torsion bars wore out?

[lukeapre]

Hey guys. I finally got around to installing a 4" tough country lift on my 3/4 ton obs 99 suburban. When I put the bars back in, I noticed the hex don't quite fit as I thought they would. Is it normal to have the hex not fit snug? If you unload the bar and hold it where it should be (hold it to where the hex shape sides match up) there's 1/8" or so of wiggle room. Truck has 180K on it, these are the plow package torsion bars according to glove box code. Never had a plow on this, or any front weight to cause premature wear.

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[lukeapre]

Heres a front view of the passenger side. Both torsion bars look like this in the lca. Thanks

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[GMC_YA_L8R]

Heres a front view of the passenger side. Both torsion bars look like this in the lca. Thanks

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Perfectly normal. If they were any tighter of a fit you'd literally never be able to remove them once they get some corrosion and crud built up in there. On my Duramax, I had to give one quite a few good wallops with a hammer to get it to break free and that truck is exceptionally clean. Not looking forward to doing it on the K1500 but it'll be fine.

 

[lukeapre]

Good. Glad to hear it. I wouldn't mind looking into softer torsion bar options, but I would much rather do nothing. Thanks!

 

[someotherguy]

I wonder if that's why the Silverado SS's are known for popping noises in the front end. I thought my ball joints were ready to let go. Well, a couple of them were. But even after replacing all 4, which they needed replacing, so no worries there.. I still get popping noises from the front end under certain circumstances. Those trucks are all torsion bar whether they're the AWD or RWD models.

Richard

 

[Caman96]

Mine look tighter than that.

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That crap that is flaking off is some old undercoating.

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[Russell Carpenter]

I have a Texas truck K3500 with 200k on it and they are tighter than yours. I would see if you could get some specs on them and see if they are worn down or if it the lower control arms are what worn. Just my a opinion though.

 

[Hipster]

Normally they can be stuck in there. Those hexes in the control arm look rather beat up.

 

[lukeapre]

Camans bars look way tighter than mine. It does have me a little worried about wear. Ive had trucks my whole life and have never heard of a worn torsion bar or control arm. Not a mechanic though, so... I may take my bars out and weld some meat on the end, grind it down to fit a bit more snug for the time being. Welding spring metal is generally not a way to go, but maybe at the very ends it won't make much difference in spring rate. Also that sounds like a pita, but i'll give that a go before I get new ones. Or I guess this could be the control arms wore? Man I'd hate to get new bars and find they fit exact how the old ones did due to worn control arms.

 

[Hipster]

Camans bars look way tighter than mine. It does have me a little worried about wear. Ive had trucks my whole life and have never heard of a worn torsion bar or control arm. Not a mechanic though, so... I may take my bars out and weld some meat on the end, grind it down to fit a bit more snug for the time being. Welding spring metal is generally not a way to go, but maybe at the very ends it won't make much difference in spring rate. Also that sounds like a pita, but i'll give that a go before I get new ones. Or I guess this could be the control arms wore? Man I'd hate to get new bars and find they fit exact how the old ones did due to worn control arms.

still thinking it's the control arm hex, It kind of looks like a Snap-on flank drive socket on a proper hex. The hex in the control arm looks a little wallowed out. I wouldn't weld the t-bar, it will lose tempering. Measure the hex against a known good one or a spec if it can be found. I wounldn't bet that the hex in the control arm is hardened/tempered like the t-bar making the control arm the wear item.