How do you replace broken torsion bars from 1995 GMC Safari with 2004 Bars?

Answer 1

This is what I found it seems pretty good but I am having a hard time removing the broken piece from the rear holder. Tools and Materials Required Floor jack, 2-1/2 ton minimum, 4-ton preferred 2 or 4 jack stands, 2-ton minimum Breaker bar, 1/2" drive Ratchet, 3/8" and 1/2" drive 4" or 6" extension, 3/8" and 1/2" drive 1/2", 9/16", 5/8", 11/16", 3/4" open end and box end wrenches/sockets Scraper, pocket knife, etc. to clean torsion bar socket in A-arm Bottle jack, wood blocks, etc. 2-lb. sledgehammer 3/8" or 1/2" diameter drift or hard steel punch or similar tool Large flat blade screwdriver or small pry bar to remove torsion bar socket end seal Torsion bar tensioning tool Penetrating oil, as required Chassis grease, as required High pressure thread lubricant, as required Mineral spirits, solvent, etc. as required or desired Gloves and eye protection Procedure: NOTE: Always wear eye protection, especially when working under the coach. Be aware that when you loosen/remove any of the hardware or components, a lot of drek will fall out. Protect your eyes. And never, never, NEVER get under the coach unless it is supported securely with appropriate jack stands. Do not get under it while it is only lifted on a jack. Raise and support vehicle enough to allow loosening of wheel lug nuts, loosen nuts. With floor jack, raise vehicle at front crossmember until wheels are off the ground. Support vehicle with jack stands under the front crossmember, and additionally under the frame as the situation warrants. Remove wheel on whichever side is being worked on. Apply generous amount of penetrating oil to the torsion bar adjusting bolts and nuts. Let set to thoroughly penetrate rusted bolts. Take a measurement of or carefully observe how far the adjusting bolts are threaded into the nuts. You will need these measurements to approximately reset the bolts for ride height adjustment later. Apply penetrating oil to mid-frame crossmember attaching bolts. Let set. Follow the torsion bar to the front, and locate the mounting socket in the lower A-arm. At the front of the hex shaped socket is a soft metal seal cap. You have to remove this cap to be able to slide the torsion bar forward enough to remove it from the rear mount. With the large flat blade screwdriver or small pry bar, pry out this cap. Try not to damage it too much. One or more of the side flanges of the cap may break off and it could get bent up while removing it. It doesn't seem to be too critical, and can be pounded back into shape sufficiently to be reused. Apply a small amount of high pressure thread lubricant to the threads and end point of the torsion bar tensioning tool. Attach torsion bar tensioning tool squarely on the frame member. Be sure the locating pin is in the guide hole on the top side of the crossmember right over the "pork chop". If your tool does not have this locating pin, be sure to attach the tool squarely on the top of the crossmember. Tighten any bolts/nuts on the tool to secure it. Turn the center bolt of the tool up into the dimple in the bottom of the pork chop arm. Continue tightening until the end of the pork chop arm is off the adjusting bolt. Carefully remove the adjusting bolt. This could take some time and a lot of effort. Keep the penetrating oil handy as several applications may be necessary. If it strips or breaks, you'll have to cut it out or burn it out with a torch, and replace it with a new one. When the adjusting bolt is out, remove the flat nut (rounded with slots on one side). Turn the torsion bar tensioning tool center bolt counterclockwise to relieve the tension on the pork chop and bar. When the tension is completely off the bar, the tool and bar/pork chop assembly will basically fall apart. Remove the tool. Repeat 7 through 13 for the other side, except you don't have to remove the seal cap if you are not removing/replacing the torsion bar. You only have to loosen the bar to be able to move the crossmember. On the rear side of the crossmember you can see the end of the torsion bar through a small hole in the crossmember. Insert the drift/punch into this hole and with the hammer pound the bar loose until it starts to slide forward. At this point you should probably be able to slide the bar forward enough by hand to clear the crossmember. Loosen and remove the crossmember mount assembly on the side you're working on. Two bolts and nuts hold it in place. Slide the rubber mount away from the crossmember and remove it. Loosen the bolts on the other side enough so that the crossmember can be moved. If you are removing/replacing both torsion bars, go ahead and remove the bolts and crossmember mount. Using the bottle jack and necessary wood blocks, raise the crossmember enough so that the torsion bar can be slid under it. You will have to make sure the bar goes back into the hex socket on the front mount so it will slide through. The old grease in the socket will act like glue, so you may want to loosen it up with penetrating oil or mineral spirits or some other solvent. Slide the bar through and out of the socket. It weighs 25 or 30 pounds so don't let it fall on your head. Remove the bar and yourself from under the coach. With a pocket knife or other small scraping tool, clean out the old grease from the front hex socket. Use a solvent to remove all the grease, if desired. Clean the old grease from the hex end of the torsion bar. Reshape the socket seal cap if necessary. Test fit it into the socket, but don't pound it into place yet. Examine the threads of the adjusting bolt and nut. If they look okay, clean them up with a wire brush. Dress them with a die and tap if you have these tools. Otherwise, the wire brush should be fine. Reassemble them with high pressure thread lube and run the bolt all the way through and back again. Clean the threads again, and re-lube them with thread lube. Leave them disassembled. Apply a glob of clean chassis grease to the inside of the front hex socket. Be liberal and coat it well. Apply grease over the hex end of the torsion bar. From under the coach, insert the torsion bar (either replacement or same one) into the front hex socket. Be sure you have the correct bar for the side. Each bar is marked on the end with either "L" or "R". Each one will fit on either side, but you don't want to mix them up. Verify before you assemble. Installation is just the reverse of removal. Reassemble the bar/pork chop. Tap the bar from the front enough to set it 1/8" or so from the inner surface of the crossmember. Check it at the hole in the crossmember. Be sure to tap the seal cap back into place. Reinstall the crossmember mount, and tighten bolts. Be sure to tighten bolts on the side loosened. Apply the torsion bar tool and raise the end of the pork chop far enough to be beyond where it was originally. Insert the adjusting nut and bolt. Turn the adjusting bolt up to about the same position you observed or measured prior to disassembly. Remove tensioning tool allowing the pork chop to contact adjusting bolt. Remove jack stands, and reinstall front wheel(s). Completely lower coach. Check and adjust ride height as outlined in the Owner's Manual or service manual. Be sure tire pressures are correct and rear suspension is at the correct height ("Travel" position). Use the tensioning tool with the front wheels off the ground to raise or lower the pork chop. Never use the adjusting bolt -- it will strip. No matter which way you have to adjust the ride height, always relieve the tension on the adjusting bolt before trying to turn it. ---- I tried and tried to complete this job but because the torsion bar was broken off inside of the cannister I had to cut it apart with an acetelene torch.