Unfamiliar with Dodge

[haroldbrown2]

yes Wade.  And I just tried putting the bolt back on again on the cross bar that runs from the front of what I guess is called the "k-frame" to the lower control arm and hammered awhile that way, but the torsion bar isn't wanting to depart from the lower control arm in any regard.  Isn't it supposed to slide out the lower control arm (when driven) towards the back of the car out through the hexagonal hole (which has NO spring clip/retainer clip in it)?  I admit, my first Dodge, but surely you don't have to physically remove the LCA and take whole assy to machine shop for pressing control arms on and off to change torsion bars do you? 
I'm beginning to wonder if this work to remove this bar just to insert a dust boot thing is worth it?  All I'm doing this for is to install this large rubber dust boot the guy before me forgot which I presume is there to keep debris out of the backside hole the torsion bar fits through under floorpan.  This is as bad as driving out ford kingpins by hand in a twin I-beam (which I've done twice) with no torch.

[Bullitt-]

It's just not that hard... I'm wondering, you said the tire is still on, if the weight of the tire & all is keeping tension on the t-bar.  YES it should slide out the rear of the hex hole.   Try blocking up the wheel or put a jack stand under the LCA to raise it a bit.   The drivers side I pulled out by hand, passenger side was a little more difficult but I did have everything off. 

[Bullitt-]

I hesitate to say this because it was my own solution to the passenger side & I have never seen this recommended....I could see damage being caused but when I could not get the passenger side to release from the LCA I held on to the t-bar pulling back & hit the big round part in the LCA that it goes into with a hammer driving it forward.

[haroldbrown2]

Wade calling you now.

[haroldbrown2]

Wade tried it, but no luck either.  Had about enough for one day.  It's just not turning loose from the lower control arm at all.  All I accomplished was 4 hours of joy and mushrooming the head of the torsion bar bolt and the nut won't come off now, from hammered beating sessions.  I've about got a case of the 

[Bullitt-]

Call me if you need me to come over Sat.

[haroldbrown2]

this just gets better and better.  took the entire lower control arm loose and still cannot accomplish ANYTHING.  Tried everything.  I'm not so sure the guy who put it together didn't assemble with everything freshly painted and no grease as the car hasn't been ran since reassy.  So now I have a mushroomed bolt on the radiator side of the torsion bar assy and the nut won't come off, the whole drive side control armed removed and the torsion bar still won't budge 1 fraction.  I can pull back on torsion bar from inside engine bay and tap forward on control arm, I can tap front of torsion bar bolt thing, the torsion bar is NOT coming out of the control arm.  I tried to back off the bolt thing on front of torsion bar thinking it it came completely out, I could just drop whole control arm/torsion bar intact and pull out front side and take whole assy to machine shop to get help wrestling torsion bar out (if I couldn't do it while it was out of car, but whatever the bolt thing is that bolts into front of torsion bar will not come completely loose.  I'm getting somewhat disgruntled now and ready to smack something or someone, maybe my know it all neighbor will wander over and smart off and I'll relieve some of this angst with a flury of jingle-fist...

[Bullitt-]

...mmmmm maybe I should come over Sat.       Take a chill pill Brett... if paint IS the problem....paint remover

[haroldbrown2]

yes, I think you should come over and I think I should go buy some beer to settle my angst.  I was just looked at a Haynes manual and it states wrapping a rag around the torsion bar, locking vise grips on and tapping with hammer both to remove/install torsion bars!

[Chryco Psycho]

Toss the haynes manual 
some penetrating oil in the LCA socket could help di you get the LCA pivot out of the K frame yet , the whole arm & T bar should slide back byprying betweent the LCA & K frame

[haroldbrown2]

if the huge nut on the front of the torsion bar deal wasn't frozen on the threads, as it is now, and I could remove the nut, I could slide the whole assembly back and drop it and pull out from frontside.  I think tonight I will go ahead and use cutoff disc to cut through the nut and I guess I'll have to buy a replacement for the bolt thing (whatever it's called) that comes through Lower Control Arm and through K-frame.  Wade told me those are like $50, but is only recourse I can see at this point, because the nut won't move either way now and I can see the threads getting buggered up on that shaft (whatever it's called).  I might get lucky and be able to cut almost all the way through it and use a nut splitter tool (I've got a KD brand one) and crack it and "maybe" clean up the threads with a tap or if I get the nut off, drive the whole thing back (then) with a hammer and have a machine shop try to chase the threads, but I seriously doubt it.

[haroldbrown2]

Ok, I used air cutoff tool and sliced through the large nut that's on the threaded shaft that runs through lower control arm through k-member.  Don't know what that's called, that shaft.  Ok, so now, I need to take that "shaft" to machine shop to see if they can chase threads to make it well enough to reuse (was boogered up pretty good and I did get into the bolt lengthwise a tad w/cutoff disc).  Rather than carry the whole front driver side to machine shop (still rotor/etc attached) can I drive that shaft (whatever it's called a pivot shaft or whatever) from the backside and it'll pop out, so I can only carry that little shaft into the machine shop.  You know, so they won't laugh so hard at a fellow "learning MOPAR".  At least I got the torsion bar out.  It was rough even with control arm and rotor and all laying there, I had to hold the torsion bar hard and hammer forward while sitting in empty engine bay on the lower control arm and I'd get 1/4" and I'd have to add more PB blaster and hammer some more.  I think what was wrong is previous owner had painted the torsion bars and painted the control arms (even the inside) and there really was no grease on the sides, was some on the ends, but the sides were dry it was so tight when he'd put them in.  I imagine he hammered them in from back side under feet area, I guess.  But the torsion bar is free and if anyone can give me clues how to pop out that short pivot shaft (or whatever it's called) from the LCA to get threads cleaned up, I'll be good to go and I THANK YOU for your help.  This calls for a beer.

[Bullitt-]

The way I got my pivot shaft out was to cinch it in a vice & work the LCA back & forth... penetrating lube helped.    Grats on the t-bar extraction.

[haroldbrown2]

Thank you for your offer to come over and help Wade.  There is a HUGE vise out at my Dads' old farmhouse in the shed and I have to go out there this weekend anyhow to finish tearing down the 383, so I'll take this with me and give it a shot.  Am I not supposed to tap it from the backside through the hole or is that a bad thing?  Remember I don't speak Mopar, I'm learning.  I'm guessing this pivot thing is pressed into the control arm or ?  And, if I get it out, is it supposed to be pressed back in?  Sorry I'm so Mopar ignorant.

[Bullitt-]

It's tight.... Not a machine press,   The pivot is hollow on the bushing end so hitting it is not good.