Rear Torsion bar removal

adam911 · 05:37 PM

Just trying to remove the rear torsion bar on my 69 911 in order to lower it. Naturally the inward end has come free, but the outward end is on tight and I cant remove the radius arm from it. Also I know you're not supposed to damage the paint on the torsion bar, so can't put a pair of grips on it to hold it and pop the radius arm off.

So what's the secret? Any help would be appreciated.

Adam

ivangene · 05-07-2011, 10:58 AM

my inners stuck...outter came right off...

the secret is wiggle wiggle pull pull wiggle wiggle pull pull till you need 2 600mg advils

best of luck, how low ya going, are you changing the bushings?

pete3799 · pete3799's Garage

If they are stuck like mine were you will need a puller and LOTS of heat.

adam911 · 05-07-2011, 05:34 PM

Well, the outers were stuck on both sides and no amount of messing around would get them off, so I could only dial them on the inner 1 click, which lowered it by about 3 inches, which was more than I wanted.
Here's a couple of before and after photos.

Too low, but it'll have to do for now...Oddly no bump steer, but I do have turbo tie rods...Guess I'd better get it realigned now.

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ivangene · 05-07-2011, 06:01 PM

was that 1 click? did you have an angle guage?

looks really whacked front to rear, might be the pic....

ivangene · 05-07-2011, 06:02 PM

btw great looking car....

you might consider letting an alignment guy to the height setting... and dialing in the corners for weight too... what a great color, looks clean as a whistle

adam911 · 06:31 PM

Yep, 1 click which is about 9 degrees. 1 click on the outer is about 8.1 degrees, so you can see why it's essential to be able to dial in both ends.

I did consider drilling a hole in the end of the cap and drifting it out. I could then weld up the hole or epoxy it. I'll do some more research and see if it's viable.

And the front needs to come down another half an inch, but it's maxed out so I need to reset the adjuster on the end of the torsion bar. Figured I'd wait and see if I'm going to keep it as is before I go to that trouble.

Thanks for the help.

adam911 · 06:38 PM

Should be clean. I spent 450 hours restoring the damn thing.

The color is chartreuse which is green, but seems to photograph yellow.

rattlsnak · rattlsnak's Garage

did you try using a pipe wrench with a rag wrapped around the bar?

adam911 · 05-07-2011, 06:50 PM

I did, I cut a piece of rubber mat, wrapped it round and then got vice grips on it. Tried then tapping it off, but there's not much room in there to tap.

ivangene · 05-07-2011, 07:22 PM

sweet....looks beautiful!

9 degrees is a lot....

I dont think you are heading back in there right away so you have time to think of a solution for the next attempt.

rattlsnak · rattlsnak's Garage

you're going to have to use heat then.. but also, many people use the drill a hole a tap out method you described ..

adam911 · 05-07-2011, 08:05 PM

So, that is an option. That's good to know. Think I'm going to look into resetting the front adjusters, so I can drop it down at the front a bit more. I didn't have the presence of mind to fill the gas tank before I started and my spare was at a painters, whose shop burnt down last week, with my wheel in it. Sadly there were 3 customer cars, his life's collection of tools and equipment, as well as $15K of carbon racing bikes. Due to the legality of his premises it wasn't insured. Naturally, my spare Fuchs is the least of his worries. Or mine on reflection.

So, get the right weight in the front, reset front adjusters. See how that looks.