Where to buy torsion bars...

[J444HN]

Thanks for your reply. A garage told me that the bars could snap with more tension on them? Is this correct or is he not got a clue?
I currently have Bilstein HD shocks that are only 6 months old.

Thanks again, I appreciate you replying as I genuinely have no one here who has the knowledge you guys have.

 

[Physh1]

He's off base. You're not increasing tension or adding weight. Cranking up or down really just re-indexes ride height.

As far as the shocks go I'd say you're probably ok. I'd really suggest going with new keys.

Cameron

 

[livingez_123]

I would also look at the lower control arm(LCA) where the torsion bar goes into it. over time the LCA will wear and you can see the torsion starting to turn in the LCA. The LCA is much softer then the torsion bar so it wears first.

 

[Pachanga02]

Looking through the pages in lmc magazine I found that they sell torsion bars. Sorry have no part numbers the wife "stored" it in the garbage can. I think price was around $350

 

[01ssreda4]

He's off base. You're not increasing tension or adding weight. Cranking up or down really just re-indexes ride height.

As far as the shocks go I'd say you're probably ok. I'd really suggest going with new keys.

Cameron

This is exactly correct. I added aftermarket arms to the old ladys ride and it caused the ride height to be extremely low when set back to the stock setting. The alignment guy was afraid to raise the height to the max adjustment because it would "ride like a dump truck". This was a district manager of a tire/alignment chain. No ******* clue how suspension works. He put it about one turn from max height and it sits level and rides normal. Idiot.

 

[livingez_123]

Lack of proper training is a real issue these days, they think just because its a computer telling you where the setting are, it should just be like a video game. When I took my Denali into a local tires chain...Les Schwab, I had to tell the guy how to set the castor and camber because he was fighting it. He just didn't understand how to set the Castor and then the Camber without it changing the Castor. I showed him a simple trick on how to do it and he got it right on the money. People need to spend more teaching and not assuming.

 

[Wake]

I would also look at the lower control arm(LCA) where the torsion bar goes into it. over time the LCA will wear and you can see the torsion starting to turn in the LCA. The LCA is much softer then the torsion bar so it wears first.

Interesting, I hadn't even considered that possibility.

Well, unfortunately a business trip will have me tied up for a bit, but my torsion bar removal tool came in this week. Now all i need is some free time to swap out the upper and lower control arms. After that, there won't be a piece of the front or rear suspension that isn't new. I'll have to remember to take a good look at the current LCA to see if it is indeed letting the torsion bar slip.

I'm sincerely hoping that this 90K mile truck rides like a brand new vehicle when I'm finished. So far every older vehicle I've rebuilt has had the desired effect. I was just a bit concerned about how spongy the right front seems to be with almost everything currently on there being new.

After that it's on to the transmission. I have a rebuilt Jasper unit that is now out of warranty and has lost engagement on me twice in the last few hundred miles while in 4th gear.

 

[cbepro]

Here is a couple links discussing torsion bars...

http://z71tahoe-suburban.com/iboard/lofiversion/index.php?t38434.html

http://z71tahoe-suburban.com/iboard/lofiversion/index.php?t37584.html

GMPartsDirect.com had the XM bars for $248 each shipped to Cali.

 

[Wake]

I considered that for the simple reason you stated, they aren't readily available new.

Maybe when I replace the control arms I'll see something apparent causing my bad ride. At 90K miles I suspect the bushings and ball joints are pretty worn. It does feel spongy though, even with new shocks.

Well the project is done. The new control arms made the biggest difference of all the parts I replaced, the upper control arms especially seemed to be pretty bad in the bushings.

Got the alignment done today and she rides almost like a new truck now, I'm very happy with the results.

---------- Post added at 11:51 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:49 PM ----------

I would also look at the lower control arm(LCA) where the torsion bar goes into it. over time the LCA will wear and you can see the torsion starting to turn in the LCA. The LCA is much softer then the torsion bar so it wears first.

At 93K miles I had no deforming of the LCA where the torsion bar goes into it. The bushings in the lowers didn't look too bad but I replaced them anyway since I only wanted to tackle this once. The uppers seemed to be pretty worn in the bushings.