Can't Load Torsion Bar?

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jb99

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you put the key wrong. it's one flat off.
Ah man, I was wondering about that but it's my first time going through it. So jack the truck up, back off the torsion bar, and try to pound the bar out? Any tips for removing a bar that's rusted solid into the LCA?
 

eran tomer

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i don't understand.
haven't you already removed this bar and put it back in?

the correct way of doing the bar is to mark front and rear, right and left, and to mark their original position relative to the keys and control arms.

to remove a stubborn bar i took a scisors jack, put it between the bars' cross member and the frame reinforcement just behind it, put a small socket between the jack and the rear end of the torsion bar through the hole, and started cranking so the socket is pushing the bar forward.

if your truck doesn't have the reinforcement behind the bars' cross-member you can just hit on the bars through the hole.
 

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jb99

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No, bar has not been removed at all yet. The way it's currently keyed is the way I bought it. Previous owner(s) must have installed the key wrong. I've been replacing a bunch of front suspension parts and only noticed the torsion bar issue when I went to put everything back together.

I like that jack idea, I will give that a try. Thanks!
 

jb99

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Quick update, mainly for anyone searching threads with the same issue in the future... I finally got around to getting the old torsion key off. Had to cut it, which was a pain. It took a combination of drilling holes and angle grinding, along with loading some tension on it using the torsion key tool. It eventually snapped right off. I then had to grind off the 6 bolts that hold the torsion crossmember (3 on each side) so I could get the new one on. I made sure to install the new key one rotation further clockwise than the one I removed.

It now looks too high into the crossmember, as it's already above the keyway without any tension on it. I'm going to see how it sits with everything buttoned up and some weight on the front. My guess is the torsion bar itself is worn out or possibly not the correct one for the truck.

So I may be stuck with either an underloaded torsion bar with the current clocking, or reclocking it to the original position and overloading the torsion bar. Since this is a farm/plow truck, I'm not too worried, but if I were doing this correctly I would probably replace the entire torsion bar.
 

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jb99

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Hey everyone, looking for suggestions on what to do next. Once I fixed the clocking of the passenger torsion key, the front of the truck is way too low even with maxing out the torsion bars. Additionally, the driver side is higher than the passenger side when setting the bolts to the same depth. I have to significantly back off the driver side bolt to even things out.

I'm guessing either both torsion bars are worn out, or I have an incorrect torsion bar on the passenger side. Or is there something else that might cause this scenario? Checking the RPO code in the glove box, I see "6GH" and "7GH". Looks like the only option I have for new would be the GL (19330059 & 19330060) from gmpartsdirect.com. Can anyone confirm these will work ok?
 

eran tomer

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the new key looks different than the old. you may now have two different keys. plus your torsion bar looks too rusty to do its job.
 

jb99

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There is a slight difference from old to new, about 1/2" measured at the tip. I'm thinking that most of my ride height issues are from the bars themselves being worn out and possibly the wrong bars. Based on what I've read, I should be able to swap the GL bars for the GH without issue; can anyone confirm? Are there any other adjustments that impact ride height besides the torsion bars?
 

offroadtahoe

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There is a slight difference from old to new, about 1/2" measured at the tip. I'm thinking that most of my ride height issues are from the bars themselves being worn out and possibly the wrong bars. Based on what I've read, I should be able to swap the GL bars for the GH without issue; can anyone confirm? Are there any other adjustments that impact ride height besides the torsion bars?
yes they should work can confirm,all t-bars are all interchangeable except 4 door suv's (they are 2 inches shorter),also if you upgrade to 2500 or 3500 weight rating bars,you have to swap left to right.or else the keys won't index right.
 

jb99

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I confirmed I have a YH bar on the passenger side (15058268-RH), and I'm fairly confident I have the stock GH bar on the driver side. I think that explains why the passenger side is sitting lower than the driver side even with the key all the way cranked. It's a lower rated bar than what the truck came with stock, and may explain why the previous owner set the key one flat off (trying to make up for it by over-loading the bar).

I've got both keys off at this point, and now just need to get the bars out. Trying a sledge with a 3' pipe in the front of the LCA later today, otherwise I'll rent a big air hammer.
 

jb99

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Sledge with a 3' pipe in the front of the LCA did nothing. I was wailing on it, but the bars wouldn't budge an inch. So I cut the bars as close to the LCA as I could, dropped the LCA completely, and hit the remainder of the torsion bar out with the sledge. I wish I had done this from the start. It was actually a pretty quick process and a lot less frustrating than the other ways I tried. Hope this helps someone else down the road.

I've got a set of matching used GK torsion bars headed my way, looking forward to getting this thing buttoned back up.
 

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