Torsion bar questions

[Litchkar]

might be a silly question, but do torsion bars weaken with age? My 71 challenger started life as a 318, now a 340. I have had to adjust the height on one side twice this year because of tire rub. What size do you recommend for a cruiser, and does it take special tools to do?
Thank you

 

[Mopars & Missiles]

might be a silly question, but do torsion bars weaken with age? My 71 challenger started life as a 318, now a 340. I have had to adjust the height on one side twice this year because of tire rub. What size do you recommend for a cruiser, and does it take special tools to do?
Thank you

What condition is the torsion bar crossmember? If you have a lot of rust in that area, the hub/base may be rusting out and starting to break loose and rotating there. If so, just a matter of time and the suspension is going to drop completely and suddenly.

 

[Litchkar]

It is rust free, car has spent its whole life in So Cal

 

[moparleo]

I would do as Mopars & Missiles said and get the car up in the air on a car lift and inspect the entire underside of your car. It may be rust free but it is also over 40 years old and a lot can happen in 40 years. Check for rust, broken or missing spot welds. sign of damage. And yes torsion bars do wear out but they normally just snap and leave you on the side of the road if not in an accident. If you want to drive your car a lot it wouldn't hurt to upgrade some of the suspension parts with newer technology. New bushings, ball joints, upper control arms and reinforced lower arms. New torsion bars and adjusters just to name a few.

 

[Mopars & Missiles]

It is rust free, car has spent its whole life in So Cal

That's a good thing, glad to hear it. But something isn't right if the suspension continues to drop on you. A thorough inspection of the torsion system is in order. Moparleo is correct, the torsion bars usually just snap when they fail. Never seen one just slowly unwind. It really sounds like that base/anchor is twisting in the crossmember. Hope you get it figured out!

 

[Litchkar]

Will check it out, previous owner did change it to tubular UCA's and the LCA's are reinforced. It is just about an 1" drop over 6 months. I am looking at PST's site and saw their 1.03" torsion bar set, what are your thoughts on those?

 

[Adam]

I think they are good bars and will be a nice upgrade. I believe they are bare steel so you might want to spray them with rattle can undercoating (not the ends). BTW, "Paintable" undercoating gets hard, the other stays flexible so try to use that... Any auto parts store should have it.

 

[Litchkar]

Thanks to every one for their responses, I am gonna raise it, mark the torsion bar and socket and check for unusual twisting of the socket. Also, PST listed the 1.03" torsion bars as black powder coated, looks like a great deal. If they are getting weak, then a complete failure of the unit is not far off.

 

[Mopar Mitch]

Thanks to every one for their responses, I am gonna raise it, mark the torsion bar and socket and check for unusual twisting of the socket. Also, PST listed the 1.03" torsion bars as black powder coated, looks like a great deal. If they are getting weak, then a complete failure of the unit is not far off.

I highly suggest a little larger TB... 1.10-1.12 Firm Feel has them, as do others. The small TB size (1.03) you're looking at now will barely be noticeable .... don't be afraid of moving up to ~1.12 from FF (or 1.10 from Hotchkis)... or larger 1.15 from BAC. I run 1.24 and they are great... stiff yes... tooooo stiff?... nope (I've got an overall f/r setup that works great!... AX/HSAX/HPDE... street/hwy!)

 

[Litchkar]

Is yours a small block? it seems like a big jump from a .88 bar to a 1.10+ unit. I have used Firm Feels products before and know their quality.