Torsion bar question

[crockettbrat]

Hello all:

 

I've got an 84 brat and I believe my torsion bars are sagging. My ground clearance is too low in the back and I've cranked the adjuster bolt clockwise all the way. I am considering going to pick and pull to get some used torsion bars. My question is how can you tell if a torsion bar is good or not. I can't check the ground clearance because all the cars at the yard are off the ground. I've found new ones online for about $100/ side.

 

I'm also wondering if maybe a previous owner tried to lower my brat by re-clocking the trailing arms. Has anyone done this to lower their car and if so what were the results. I may try moving mine up by one tooth first before I go spend $. Any suggestions appreciated.

 

Daniel

[joostvdw]

my understanding is that torsion bars don't "weaken" over time, they just break.

 

you can check this by removing the shock and see if you can move the trailing arm without much resistance, if you can, it's shot

 

re-clocking the torsionbar is not that difficult to do, it's just that everything will be severely rotten/rusted in place so that will make it somewhat "interesting" :-p

 

goodluck!