Torsion bars...

Level 4 User Joined: 30 Jan 2006 Posts: 91

Hey, I had a look through the knowledge base and as much as I want to read some of the articles, there isnt one on torsion bars/servicing/lowering.

Is their one due in the near future or has anyone got a copy of a script or a web address I could use? I found one on the Renault Megane Coupe site but its not very helpful with tiny pics.

Forum Moderator Joined: 18 Feb 2004 Posts: 7432

I assume you found the one done by 'zed' from RSC on the yellow clio? It's a lot simpler than the guides and so on make it look.

Anyway first thing to do is go and pull the end caps off your torsion bars and see what they're like in there. If it's all rusty, you might not be able to shift the bars anyway.

Level 4 User Joined: 30 Jan 2006 Posts: 91

No I didnt find that one....I typed various things into google and looked through the various Renault sites I know of.

Just having a quick look and it looks pretty rusty but without getting the sus up and getting rid of the surface rust I cant see.Ive got, what look like inspection holes on my sus where the splines fit in and its rusted but I think with a load of WD40 (or other penetrating stuff..) there might be a chance.I couldnt get the end caps off as its raining...

Forum Moderator Joined: 18 Feb 2004 Posts: 7432

OK, assuming the rust doesn't stop you (I'm not sure what rust you're talking about, but the only rust that is relevant is what may or may not be hiding under those plastic end caps) this is what you do:

Jack the rear of the car up

Take off both wheels

Undo the shocks so the trailing arms hang at rest (a few cm lower than with the shocks connected). The bars will be free of torsional loading (other than the weight of the trailing arms pulling down on them) at this point.

measure the distance from the hub to the wheel arch

use an M10 bolt, a nut and a large socket to pull the bars out. I'm sure you've seen the pics of this.

Jack up the arms until the measurement from the hub to wheelarch is whatever it was before minus the amount you want it lowered

Slap copper grease on the splines both ends and put the bars back in. Because they have a different number of splines on their inner end to their outer end, they will only go back in a certain rotational position for any given ride height. keep rotating them spline by spline and trying them until you find the position the splines match up at both the inner and outer end and go in.

Tap them in slightly

Remove the jack from the arm.

Check your hub to wheelarch measurement is still correct.

Hammer the bars fully home

Reconnect the shocks

Put the wheels back on

Job done.

Ignore all the stuff about 'clicks' to lower by - it's all bollocks. In *theory* you could geometrically work out how many splines at the inner and outer end to adjust the bar by for a given height change, but in practice you just do it like above.

Level 4 User Joined: 30 Jan 2006 Posts: 91

Hmmm,when you do it like that it sound easy! I understand it all roughly in proportion to my car from memory but any sites with decent pics?

Forum Moderator Joined: 02 Mar 2004 Posts: 19978

zeds guides fuckign terrible but everyone thinks its great. funny thing was he asked me how to do it I told him he put hisa own spin on it and made a total fuck up of the guide.

I will do a lowerign one soonish

Site Subscriber Joined: 28 Jan 2005 Posts: 3547

i did the clio's today, was a right bastard to get back in.

Level 4 User Joined: 30 Jan 2006 Posts: 91

Haha,I look forward to it Chris.

Level 5 User Joined: 11 Apr 2006 Posts: 122

Is raising the torsion bar the revesal of this or is it not that easy?

Forum Moderator Joined: 18 Feb 2004 Posts: 7432

Yep, same thing

Level 5 User Joined: 11 Apr 2006 Posts: 122

Cheers.

Do you know why the hubs don't 'drop' when you take the torsion bars out from a previously lowered car?

When I 1st took the torsion bars out heard a clunk and the hubs dropped right down, when I went to raise it a few months later the hubs stayed where they were when I took the bars out, so I left it. Just curious.