1968 Dodge Charger Lower Control Arm Question

[jmarkwells]

My son and I are replacing the suspension on a 1968 Dodge Charger.  I was not there when he pulled the driver side torsion bar and lower control arm, but when he replaced the suspension parts and put the wheel back on, the driver side is now sitting much lower than the passenger side.  In visually examining it, there is a bolt that sits just behind the bump stop on the lower control arm (we replaced the bump stops on both sides).  The bolt has a rounded top and the rounded top protrudes up to about the level of the bump stop.  On the passenger side there is a metal "cap" that the bolt end appears to seat into.   But on the Driver's side the bolt is rather loose and there is no "cap".   This assembly appears to act as another type of stop, and the absence of the "cap" on the driver's side appears to be causing the driver's side to sit lower than the passenger side.   I have looked at the official parts catalog and for the life of me cannot find the bolt that I'm looking at, nor the "cap" it appears to seat into.  But it is plainly there on the passenger side.   Does anyone know what I am looking at or what you call this, or how to find a new one?   And is there another possibility that is causing the driver's side to sit appreciably lower than the passenger side?   Thanks so much - new to the forum and new to Dodge Chargers!

[NickJ]

I'm pretty sure you're referring to the torsion bar adjustment bolts. They're on the bottoms of the LCAs and it's how you adjust ride height. You should definitely have them on both sides. If you have a service manual handy look at the torsion bar removal procedures. There should be a diagram of what you're looking for.  I grabbed a picture off the site. Hope this helps.

Nick

[jmarkwells]

Thanks so much.  That is exactly what I was looking at.  I'm assuming this adjusts the tension on the torsion bar?   And that if it was not tight that this might cause the control arm to "sag"?

[NickJ]

Yes,
 As you tighten the bolt it will increase ride height although it's best to lift up the front end, adjust the bolt, lower the front end, bounce it a bit and then check your height.... repeat as necessary.  If you go to Mymopar.com and look for the tools/reference link(top left). you can download the service manual for your 68. It's free and an invaluable resource.

[john108]

Mymopar.com doesn't appear to have a manual for 1968

[Lennard]

The suspension is the same on all second generation Chargers so it doesn't matter which one you have.

[303 Mopar]

Yes,
 As you tighten the bolt it will increase ride height although it's best to lift up the front end, adjust the bolt, lower the front end, bounce it a bit and then check your height.... repeat as necessary.  If you go to Mymopar.com and look for the tools/reference link(top left). you can download the service manual for your 68. It's free and an invaluable resource.

  Also, once you get it set to the right height you want, you will need an alignment.

[jmarkwells]

Thanks, guys.  All of that is very helpful.   Last night when i was looking at the two control arms, I realized that what appeared to be a "cap" above the passenger side arm was the part of the control arm that the torsion bar adjustment bolt seats into.  It actually pivots on the control arm bushing, and when my son had removed the driver side lower control arm, it had pivoted and dropped down under the adjustment bolt.  So the driver side bolt was there, but nothing to "seat" it on.   We will have to remove the control arm so we can pivot the "seat" above the adjustment bolt.  I don't see any of this arrangement on the Mopar parts list, nor on the photo included in the initial answer to this thread.  The photo above appears to show the torsion bar adjustment bolt seating into the frame of the car.   Maybe someone replaced the lower control arms at some point with a slightly different one?  Not sure, but I think we can make it work from here.    Thanks again!

[Dino]

When in doubt post some pictures of your setup.  Either link them from a sharing site or make sure they are less than 200 kb each and have a unique name.