out, but it is stuck solidly in the radius arm. I have PB blasted for hours, sledge hamered even used propane heat. No luck and getting kind of desperate.

Can I drill out the outer end cap of the torsion bar and reverse tap it out, assuming its hollow all the way through.

Ulrich

randywebb · 06-23-2006, 04:43 PM

beat sideways on the Tbar with a metal hammer - not super hard; spray with penetrant; repeat 400 times over the next few days (OK, just do it 100 times over 3 days...)

Then,
get a drift and put it thru the hole in the body - tape where it might rub there

put the 'assembly' back up there (maybe with a spacer)

now get a big metal hammer and beat the hell out of the drift

ulrichd · 06-23-2006, 05:19 PM

Sorry to be ignorant but was is a "drift"?

randywebb · 06-23-2006, 05:31 PM

a long metal rod - steel will be good for this since it 'rings'

a really big center punch might work too

Fidalgo911S · 06-23-2006, 06:18 PM

That's what I did years ago on an old car. I drilled a hole in the center of the spring plate, inserted a metal rod, and hammered the bar free. Use plenty of liquid wrench to get the rust soaked, and place a 2X4 between the spring plate and the body.

ulrichd · 06-23-2006, 06:28 PM

Fidalgo,
You're talking about drilling into the end cap, right? I just wanted to make sure it was hollow all the way through before doing it only to find out it's closed up at the center.

Looks like I'll try that first.

Tspringer · 06-23-2006, 07:06 PM

At least your not stuck a the other end of the t-bar!

That can be a tad bit perplexing.

Fidalgo911S · 06-23-2006, 10:19 PM

Yes it's hollow. Use a high-quality drill bit (carbide or something behind the glass case at the hardware store). See illustration below.

tiwebber · 06-23-2006, 10:21 PM

Mine was pretty stuck in the radius arm too. I tried hammering but it was hard to hold the t-bar and hammer at the same time; Just not enouph resistance. I wrapped the t-bar with cloth to prevent damage, used vice-grips to secure it, then clamped the vice grips to the area in your pic that is whiteish in colour with a long carpenters clamp. That way the radius arm was secure and would not move when hammered. That worked quickly for me.

ulrichd · 06-24-2006, 02:41 PM

Fidalgo,
Thanks for taking the time to do the diagram. I am happy to say it worked out. With lots of PB Blaster I was able to hammer them out.

Ulrich

tiwebber · 06-24-2006, 07:11 PM

Was at a kids party - parents there too. Great margaritas. When I got home I had just enouph extra bravery to use crow bars and other forms of leverage to persuade the bolts to go in. It just involved lifting the spring plate underneath the area that had to go up a a 3 or so mm.

I guess sometimes things are not as precise as you might guess ( I am new to mechanics) or it is precise and I did something wrong.

tiwebber · 06-24-2006, 07:12 PM

oops wrong thread. hicup.