Torsion Bar Lowering Guide

[stevenet15]

i know how u bitches love my guides so i have decided to make a torsion bar lowering guide, i will be making step by step animations showing u clearly exactly what to do. it wont be finished for a few weeks but here is a sneeky peek of a bit i have made so far:

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b157/stevecnet/saxo/Animation2darker.gif

these guides are good:

http://www.badgermotorsport.co.uk/lowering.htm

http://www.suzukituning.com/PSA/Suspension/Lowering.htm

and here is some info from me:

firstly take the shocks off so that the suspension arms dont have any pull on them apart from there own weight, then do measurements (measure from behind the hub to the bottom of the car & note measurments)

Then undo the ARB plate bolts so u can rotate the ARB out the way, next u need to remove all the torx bolts and offcenetered washers from both ends of both torsion bars

now get some WD40 and cokacola and plater it around the ends of the torsion bars and splines this will help eat into the rust and help free it off

then you can either try slide hammering the torsion bar out if its still seised in you can try the bolt and socket method as shown in the pic below (make sure that the bolt has at least 10-15mm in the torsion bar before pulling out or u will rip the threads)

socket and bolt method
http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b157/stevecnet/saxo/torsionbarend1.gif

if its still not budging then you can get a mate to hit the other side of the torsion bar with a 7lb lump hammer and a bar with you slide hammer or socket and bolt the other side, the pressure of both forces against the torsion bar normally frees it up

lump hammer and bar:
http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b157/stevecnet/saxo/torsionbarend2.gif

if its still not budging then u can use a blow torch to heat the ends around the torsion bar up as the metal expands it normally healts to break the seal of the rust and help free it up

also sometimes if u put a jack under the arm ur trying to remove the torsion bar from and jsut tkae it up a few mm it helps take a little weight off the torsion bar which can help it have less stress to come out. u can keep applying WD40/coke mixture throughout the different stages to try help it and just have to keep trying, they will give way eventually

once done and out measure and use a jack to hold the arm at the new height u want and then pop the torsion bar back in, and fit everything back on, do some for both sides, job done

here is also a animated pic i made showing torsion bars

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b157/stevecnet/saxo/Animation2darker.gif

Here are some reference pics showing you the bolt and socket method, there not pics of it being done on a saxo but its showing the identicle procedure of using the socket and bolt metod to remove a torsion bar

http://www.renault-turbo.com/chris/red%203%20door/red%20ns%20torsion%2002.jpg

http://www.renault-turbo.com/chris/red%203%20door/red%20ns%20torsion%2003.jpg

http://www.renault-turbo.com/chris/red%203%20door/red%20ns%20torsion%2004.jpg

http://www.renault-turbo.com/chris/red%203%20door/red%20ns%20torsion%2005.jpg

http://www.renault-turbo.com/chris/red%203%20door/red%20ns%20torsion%2006.jpg

http://www.renault-turbo.com/chris/red%203%20door/red%20ns%20torsion%2007.jpg

[jazzsingh51]

looks good steve - is this guide going to be finished by saturday? - because im doing mine then!!!

edit - just seen your post in my torsion bar thread and that this wont be done for a few weeks!!! - Ive got a few guides to work from - so should be alright

[Wayne]

looks good so far can't wait to see all the step by step's:)

[Toad]

Very good of you. It would be a nice sticky to have.

[Steve]

should be good, used heat to get mine out! bolts were seized so chizled them out! some trouble shooting guide would be good aswel alongside it

[Predator_R32]

good stuff steve, it will be the 3rd one on the entire net and with them animations it will easily top the others :y:

[The_Notorious_C_A_T]

Thats a good idea mate.

Animations are always good!

[Mr_suv]

u will be the ultimate king mofo then i love u !!!!!

[SaxoKez]

ace, animations look gd

[dannyc]

any update!?

[bullit]

i may have to rep you big man, top stuff

[chriswindy]

anymore steps steve?

