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Rear Torsion Bar Adjustments
Baja's
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Some of the most frequently asked questions I get about adjustments for Bajas and Rails are. How do I get added ground clearance or increase my ride height? How high is too high? How do I do that? Well, here is how I have been doing it for the past few years and it works like a champ.
Well, lets get started.
As you can see the T-bars are starting to sag in this case. I put new T-bars in the car when it was converted to IRS. Now after a few trips out, the T-bars are starting to set, this will happen with all new T-bars. You will find that you will have to reset them about two or three times before they are full set/broken in. If you are just starting out with older stock T-bars it might be a good idea to get some new T-bars with approx 1300 lb to 1400 lb spring rate. You should be able to find a set for $150-$250.
You can go out and buy all sorts of tools etc. to do this, but I found that this works and will get the job done. All you need is some string, a socket, wax paper and a marker. We start by finding the static (non-adjusted) ride height. Take your home made plumb bob and mark your spring plate with a vertical line. Label this line ST for static. Make sure you do both sides of the Baja at the same time, if you do not, the car will not sit level when your done.
Next, jack up the car to the height you would like it to sit. Another thing to look at now are your CV joints. A CV joint has limited angle it can handle without binding also make sure the axles/half shafts slide in and out of the CV joints at full extension. If not look into larger CV joints and a maching set of half shafts, but thats another story. Don't jack the Baja all the way into the lower stops, leave about 3" or more inches of down travel. If you don't have any down travel, your Bajas ride will be affected. You need this, trust me, I have been in a few cars that ride like a rock with a bone jerking effect due to no down travel.
Now get out the plumb bob and draw another vertical line. This will give you the all-important angle that we need to adjust the T-bars. If you did not feel that you did it right, do it again. This will be our adjusted line. Label this line AJ. Make sure your adjusted line makes an angle with the static ST line.
Here we do a final check before we start taking the rear suspension apart. Make sure the car is off the ground and the suspension is unloaded. Place a jack under the end of the spring plate before you start to unbolt anything. You could be dealing with up 1400 lb of force stored up in the T-bars. In most cases it should be unloaded at this point.
Torsion bars come in three lengths as well as many diameters. The T-Bar on the left is a Long 26-9/16" and 29mm diameter with a 1400 lb spring rate. The T-Bar on the right is a Short 21-3/4" and 27mm diameter with a 1333 lb spring rate. Most stock T-bars are 22mm-23mm with an approximate 500 lb to 600 lb spring rate.
Now we use the wax paper and copy the angle that was made. Make sure you label the lines on the wax paper ST for static and AJ for ajusted and the side of the Baja it belongs to.
Take the wax paper angle and put the wax paper ST line over the AJ line already on the spring plate. Now transfer the wax paper AJ line to the spring plate.
I placed two dots at the bottom and top of the spring plate for the new line. Then I did a quick connect the dots with a straight edge. Label this line SET.
Time to check your work. The angle on the wax paper should be the same as both the ST and AJ line angle on the spring plate and the same angle as the AJ and SET line angle on the spring plate
Now reinstall the T-bar with the spring plate. Take out the plumb bob and see if the SET line is at vertical. If not, readjust the T-bar. The T-bars have an even number of splines on one end and an odd number of splines on the other end. So to make finer adjustments you rotate one end of the T-bar back a spline and the other end forward one spline. Keep doing this until the SET line is vertical. Check the SET line for vertical with your plumb bob.
All that is left is to bolt every thing back together. Your new setting might pre-load the T-bar so be careful when you start bolting things back together. Drive the car around a little and check to see if it is level. You can pull out the plumb bob and check it on the AJ line. If you did every thing correctly it should come out vertical.
This sounds like a lot to do but it can be done in less the two hours. The steps above will work for both Swingaxle and IRS transaxle set-ups. Remember that you are working with Springs/Torsion Bars. Even a weak T-bar can have up to 400 lb of force built up that might unload and cause severe damage to you.
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Last Update: June 8 2000
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This is not what I was looking for!!! Click Here and try your search again. If you do like VW Baja Bugs, Well then stick around and have a look. Do not forget to look at our Posters page. I need to make Gas Money some how.
Eric G. Hall
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