Help with upper A arms and Torsion bars

[SnoViking]

ok... so I got new upper A- arms and torsion bars from Calmini... and it didnt come with any kind of instructions... which i didnt think I needed... butttt.... of course Ive run into a brick wall.... and those instructions would have been nice....

 

so I unbolted the 3 nuts that are part of the upper A arm... there are 2 on the base closest to the engine bay and 1 on top of the ball joint (right term?)... anyway.. Im looking at this and thinking... now what? do I have to take the other 2 nuts/bolts off that hold the one bar thing (i cant figure out what its called) but its attached to the base of the A-arm and holds what i think is an axle of some part. can that axle be slid out? so i dont have to take off that other mounting point to the frame? if i have to take those other 2 bolts off im ganna need to get an impact wrench im thinking....

 

ok... next quetion....the torsion bars

 

To remove the stock bars, do I need to unbolt the 3 nuts/bolts towards the front of the car? (after i take the tension out of the bar at the adjustment point of course) and then slide the torsion bar out from the back mounting point? I tried the 3 bolts at the front mounting place and of course theyre rusted solid... i just want to make sure those are the right bolts/nuts before I go killing my self under there....

 

 

 

any help would be great... anyhow.. the back end lift went smooth as cake..

 

 

 

pat

[88pathoffroad]

Put a jack under the lower control arm and jack it up slightly to support the weight of the vehicle for swapping UCA's only with the t-bars still installed.

 

There should be four small bolts for the upper balljoint on top of the stock UCA. Remove those first. Then unbolt the two large spindle mounting bolts and remove the stock UCA. Installation is the reverse of removal. There may be some thin metal shims between the spindle and frame for alignment purposes. An alignment will be necessary after you install the new UCA's.

 

Did the Calmini UCA's come with spindles installed, or are they bare? If they don't have spindles installed, the easiest way to get them in there is to buy a new pair of spindles from the dealership and press the new bushings together with the new spindles yourself. Even easier yet... a shop can do it for you, but you'll have to pay them to do it. The other way to do it is to unbolt the stock spindles, burn the old rubber bushings out with a torch, then wrangle the spindles out of the old UCA's using lots of elbow grease so you can use them in the new UCA's. When you put the new UCA spindle bushings in, grease them liberally. If you don't they'll squeak incessantly.

 

On the t-bars, first jack up the vehicle's front end, then loosen the rear anchors/adjusters so that there is no tension on the t-bars. It's easier to unbolt the front anchor and pull the t-bars off that way, I hear, but it's entirely possible to remove them from the rear as well, just more of a PITA. There is a c-clip holding the t-bar in on the rear anchors that will need to be removed before the bar will come out or the anchor can be removed.

[SnoViking]

Does the spindle slide out of the UCA or do i have to take the whole spindle out too?

 

Pat

[sw]

torsion bars:

i find with the weight off the bar sliding the anchor arm towards the rear of the vehicle, inside the cross member, then once free simply pulling the bar out of the holder on the lower a arm up front easier

[88pathoffroad]

The spindle will be so tightly attached to the stock UCA that you won't be able to remove it without burning out the bushings. It is removeable, yes, but the fit is so tight after it's been on the vehicle for so long that it's darn near impossible to remove forcefully. Burning out the bushings is the easiest way unless you have access to a professional shop press with the appropriate fittings to remove the old bushings with.