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Tue May 08, 2012 8:11 am

I am reindexing my rear IRS torsion. I made my own spring plate tool to raise up the plate, works great.. My problem is getting the spring plate to move in the 1/2 inch or so to get it to rest on the stop when I let it down. Being that there is so much tension I can't seem to hammer it over. Any tricks??
Thanks

Tue May 08, 2012 8:28 am

Be careful when messing with these things. The few things I have had to do is get a screwdriver and pull it back off at the flange which is the safest. I have also had to use a mallet to knock it out far enough or use a screwdriver to get the plate just past the stop and then let it down. I cannot tell you again how careful you need to be when doing this.

another thing that might help you need to come up off the stop before you can get it down so compress it just enough to where the plate is not on the stop.

Tue May 08, 2012 8:46 am

Thanks for the warning. I am aware of the danger, but good to be reminded. I have it off the stop. I have reindexed already and have it raised back up above the stop. Now the tricky part is getting the plate moved toward the inside of the car so that when I let it down it sits on the stop. I have a tie down ratchet hooked into one of the holes pulling it in and the end of the plate is on the stop but my spring plate cover isn't lining up very well. The plate close to the torsion is barely on the stop. Just wondering if there was a trick to getting the plate positioned properly

Tue May 08, 2012 9:00 am

Umm.... Complete document here....

http://www.mydune-buggy.com/dl_files/reartorsionsetup.pdf

Dale

Tue May 08, 2012 9:00 am

Just have it above the stop and use an 8lbs sledge. What I normally do is go down and buy some longer cap bolts that are hardened and thread 3 of them prior to putting it under tension. That way you only have to screw with one bolt.

Tue May 08, 2012 9:04 am

Just use big "C" clamp to keep it on stop till you have axle bolted on...

Dale

Tue May 08, 2012 9:08 am

Thanks Guys. I am going to grab some longer bolts now. I don't have the stock ones with me. Can somebody give me the diameter and thread size for those.?

Tue May 08, 2012 10:33 am

No worries. Got them.

Tue May 08, 2012 11:21 am

extra trick: i put a piece of 3 or 4 foot pipe over the end of the torsion bar housing so you can move the torsion housing to fine adjust how the holes on the cover plate line up. i also have tapped on the end of the pipe to get the spring plates to seat a little further.

Tue May 08, 2012 12:33 pm

pafree wrote: extra trick: i put a piece of 3 or 4 foot pipe over the end of the torsion bar housing so you can move the torsion housing to fine adjust how the holes on the cover plate line up. i also have tapped on the end of the pipe to get the spring plates to seat a little further.
good tip!

Tue May 08, 2012 11:00 pm

if its an irs car i've put a couple bolts back into the spring plate/trailing arm and used a floor jack to jack up the end of the trailing arm. gets the spring plate far enough above the stop, then tighten down the 4 cap bolts. let the jack down, loosen the bolts you put in the trailing arm, get everything adjusted and positioned right and you're set.

Fri May 11, 2012 1:15 pm

I don't mean to jack this thread, but...

What are the dimensions of the spring plate cover bolts? I have the earlier double spring plates with the extra spacers in the covers. Do they need longer bolts? If anyone has some answers, I would really like to know.

Thanks!

Fri May 11, 2012 5:42 pm

Vanapplebomb wrote: I don't mean to jack this thread, but...

What are the dimensions of the spring plate cover bolts? I have the earlier double spring plates with the extra spacers in the covers. Do they need longer bolts? If anyone has some answers, I would really like to know.

Thanks!

Bolts are m10x35x1.5p... However, they have a 15 mm head instead of normal 17mm head as on most m10 bolts... This is so you have socket clearance from rolled up sides of cover plate... IF you want to use bolts with 17mm head you probably want to get a longer bolt (40mm) and put stack of 3-4 washers under head so socket will clear edge of cover plate...

Dale

Sun May 13, 2012 7:28 am

If your floor jack is resting on a 2X8 board you can beat/slide the floor jack in/out to get the spring plate into the desired position.

Sun May 13, 2012 1:13 pm

When I put my car back together I set the torsion bars back at the stock position. I was not sure how the stiffer short torsions (68") and the weight reduction would affect it and figured that was a safe place to start. I have thing axles and type 4 CVs so I have plenty of range and I need to raise the rear a couple inches.

I know about the inner/outer spline diferences but is it a simple matter of if I want the spring plate to be 1/2 " closer to the lower stop, to adjust that spot on the spring plate 1/2" lower at the free state when the plates are just setting loose? Not sure it I said that where it made since.

When I originally set them, I got them both almost perfect. Of at least I thought they were. One side is 1/2" lower than the other and they both need to come up about 2" and 2-1/2" at ride height.

I just saw Dales chart. I guess that might be the best way to just figure each side and count splines

Sun May 13, 2012 8:06 pm

I got it all back together. I used the longer bolt trick to keep the springplate in place and it worked good.
I also built this and it worked awesome

Once the plate started to get under a little bit of tension I gave the torsion cover a few taps with a 3 lb sledge to get the bushings seated properly. I also hooked a tie down ratchet to one of the holes in the springplate to pull it toward the stop. I went with 1 inner notch and it took my plate to here

This set it up to be about half an inch above the stop when I got it all back together and let it down. The ride is much softer than the original 2 outer notches I used. No more banging. Now that I have this tool built up I won't hesitate to readjust the bars if I need to. The hardest part of the whole job I found before I had this tool was getting the plate jacked up above the stop. No worries now. :D

Mon May 14, 2012 8:00 pm

Dales chart works good. I went +2/-1 on the high side and +5/-4 on the Lows side. My saggy side is still .2" lower after a short drive, where it should have been .15 higher but I'll drive it like this for a month or two and see where it settles out. It wasn't near the pain I was afraid it wound be. Only had to remove the wheel and the shock and bump stop and was able to raise the trailing arm above the spring plate. Less than an hour per side.

Thanks for the good info and thanks for the Chart, Dale