[Modified]

looks good makes me feel even better for u to do mine soon :) lol

[stevenet15]

i havent had time to do anymore on this guide yet but i will do as soon as i have time and update the pics

[TU-Tuning]

Any update on this mate? Been getting quite high quotes and wanna try it myself

[johnnyg_vts]

looks great, cant wait to see the finished article.

[stirlinlee]

that guide is is lookin well good sir cheers

[Cainevtr]

This looks like its going to come in handy! anyone got and real car pics of it being done?

thanks

[Cainevtr]

My bad, i found the links now!

[stevenet15]

update added some reference pics in the first post

[dan1800]

always handy, people could make a fortune out of this, but iv heard they can be really awkward?!

[Reid]

not even a trace of wd 40
Job job mate a mite try that soket method if I need to lower another bar

[Sparco_Tom]

bloody good guide steve did mine last week finally. Thinking about raising the whole car back up now though

[Y32CPB]

Great guide seen other ones on th internet but this one makes it seem less of a daunting task haha! good one mate!

[AlexR]

Is that a clio or R5? I was always intrigued by their system of torsion bars inside beam, anti roll bar outside, certainly makes lowering a lot easier!

[Elliott]

someone get it stickied!

[Ash-VTR]

any more news on the guide?

[Mint-VTR]

as above

[TU-Tuning]

the bit in quotes is the guide lads, thats all you need. It makes a lot more sense if you read it and then jack your car up and have a good look at the setup

[scotty1990saxo]

nice guide

[Jtizzle]

looks gud

[stevenet15]

I have shut my dedicated server down today so i have had to transfer the pics from my first post to a photobucket account so that everyone still has access to the guides, can someone just confirm to me if they can see the pics in the first post. cheers

[dorsetsaxo]

yep sure can its just perfect cheers bud for the hard work

[Rogz]

i wouldnt dare try this myself tbh. the state of this saxo's under belly is terrible, i think the mud is holding the rust together... ive had the angle grinder out far to much...

[Prickle]

What a great guide :D

The animation rocks! :p

[STEBTECH]

Good work lad, hopefuly gunna do mine this weekend so im gunna follow this guide for sure!

[chip11]

top job man. if only everyone was as helpful!! cheers dude

[jam3z]

brilliant guide mate, just a shame mine is so seized i cant move the bloody thing.

[justan1100]

does the further you pull it determine how low it goes? And do you measure the distance you pull it out to get the amount of lowering you want?

[one_nation04]

does the further you pull it determine how low it goes? And do you measure the distance you pull it out to get the amount of lowering you want?

if your talking about the torsion bars themselves, u need to pull them all the way out, adjust the height, and then slide the bars back in mate

[justan1100]

so how do you adjust the height once the bars are all the way out? this is one thing i havent covered at college lol

[raunchz]

you literally move the whole arm up or down by the amount yo uwant to lower/raise it by (normally leaving 5mm for it to settle.

Then you put the bars back in at the height you want.

[The_Notorious_C_A_T]

measure from the arch to the hub, then when you have reset it, measure again and thats how much difference you have lowered/raised

[justan1100]

aaaaa sweet thanks guys.

[lharrowing]

looks good i love the creativity

[johnlambert]

great guide

[Boothy_UK]

steve, thats just what i needed.
brilliant, the world is such a better place now =D
J x

[wickedrob]

looks a good guide need to lower mine its about 3 foot in the air lol

[noelmx]

nice guide
going to give this a go tomorow :D

[squeak]

nice guide i need to raise mine bk up 15mm so ill have ago on tuesday when i not at college or work

[andiz]

just a little bump for this thred as its the best lowering guide iv seen good work mate

[Shea]

I asked my tutor today (i do motorsport engineering) who used to work fot pug and did lowering on the 106 wich uses the same suspension as the saxo.... he old me the way they did it at the garage is to dot punch two dots 1) on the bar 2) the same position but on the housing. use the socket and bolt until the head (all the spines are out and there is just the bar in) and turn it until the next spine is lined up with the dot punch, apparently 1 spine is about 1 inch and it doesnt break anythig :S just woundering :S

[DJDannyB]

that wouldnt adjust the height, that would just turn the torsion bar round a spline. you would have to move the arm then put the bar back in to adjust the ride height.

