Torsion Bar failure

[The_Duke]

Hey I'm new here and have been researching torsion bars.

My 03 Burb 4x4 is riding low in the front and it appears the be excessively riding on the bump stops on the lower control arm.

My symptons include, rough ride (I thought it was the shocks), and the front end is almost 2" lower than the rear.

Do torsion bars "wear out" and allow the front end to come down some? And if so, can cranking them bring it back a little. I don't seem to have many turns left on the bar and I haven't tried that yet.

If the bars are indeed fatigued and need replacing, where and how much? I see they are $200 each from GM.

Thanks for any help and it looks like a cool forum.

Duke

[Offshore24]

Under normal circumstances they should not wear out on an '03. They can break though. If you want to save money go to a yard and get used ones. Failures are rare but do happen.

[tattooed4life]

Has it ever had a plow on it? I have seen trucks with blades on them put extreme stress on the bars and prematurely wear them out. It's a rare thing but you could of gotten some crappy ones right from the factory. Junk yard parts are ok, but that will be 2 sets of bars you have to fight to get out and then put 1 back in. At least with new ones you'll know that they haven't been over stressed.

[The_Duke]

No plows or extreme towing, just a small pop-up camper. I guess the first thing I should try is giving it a few turns to see how much it comes up.

[1st Synthetics]

No plows or extreme towing, just a small pop-up camper. I guess the first thing I should try is giving it a few turns to see how much it comes up.


Go about 3 turns and see what happens. Alignment should be OK with 3 turns.

[The_Duke]

Additional question....

Should the lower control arm be resting on the bump stops or should there be a gap between the bump stops and LCA?

More info: The front is about 1.5" lower than the rear and the left front bump stop is compressed while the right one is touching.

[tattooed4life]

They shouldn't be touching. Also after turning it up watch your tires for uneven wear, you destroy a set of tires in no time with your bars cranked up.

[CarpenterGuy]

1 turn of the torsion key bolt should get you 1/4" of lift if i'm correct. i cranked mine all the way up and i definatly need an alignment. my tires are wearing uneven.

[The_Duke]

OK, I turned the left one 4 turns and it raised about 3/4" and I turned the right one 2 turns and it came up about 3/8' to equal them out. Additionally, the bump stop has clearance on the right side and almost on the driver's side. In summary, the ride imporved because I got the lower control arm off the bump stops. I'm happy and probably out of turns on the driver's side. The next step would be to get new torsion bars.

[tattooed4life]

Sounds like your on the right track to getting it squared away. Good luck

[The_Duke]

Finally got around to bringing it in, they are replacing the Lower Control Arm (LCA) which they said was worn out. Replacing LCA, bushings, etc...

I willl let you know when I get it back tomorrow.

[The_Duke]

Ok, here's the scoop.

The lower control arm was fine, it was the hole in the chasis frame which was worn and out of round. They replaced bushings, bolts, tie rod ends, but left the LCA. They also had to "rebuild" the bolt hole in the frame.

The mechanic said this was the first time he ever saw anything like this. It took care of the hars ride.... finally. They also reset torsion bars and performed front end wheel alignment.

[tbplus10]

I've seen this happen on older trucks, usually lifted trucks that see a lot of off-road abuse, but never on something as new as yours.
Did the mechanic have any idea why it happened?

[The_Duke]

Nope, although I do know the burb was in an accident some years ago (I think it went into a ditch), but I thought most of the damage was body, etc.

Possibly a link.