Double Bars Blues

[AugustneverEnds]

I'm starting to think as time wears on more of us will be faced with the prospect of replacing torsion bars. For me it's double jeopardy this year as both have broken in nearly the exact same spot. I suspect my bars were overtorqued in the past. A few visuals:

BrokenTorsionBars.jpg
TPanelRemoved.jpg

I bought a passenger side bar and have a solid lead on a drivers side bar. I might be foolish but I want to try to replace them myself. I need to construct the jig and buy a quality 3/8" hex socket. A few questions: If the roof has separated should it be plainly visible? I thought before I took anything off the car it might have separated but now I'm not sure. It seems solid, no flexing. I know my car has spent its life in the Northeast and I'm surprised I don't see much rust under the T panel so I believe the roof box is intact. I also have a receipt from a previous owner stating the rear window was replaced though I'm not sure if that affects much.

Thanks for any help or tips

[dn010]

It is hard to tell in your photos but your roof does not seem to be separating and it would be obvious. Post a photo of the back roof above the glass. If you're feeling adventurous, you can remove the headliner and bolt the roof while you're at it to prevent any future separation.

You also don't need a jig to install the torsion bars yourself if you've already removed the louver. A length of pipe or the handle off a jack will work over the hex wrench. Take the piston off the door, open it as far as you can (which will be past what piston will allow, hence its required removal), hold it open with a 2X4 (good to have someone holding the door as well in case something happens) and at that point you don't need that much force when setting your new torsion bars since the doors are open beyond their normal range of travel. Thread the torsion bar retainer bolts in by hand at first to prevent them from X threading, that is an awful place to have stripped parts. Leave the piston detached, lower the door and see how far open it remains under the torsion bar tension only. Adjust the bar as needed.

If you want to really check for rust, remove the inspection cover in the center of the roof and use an inspection camera if you have one. If not, put your cellphone on video with flash on, put the phone in the roof so the camera is in the hole and see what it looks like then.

Also - that sucks! Sorry to hear about both going on you, hopefully this did not happen while you were driving.

[Rich]

For me it's double jeopardy this year as both have broken in nearly the exact same spot. I suspect my bars were overtorqued in the past. A few visuals:

BrokenTorsionBars.jpg

First, +1 on all the advice you got from Dan in his post.

Second, a question for you. Please tell us more about that "exact same spot" where both bars failed. Does it line up with any part the rear door hinge it was next to?

Lastly, if you post up another photo of the bar brackets see if you can take it directly from the rear. Would like to see how much they are rotated and also see if the box is locally deformed. As Dan notes it's hard to tell from the angled photo in first post.

[AugustneverEnds]

More pics: RoofRear.jpg


I'll get some closer pics of the broken torsion bars. Both broke near the rear hinges, yes.

The driver's side broke over my head when I was driving and the worse part was I knew exactly what it was. The passenger side went unheard

[AugustneverEnds]

RoofWOTape.jpg

Under the T panel after I pulled off the Dunmurry tape.

[Rich]

More pics: RoofRear.jpg

I'll get some closer pics of the broken torsion bars. Both broke near the rear hinges, yes.

OK on that more-photos plan, and maybe you can open a door and temporarily put the front section of its bar back in place to show us where the busted end lines up vs the hinge.

Meantime I'd say your roof box looks normal in this photo. The brackets usually rotate a tad due to the mounting hole clearances - I see no buckling or deformation of the box. Other votes on that?

[SS Spoiler]

I store my car with the doors open all winter to
release pressure on the bars,,,

[AugustneverEnds]

OK on that more-photos plan, and maybe you can open a door and temporarily put the front section of its bar back in place to show us where the busted end lines up vs the hinge.

Meantime I'd say your roof box looks normal in this photo. The brackets usually rotate a tad due to the mounting hole clearances - I see no buckling or deformation of the box. Other votes on that?

I think I'm going to do the bolt down procedure anyways. The UK Club has a nice kit and it's worth the peace of mind to me. Already have everything ripped apart so might as well do it now.

[powerline84]

Your box hasn't popped bad but its definatly starting to lift. Your doing the right thing

[AugustneverEnds]

You're dead right about the box starting to lift. When I unbolted the retaining plates this morning I definitely saw movement. Time to get the headliner out.