Front torsion bars., What is the life span? Options

[Krieger]

So these things are getting old. The newest ones are 41 years old! Of course mileage comes into play. I am not taking into account your rubber bushings have sagged to the point your torsion bars are grinding against the a arm (very common). Let's go with an optimum, best case scenario: no grinding and 130k miles and 41 years old. Do they loose there ability to work through there range of motion as intended? Sag?

[mepstein]

The paper is a bit over my head. My son would understand the calculations but I just zipped to the conclusion. My gut feeling is that while the torsion bars will eventually fatigue, most of the other moving parts will wear first so the bars are sort of the last thing on the list, unless they are rusty, cracked or worn.

[bbrock]

The paper is a bit over my head. My son would understand the calculations but I just zipped to the conclusion. My gut feeling is that while the torsion bars will eventually fatigue, most of the other moving parts will wear first so the bars are sort of the last thing on the list, unless they are rusty, cracked or worn.

How rusty is too rusty? I was going to post a pic of one of mine when I got closer to suspension work on my resto, but since the subject has come up... The rear bushing had obviously leaked on one and pitted the surface just a little. Not sure whether to repaint and reuse. I had a torsion bar break on my first 914. It broke while parked, which I've read is common. I've no issue with walking out to the garage to find a sagging corner on the car. Less thrilled about the idea of snapping one during a hard corner. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/yikes.gif)