The front end wont hold on my 69 NOW WITH PICS

[JT01]

Just getting my 69 finished up and took it down the road and the front end wont hold up everything is new new torsion bars also I cranked them back up and drove it just up my street and by then the tires was hitting the fenders. What is causing this. Thanks for any info

[Chryco Psycho]

there are left & right torsion bars probably installed on the wrong side , odd # is left & has an L cast into it
right is even & has R cast on it

[c00nhunterjoe]

What brand are the bars and what size are they?   What backspace rims ar you running and what size tires?

[JT01]

The bars are installed on the right sides I got them from Mancini .960 Im runnin 15x8.5 with 245/60

[tan top]

 any chance you can take a couple of pictures  of the  lower  control arms  at various angles  especially the torsion bar side ,
also what back space  are your  front wheels ?

[HPP]

Rear anchors are breaking the welds and spinning in the crossmember? Lower control arm pivots are not tightened down and pinned with cotter keys?

[ACUDANUT]

That and are your tires too tall ?

[cdr]

NEED PICS

[JT01]

The wheels have a 4 inch Backspacing as far as the tires there is plenty of room for them Ive seen several 69s with 245/60 s on them the clearance is fine with the car sitting level. Once i crank the adjusters for the bars up and move down the road it drops about 1 1/2

[cdr]

FROM your avatar picture i see why---------------------------------------------need pics of lower arms & bars ,something is put together wrong ?

[JT01]

I will try to get some pics tommorrow

[JT01]

The other day was the first time ive drove it since its been done when we installed the new torsion bars we set the height and it never moved till i drove it down the road then it dropped well last night I raised it back up and just sitting overnight it dropped back down without it being drove.

[Ghoste]

After all of this cranking up the adjusters, are the adjusting bolts nearing the end of their travel or you backing them off and starting over each time?

[JT01]

Originally there was still plenty there on the aduster bolts but afer it dropped and I had to raise it up so it wouldnt hit the tires the drivers side bolt was running out travel

[HPP]

What do the rear t-bar anchors look like? What condition are the threads in the adjusters?

[Indygenerallee]

I know they had problems with the 1.03 bars I believe actually lowering the car, might be the same deal?!?

[JT01]

The treads in the adjusters look good everything looks good. Heres some pics i took The adjusters are hanging down because i backed them off to see if i could see anything.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             

[John_Kunkel]

The torsion bar adjuster bolts are too far out, the head of the adjuster should be up inside the control arm or near so.

[JT01]

The torsion bar adjuster bolts are too far out, the head of the adjuster should be up inside the control arm or near so.

I posted right before the pics that I backed off the bolts to see if I could see anything the bolts was up inside the control arms some

[c00nhunterjoe]

How about pictures of the adjusters adjusted, and of how the car actually sits.

[Cooter]

I can't remember now, but could the T-bars be in backwards causing some sorta problem? (ie Front to rear swapped?)...I've NEVEr pulled a set out even in my Dart so The Challenger will be the first.

Only other thing I can think of is the newer bars aren't made correctly. Dang, it sucks you arer going through this, but a good thing as I was about to try a set of new bars for the Challenger. Maybe I watch this thread and see what fixes this problem before I order...

[c00nhunterjoe]

I thought the only bars that have issues with design is the pst bars. They lower the car 2 inches becaue they are cast wrong. Other then that I thought all the other manufactures bars fit correctly.

He said he is sure they are in correctly

[Cooter]

I can only assume you had the little pieces that the adjuster bolt hits against "Clocked" correctly, right? Something like 120 Degrees down, then pry them up until you can get the adjusters (Backed all the way off) in the control arms, with the suspension unloaded?

[Tom Q]

There is no lube on the adjuster threads.
Never seize should be used on the treads and contact pt of the adj bolt tip.

OP-you did not follow the proper TB install procedure per the Factory Service manual.
The lca bushings may have been torn in the process here...

Until you follow the FSM procedure you will experience problems. 

When the car is at rest at the proper ride height is when those nuts get tightened and the torque spec is large on those nuts.

I will leave the rest up to the experts on here to help you.  Perhaps one of them will post the pages from the FSM

[charger Downunder]

When you slid the torsion bars into the front lower control arms where the lower control arms in the lowest position.

[tan top]

 not for one minute suggesting that you fitted anything incorrectly , no offence meant
but if your car come in with problem  , i would  ,  remove the upper bump stops ,    jack it up put it on jack stands under the frame rails ,   disconnect swaybar end links &  remove front shock absorbers ,   un wind  the torsion bar adjusters  ,  remove completely ,   remove torsion bars  ,
 examin the the threads on  adjuster bolt & the block its self  ( not stripped ) , if ok clean up &  coat bolt with copper grease ,
 make sure the adjustment cam in the control arm is at lowest position (same both sides )  , each side &  re fit torsion bars  to appropriate side  , not forgetting to put grease on both scockets & ends  ,
 then fit every thing back up  ,   i would adjust  ride hight  not the FSM way  but just for now  from the top of the wheel lip of the fender to the  bottom of the rim  ,  would go for about  25-26ish  just for now !!  if you have a 15 inch wheel & 60 series tyres  , go out for a run  , over bumps & stuff  , pull a few hole shots  , do some cornering  etc  , then come back & re check
& go from there   ,  event thing that i described above checked out & ok  , & the adjusters are in same place as you left them  ,   would look at torsion  bars being the problem  


picture below is of my ride hight with 255 /60 /15 tires on 15 x8 wheels with a 4 inch back space , have done my own take of 69 & a half A12 cars lower bump stop spacers ,  there is clearance at all steering angles & all  suspension travel , but i added the bump stop shims , just to be on the safe side , cause im nuts like that 

[JT01]

May of found the problem the bushing on the lower control arm has tons of gresses coming out of it this may letting it spin plus the bushing doesnt look like it was pressed all the way in.