Help! Rear axle dismantling

[dturbo]

Hi folks, very confused. I have an axle which I am disassembling to replace the bearings before fitting (and adjust height). I have removed the ARB and then moved on to remove torsion bars.

I started with the passenger side arm, removed the bolts and offset washers from both ends of the bar (i.e. from the passenger side arm end and the mount carrier at the other end). I then started pulling using a bolt and socket (as a spacer) on the axle mount carrier. So in theory this would draw the bar out in an inboard direction relative to the arm and leave the passenger side arm free to come off the pin.

Thought I was getting somewhere as the bar could be seen to have moved through the mount carrier about 5mm but then when looking at the arm end, it hadn't moved. I am baffled as to how this is possible. What has moved to allow this to happen? by the way, I also was simultaneously hitting the bar from the arm end (via a bolt screwed in to the bar - i.e. pulling force at the mount carrier end and hitting the bar at the arm end) but again no movement of bar through arm, just movement of bar through opposite end (mount carrier). Almost looks like the mount carrier must have moved further onto the beam tube, but I had scored lines and it doesn't appear to have moved. Have I pulled the passenger side arm 'further on' to the pin? Is this possible? I thought the arm could only go so far in before stopping? I'm a bit worried that I have moved the axle mount carrier along the tube and now the axle won't fit....

EDIT: Looking at pictures it seems to me that the mount carriers are pressed onto the pin and butt up against the end of the tube, and the pin itself is stepped and also butts up against the end of the tube, so I don't think it's possible for the mount carrier to move, I can only presume that the arm has pulled further onto the pin. DOES IT MATTER which direction you remove the bar? I can't see that it would matter, i.e. pull outwards from the arm end or outwards from the mount carrier end?

I have tried using a burner to free the arm end up, no joy so looks like I will need to get oxy-acetelane on it . Just trying to understand what is happening!

[dturbo]

So update, a friend of mine kindly had a go at the axle when they were over at the car and has managed to get the bars out and the arms off. Result!

[Furioman]

The bars can come out either direction, mine were fairly stuck and took a fair bit of persuasion with a drift and a lump hammer to shift, you might push the arms off the beam in your efforts but its not really a problem

[Ben_SaxoForte]

I usually heat the axle with a blowtorch then hammer them out with a drift and lump hammer, not failed yet just takes persistence.