How do you adjust the torsion bar on a 1997 Chevrolet K1500 Silverado?

Answer 1

cranking your torsion bars is useful to level a sagging front end. the first thing you need to do is get a starting point for the height of your front. take measurements from the ground to the center of the fender well on both sides and write them down. you will want to raise or lower both sides equally so this will be your starting point. get the front end off the ground by jacking the truck up and supporting it from the frame. you need all the weight off the front wheels. locate the torsion bar adjustment screws. you'll find them at the back end of the torsion bars where they enter the cross member. cranking the screws without unweighting the front may cause the bolts to twist off and break. take a look at the way the setup works. the adjustment screws actually push on keys which in turn twist the torsion bars giving them their preload. screw the adjustment screw in and you put more preload on the t-bar which in turn will cause the lower a-arm to twist downward, thus raising that side of the truck. you'll want to do each side one turn at a time. by that i mean put your wrench on the screw, turn it clockwise exactly one turn. do the exact same thing to the other side and then lower the vehicle and take it for a short spin around the block to allow the front to settle. remeasure to make sure both sides are even. repeat if necessary. simple as it sounds there is a lot that can be affected by cranking the t-bars so you need to be very careful about how much you lift the front. pay particular attention the angle of your front halfshafts. ideally they are designed to operate from a horizontal position. as you raise the front end, the the lower a-arms will begin to get torqued downward giving the halfshafts an angled appearance. too much angle is bad and can cause excessive/premature wear as well as binding/breakage. as a rule raise the front no more than 1" to 1-1/2". that should be enough to get the front level to the back end. you will need to get a wheel alignment once you are finished to adjust your camber. again, i can't stress enough the importance of keeping your halfshaft angles to a minimum. they will break eventually if you torque the torsion bars too much so be forewarned.