Is it possible to remove the torsion bars?, With the suspension on the car Options

[turnaround89]

This may be a really dumb question, but the front end of my car really need to be lowered and the adjusters are rusted stuck. Ive tried everything, penetrating oil for days on end, locking pliers, bolt out on a ratchet. the allen is rounded out as well which makes matters worse. I saw a picture of the torsion bar and adjuster out of an a arm, is it possible to pull the torsion bar and adjuster or should i just pull the whole a arm off to work on the adjuster part?

If i pull the a arm, i take it that means i need a front end alignment done, right?

Heres the picture i saw, that made me wonder if the adjuster and torsion bar can come out with the a arm still attached to the car

jmmotorsports = i hope you don't mind me using your picture for some help

(IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/uploads/post-6658-1246635808.jpg)

[r_towle]

Well,
You cant get the adjuster cap out of the from a-arm without removing the adjuster first.

Try vice grips and heat first to get the adjuster out.
If not, you could cut the adjuster bolt off and get used caps from the classifieds.

Rich

[SirAndy]

You can remove them with the a-arms still on the car.
But the front must be unloaded. A pair of jackstands will do.

As for the alignment, any change to the ride height will require you to realign the car.
So plan on doing that no matter what.
(IMG:style_emoticons/default/shades.gif) Andy

[turnaround89]

So i need the adjuster bolt out to remove the adjuster and torsion bar. How difficult is it to remove the torsion bar and adjuster cap?

The front end is already up on jackstands, no rotors on the spindle, everything else is just hanging down, i take it the front end is unloaded as the car sits on the jackstands right now. With the front end unloaded, will i have to worry about the torsion bars being under any load at all?

Alright, not to worried about the alignment then, just want to get the adjuster cap off the car

[SirAndy]

The bolts need to be out and the cap should just come off. If the TB are rusted, they can be a bitch to remove.

On the other end, towards the front of the car, there's a round cap on the a-arm that you can remove.
It's a bit tricky to get off, but you can then whack the TB from the front and see if it moves.
(IMG:style_emoticons/default/smash.gif) Andy

[turnaround89]

I cut the bolt head off and the adjuster screw won't come off, removed the guard clip and starting hitting the TB and it didn't move at all. Came to the decision of removing the whole suspension setup as a unit, that proved to be a problem as well. On the passenger side of the car, i can't get the ball joint to release from the control arm. On the drivers side, there is no bolt head on the bolt to remove to get the ball joint off the control arm. All the bolts are removed that hold the suspension up, i think its like 10 bolts in all, but it won't come off the car. I can move the control arms a little bit, but they won't go down towards the floor. I plan on replacing as much of the front suspension as possible while its off the car, but why can't i get the stuff off the car? Any help is greatly appreciated!!!!!!!!!

[jmill]

You can get the ball joint loose by spreading open the split in the strut. Be gentle and don't mar up the strut. A pickle fork (ball joint remover) works too but you usually tear up the rubber on the ball joint.

There shouldn't be a head on the bolt. It's a swedge fit. Remove the nut and push the bolt out. I use a rivet gun with a brass set to not tear up the threads to knock it out. You can thread the nut out to protect the threads and use a non marring hammer. Or tear it up and buy new bolts.

Let me know if you need parts. I have two sets of 914 A-arms and TB's. I'm not too far North of you. You can have what you need.

[Dave_Darling]

The manuals for the 911 that uses the same wedge pin and ball joint arrangement always refer to that as "Wedge Pin (always replace)". I say take an air chisel to the thing and replace it when you re-install.

You can drill a hole in the front torsion bar retainer and use a big punch and hammer the s**t out of it to drive the torsion bar toward the rear of the car.

--DD

[914Sixer]

Did you soak all the suspension points with PB Blaster or equivilent? Let it set for 24 hr and resoak. It will make the whole job alot easier.

[turnaround89]

The front suspension is early 72, so i don't have the wedge pin, its a bolt. Im pretty darn sure that the thing isn't wedged in there, the bolt makes its way through the other side and you can see the threads. Pulling the pass. side off it is a definite thread. Since the bolt wouldn't come out, we had to cut off the ball joint, spindle is ruined, however, there is a happy ending....I found a complete 87 911 SC front end thats gonna go on the car.

Instead of replacing one spindle, ball joints, shocks, tie rods, etc, ill upgrade to the 911 front end.