Skydigger

Hey guys,

My truck is out of commission for the day because while removing my old torsion bars to install the Sway Aways I realized what a b*tch they are to remove.

I snapped off the bolt as per requiem (while loosening it) and that went ok but the difficult part is removing the bar from the front anchor arm bracket as shown in the pic.



This guy suggests removing the anchor arm and tapping/pressing the torsion bar out but I'm hoping someone here has an easier tip. The problem is with accessing the anchor arm bolts on the passenger side.

Thanks in advance...

Warren

scott.475

Don't loosen the anchor arms. Two things should help make it go easier. First, look at the saddle that the rear of the bars sit in. If you look at the part of the saddle that points toward the centerline of the truck, you will notice there is sort of a 'pin' that might be sticking straight up or bent toward the oustside of the truck. Bend that pin out and downward so it does not interfere with the bar as you try to remove it. Trust me, this will help a lot, and give you alot more room for moving the bar around. Second, spray some Liguid Wrench or WD-40 around the seat that where the front of the bar goes in. Then, take a hammer and tap (TAP!) on the rear of the torsion bar, as if you were trying to drive it further into the seat. This will loosen up all the rust that basically has it wleded in place there, then removal should be pretty easy with a combination to tapping and wiggling until the bar comes loose. I had the EXACT problems you are describing, and this worked for me.

Also, when you reinstall the bars, do not put a whole bunch of grease on the splines, as this makes them too hard to get fully seated. There is a hole that the grease will squeeze out of, but it is pretty small and take s a long time.

Email me if you have any other trouble!

richeyma

Warren,

As I was composing this, I noticed that Scott beat me to the punch. Hopefully this will supplement what Scott had to say...

I believe what you've shown in the picture is actually called the Torque Arm. I don't see the boot in the picture--did you pull it back or is it missing? Also, it looks like you already have an aftermarket torsion bar--did you install this (not that it matters, I'm just curious because I thought the stock Toyota ones were black).

I just swapped my stock ones with SAW's over the weekend (and I thought I was the only one banging fingers and cursing :pat: ).

For me, the driver's side torsion bar came out easy, but the passenger's was a little difficult. After removing the adjusting bolt, I slid the boot back from the front of the torsion bar (Torque Arm), then I grabbed onto the back part of the torsion bar (Anchor Arm). I raised it up and down and side to side. You actually have to raise it up in order to move it side to side. Eventually the front loosened up and it popped out.

If you didn't have a boot on, there might be a lot of grit/grime/rust inside the Torque Arm. You might want to spray a lubricant around the Torque Arm. I found a product that works pretty well on loosening up rust--it's called "Toyota Rust Penetrant" and I picked it up at my local Toyota service center. It costs about $3 for a can.

I don't know how you'd get the inside bolt off of the Torque Arm. I wouldn't recommend removing it!

Again, if you don't have boots, I would highly recommend getting them.

If you have any issues installing the new ones, let me know and I'll share with you what I learned from doing it and I'm sure Chris would too.

Let us know how it goes.
Matt

Skydigger

Great tips Scott! Thanks. I'll try them tomorrow.

I couldn't get the Anchor arm (rear of T-bar) fully off the bar. It was loose enough but just as it was about to release the splines I would be prevented from moving it any further back my the floor panelling. Is this similar to what you are referring to when you talk about bending the "pin"?

Thanks again.

Warren

Skydigger

We posted at the same time Matt. Thanks as well for the feedback. It's good to hear that they can be removed without pulling the Torque Arm. You must have a FSM because you are correct with the name!

I guess it wasn't clearly mentioned but that pic is not mine. I just used it for reference to the Torque Arm. I do have the boots on mine and have slid them forward already as per FSM procedure.

Yep, that passenger side bolt looks like a doozy. That combined with the looming darkness is what made me throw in the towel for the day. I sprayed the Torque Arms heavily with Liquid Wrench so that should help removal tomorrow.

Did you get the Anchor Arm off ok before pulling the bar?

...and how is the ride now?

Thanks again,

Warren

richeyma

Warren,

I had the same problem. You'll be able to remove the Anchor Arm once you get the torsion bar out of the Torque Arm. Raise the Anchor Arm and pull the torsion bar back (to the rear of the vechicle). It's a pretty tight fit, but it'll come out.

Matt

richeyma

Warren,

I think we posted at the same time again

Thanks for clarifying the picture--I was a little confused!

I wish I had the FSM--just a Haynes manual! The removal/installation wasn't the easiest thing to do...it took me a couple of hours per side! The most difficult part for me was getting the new ones installed because the bars only go in one way due to the one index tooth that is cut out on each end. Once they were done, it was very satisfying.

Just make sure that you install the proper bar on the correct side. My SAW's didn't have left/right markings, so I took one stock bar off and noted where the missing index teeth were. It was very easy to match up the proper bar.

As far as the ride, I have mine cranked up a bit too much, so it's a little bouncy right now. You'll notice a big difference when you're tightening up the bolt. You don't have to crank nearly as much as with the stock ones. I have them set to about 15.25 inches, but I'm going to lower them to about 14.75 inches.

Good luck!

Matt

scott.475

I have attached a picture of the saddle on my truck. Between the vertical arms of the U-shaped saddle you will seea piece of stamped metal that has the 'pin' sticking up, it is not quite centered, but offset to the left just a bit. Bend this toward the centerline of the truck and it will gane you a lot more room.

Skydigger

Great! I'm going to go do it now so I'll let you guys know how it turns out.

Warren

richeyma

Scott,

I see what you're talking about. Hmmm, I don't have those on my 4Runner. There's either a difference between the trucks and the 4Runners or my "tabs" rusted and fell off!

Matt

scott.475

I am not exactly sure the purpose of those tabs, mine were initially bent into the groove of the torque arm, as if to act as a guide or something. To be perfectly honest, though, I don't think that cutting them off would actually cause any harm, but those little things were a huge pain in the kept, because they interfered with virtually everything I tried doing on the rear end of the T-bars. Maybe they just flat did away with them in later models.

Skydigger

Thank God for the Internet!

Got the Sway Aways in today thanks to the advice given here. A little jostling and tapping and they were free. No removal of Torque arm necessary. Passenger side notches lined up well but I had a little difficulty with the Driver's side notches. Anyways, they're in:confused:

Cranked them to about 14 3/4" rim to fender lip. I would say the ride is firmer but not harsh.

Now for the winch!

Thanks again,

Warren

richeyma

Warren,

Congrats on getting them in. I had just the opposite problem--the driver's side went in fairly easy, but the passenger's took a little more effort.

Good job!

Matt

_RaStA_RoCkEt_

Thanks... from 14 years in the future.