Installing used torsion bars

[Joeaksa]

When installing used torsion bars, do they have to be re-installed in the same side as before? Did not know if they "take a set" from being on another car.

If you buy a used set and have no idea how they were mounted, what is the proceedure? Are they marked in any way to show rotation or position?

TIA,

Joe

[ttweed]

Yes, they take a set and should not be reversed. Unless they are aftermarket, they will have "R" and "L" on the ends to indicate side.

[Joeaksa]

TT,

Am looking at Sanders and Sway Away bars. Are they marked?

Thx,

Joe

[ttweed]

I think the solid Sway-aways may have marks, but the hollow bars do not, since the end of the bar has no surface for the marking stamp (it is, after all, hollow-there's a space there, not a surface!)

You should be able to tell from the wear marks on the splines of a used bar which side they were on, however, if they are apparent. The loads from the suspension will deform the splines on one side or the other. You might need a magnifying glass to tell on a bar with little wear, though, and then go through the mental exercise of picturing how the loads are applied at each end of the bar according to which side they were installed on.

TT

[rattlsnak]

The hollow ones also have a stamp on them. There is a small lip on the end. There usually is one set of splines that are an inch or so longer than the other end. I *think* the short side goes to the outside. You can look at the old ones you take out and see what I mean. Geez, I just put some in last week, and I cant remember!

[Joeaksa]

Thanks guys! Just what I was looking for! Now to find the bars at a price I can afford!

Joe

[rattlsnak]

This should make you cry,. It sure made me cry!! After I installed the 32 bars I sat the 28's on the table (in the shop at the dealership) and when I came in Monday, the cleaning crew had tossed them out.!!! AAARRGGHHH!! I was gonna sell them for @ 175 or so..

[ttweed]

Originally posted by rattlsnak
The hollow ones also have a stamp on them. There is a small lip on the end. There usually is one set of splines that are an inch or so longer than the other end. I *think* the short side goes to the outside. You can look at the old ones you take out and see what I mean. Geez, I just put some in last week, and I cant remember!

Thanks for the correction. I did not know that the hollow ones are also stamped. I have only used solid bars, but I thought I remembered a post by someone saying that the Sanders bars were not marked L and R.

The orientation of the bar is easy to determine, since the spline count is different on each end. The early bars have 44 teeth on the outside and 40 teeth on the inside. The later bars have 47/46 teeth ('87-'89). They won't fit backwards.

[KTL]

That's right, the Sander bars are not L/R designated. Not prestressed like the factory bars.

[rattlsnak]

I agree with the Sanders bars, but the Welts/SwayaWays are marked.