[willsy]

This method is not fail proof, it wont work on alot of beams thesedays unless you're lucky and unless you know what you're doing.

Theres a serious risk of snapping bolts in the end of the torsion bar using this method if you dont know what you're doing.

The theory is good, but its not fail proof

[Sophia_Bush]

This method is not fail proof, it wont work on alot of beams thesedays unless you're lucky and unless you know what you're doing.

Theres a serious risk of snapping bolts in the end of the torsion bar using this method if you dont know what you're doing.

The theory is good, but its not fail proof

tell them how bad mine was even doing it the other way lol

[Shea]

that wouldnt adjust the height, that would just turn the torsion bar round a spline. you would have to move the arm then put the bar back in to adjust the ride height.

oryte cheers... gunna give this a go when i eventualy get some money :(

[SaxSpeed]

great thread :D

[NorfolkunGood]

I'm needing to raise mine for off road competitions.

Once the torsion bar is out, the suspension arm will drop. Can I leave it at its lowest point and then re insert the torsion bar to get maximum height?

Presumably I'll just need to jack the arm up a bit to refit the damper and job's a goodun?

[Conville]

Looking good man!

[NorfolkunGood]

I'm needing to raise mine for off road competitions.

Once the torsion bar is out, the suspension arm will drop. Can I leave it at its lowest point and then re insert the torsion bar to get maximum height?

Presumably I'll just need to jack the arm up a bit to refit the damper and job's a goodun?

Anyone?

[saxo-parts]

Anyone?

theory in that is good but you'll be left with very little downwards articulation on the rear as the shocks will be at close to max travel, longer shocks would be needed i would imagine. be a bit like fitting raised springs on a land rover and running standard length dampers

[white11]

spot on guide buddy but a quick question i tryed this 3 times now and failed every time is ther a nut and washer both ends of the 2 bars (4 nut and washers)? i got the two outter washers out but how the fell do you get the inner nut and washer out do you not need to remove them ?

cheers agen for awsome gide

white11

[saxo-parts]

all 4 bolts have to be removed matey

[white11]

haha that would explane the falure lol whats the easyist way of getting the inner troxs bits i can never get a good grip on them as ther torxs it alwas rounds off the rest of the dissmanteling is fine just cant get to.them :( any tips??
cheers for reply

[saxo-parts]

torx 40 on an extension for the drivers side and smack it in with a hammer, get the torsion bar out and that lets the passenger side arm drop making access to the inner bolt on the passenger side much easier

[white11]

torx 40 on an extension for the drivers side and smack it in with a hammer, get the torsion bar out and that lets the passenger side arm drop making access to the inner bolt on the passenger side much easier

ooo i get you thanks m8 :) ill try weekend

[Nobby71]

Once the bar is removed and arm has been moved to the right height does it matter where to bars go back in on is it a case of where ever they fit

[phodd1719]

I know I'm digging up an old thread but is it true that the anti roll bar can come flying out and cause lethal damage maybe death? I've heard some crazy stories just want to clear them up before I go near it!
Cheers

[KrisB]

Only if it's not bolted in properly. Even then it only tends to have an end plate rub on a tyre.

[Saxorookie16]

if in doubt take it to someone who knows what there doing like kris for example he dd mine and was a spot on job

[Brumy_pete]

looks gd mate thinkin of havin a go on mine will be usein your guide

[Nuno_BA]

Top 👌
I ill need this guide. Thanks

[RichSaxoVTR]

As most/all garages do not lower them anymore due to torsion bar at rear, unless lucky like my circumstance last year, it's best if you can to do it yourself. Guides come in useful, why forums were invented lol...