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Torsion Bar Adjustment

XRover

XRover

Charter Member
SM 2003
Full Member
Joined
Jan 26, 2002
Messages
1,610
Location
Los Angeles, California
I fianally got tired of my leaning av and decided to adjust the torsion bars.

Here are the scary details:

From day 1, my Av has sat almost an 1 " lower on the drivers side front end. I measured this from the top of the tire to the fender lip. I got under the truck and checked the adjustment bolts and I noticed that the drivers side bolt was already turned in more then the passanger side bolt. I could either lower the passanger side or lift the sagging drivers side. I opted for the lift.

In order to get to the same clearance as the passanger side (6 1/8 ") I had to tighten the adjusting bolt on the drivers side 5 turns.. Can you believe that, 5 turns..

Now the truck does not lean anymore from side to side, but the Drivers side adjusting bolt is turned in almost all the way and the passanger side bolt is out most of the way. WTF... How can they be soo far off?

I have an appointment to bring the pig in on Tue for some issues and I have asked for the complimentary wheel alignment. I will also bring up the large margin of adjustment on the torsion bars.

I am very worried about the shaft angles now on the drivers side.

Anybody measure the height from the top of the front tire to the bottom metal lip of the fender ?
 
From what I've read on the boards and personal experience pretty much all the trucks come sagging on one side. I'm not sure why they are like this. In fact, the trucks don't seem to be consistent w/ what torsion bars they have on them, sort of a luck of the draw. You may want to measure it from the ground to the frame since the fender height may be slightly off and the ground to frame will be a much more accurate measure.
 
Thanks guy's

I did read that link from an earlier post and that is what prompted me to do it.


What is really strange is that the front end side to side is level but the CV joints on the side which I had to lift (drivers) are at a more radical angle then the other side.

Tomorrow it is going into the shop.
 
Good choice - your description doesn't sound like the usual lean to the drivers side problem. Maybe its all those HID's, you did put them on both sides, right? ;D
 
XRover,
I brought up this problem of the driver's side being lower on the Avy a couple of weeks ago. Since then, I spoke to the service manager and he stated that the difference in height from driver to passenger side should be withing 1/2" of each other. I also drove the Avy to different parking lot and took measurements with the Avy parked at different angles to take measurements. It seems that it varies alot from about 1 1/4" difference to 1/2" difference always the driver side lower. Then I got under the Avy and noticed the that the gas tank is on the driver's side and was wondering if a full tank was the problem. I am going to measure the heights again when the gas tank is near empty.
 
I am sure the fuel tank has something to do with it but the tank is closer to the rear end and the rear doesn't lean much. I got my front end level and it seems to stay that way even with different fuel levels.

I just dropped the truck off this morning for some work which includes the 4 wheel alignment. I mentioned the issue of the torsion bar adjusting bolts being so far off in adjustment between the driver and passanger sides. The Service Manager said that that is pretty normal.

We will see
 
Xrover,

I finally got around to measuring the front end. I measured from the top of the wheel well where the metal meets the molding, toward the doors (or away from the front end.) The driver side measured 36 1/8" to the ground and the passenger side measured 36 3/8". Only 1/4" difference but still lower on the driver side.
I am interested to know what other AVs measure from this location. I have noticed from looking at many of the pictures posted here that my front end appears to be much lower than average. My Av really looks like it got hungry and decided to start grazing. ;)
I don't want to make it level, but I'm considering a little torsion adjustment.

helmet
 
Helmet - yours sounds perfect - don't forget the alignment if you take more than three turns - dealer will do it anyway if less than 7500 miles.

BTW, folks - after you hike the front up check your headlights - or wait for some 6'6" redneck to discuss your lights in his eyes ;D
 
XRover,

How did you make out with the dealer? ???

Here is what I posted about a month ago on this subject.

I had this problem with my Av right from the beginning. I finally convinced the dealer that the driver's side was lower - they acted like they had never run into this before and were completely baffled on how to fix it. I has print-outs of info of the internet to show them how others had the problem and it was simply a torsion bar adjustment.

Well - after about 4 hours I got them to adjust the right side torsion bar lower and this brought my Av to a level stance side- to -side. They then did an alignment on it. They never did figure out how to do a measurement on it from the body to the frame - they were trying to measure from the ground to the top of the wheel well on each side - which at best is a very subjective measurement that can vary due to tire pressure, amount of fuel in the tank, etc. Anyways - I'm happy now that it sits evenly from side to side.

What I would like to pursue to even the truck out from front to rear is a 1.5 or 2 inch drop in the back end. I would rather do this than raise the front with the torsion bars. Has anybody done this on this board? Somebody on the Town Hall board posted a while back about a 2 inch drop in the rear using Bell-tech rear drop shackles. Anybody got some more info on this?
 
gandolphxx said:
Helmet - yours sounds perfect - don't forget the alignment if you take more than three turns - dealer will do it anyway if less than 7500 miles.
Click to expand...
Thanks Gandolphxx,
When you say perfect, do you mean "leave it alone" or perfect as in "both sides actually measure somewhat the same"?
By the way, I think someone questioned wether or not the gas tank location could be responsible for a lower driver side - just for those keeping score, mine is sitting at 3/4 empty right now. (or 1/4 full if your an optimist) ;D

helmet
 
Helmet;

1. Your tank is 1/4 full, not 3/4 empty - good grief.
2. Your front end is the envy of us all - a 9.8.
3. By all means crank it - it will make it feel more like a "truck" - keep in mind that the back is higher to accomodate a "real" load in the bed - you never know when you will need to carry 1/2 ton of horse manure. ;D

BTW; when do we see the "silver spurs"? :rolleyes:
 
???Okay guys, i drive about 4000 miles a month and love the ride of my av. How much stiffer will it be it i level off the front end using torsion bars. Looks like it will have to come up about 1.5"s.......... i want the look of level, but hate to give up that great ride...
Thanks for all the info you guys are pumping in....
zeeya
 
If you take it up that much it will stiffen your ride - by tightening them that much you are defeating the purpose of the torsion bars - I would only do it to level the truck side-to-side or to allow for tires.

My $.02 :p
 
I had to put 4 1/2 turns into the drivers side bolt to get the rid of the lean. The front end handles better now. Absolutely an improvement.
 
gandolphxx said:
Helmet;

1. Your tank is 1/4 full, not 3/4 empty - good grief.
2. Your front end is the envy of us all - a 9.8.
3. By all means crank it - it will make it feel more like a "truck" - keep in mind that the back is higher to accomodate a "real" load in the bed - you never know when you will need to carry 1/2 ton of horse manure. ;D

BTW; when do we see the "silver spurs"? :rolleyes:
Click to expand...

1. Gandolphxx I like your optimism!
2. If you give my front end a 9.8 what do you think about my rear end? :p
3. I'll probably crawl under there this weekend. I typically haul smaller loads of manure. ;)
4. I need to get my second shortest side kick to help me pick out the "silver spurs", after all, they were her idea! ;D ;D

helmet
 
Are torsion bar adjustments done with the wheels on the ground, or do you jack the truck up first?

BTW, it's not 1/4 full or 3/4 empty it's too much tank for the amount of fuel. ;)
 
Seems to be an even split on this - depends on how strong you are, and wether you believe that it will be less stress on the bars if the weight is off the wheels. Pays your money and take your chances.

Check this out Torsion Bar thread ;D
 
I did my adjustment with the wheels on the ground/ no jack. I turned the bolt clockwise which tightens the bolt and effectively raises the vehicle. I found that fro every 1/2 turn it would equate to 1/4" of lift. After every full turn, I would push down on the tailgate to let the front suspension flex a little bit and then I would take another measurement. I measured from the top of the tire to the bottom of the metal fender lip above it. You can also measure from the ground to the frame.

Yes it does require some strength to turn the bolt but not so much that you would need to get your Mother in law involved ;) To resist any possibility of snapping the bolt off, I made sure to turn it slowly with even amount of force. My goal was strictly to remove the vehicles lean to the drivers side. I wanted to lift rather then lower the passangers side to equal the drivers side.

From day one the lean was a problem and so was my complaint that the front end seemed real soft when cornering. I now have 6 1/4 " clearance on both sides and the cornering charecteristics have greatly improved.

I had the dealer perform the wheel alignment after my adjustment and they said it only needed a minor adjustment to the camber.

I have absolutely no negative results from correcting the lean except for the new T shirt that I got messed up from not laying a blanket on the ground.
 
BTW, a cheap and disposable "crawler" is the box from a refrigerator - easy to pick up at the local store - they are gld to get rid of them. Slides in easy - saves wear and tear on the clothes and you get rid of it when you miss with the oil change. ;D
 
Yes, those boxes come in real handy. I have my eye on one which would sleep 2 comfortably in case business doesn't pick up. ;D
 
can someone explain to me what the reason is for the wheel alignment after this adjustment is done?

does it need to be done to just the front end? or both front and rear?
 
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