Stripped my torsion bar mount...

[adrenaline503]

I had just gotten my swayaway torsion bars all set up and adjusted. On the way home I heard a bang and the whole drivers side suspension dropped to the bump stops. Turns out the mount on the lower arm stripped out. I have heard of this happening before but I can't remember where. Is there a consensus on why this occurs? My first two thoughts are either the torsion bar wasn't seated correctly which I doubt since the rear torsion bar adjustment bolt as well seated which "should" ensure everything is correct. My second guess is too much tension on the torsion bar, which I also doubt. I was using a regular length socket wrench to do the adjustments so I doubt I could have put enough tension on it to strip it. The adjustment bolt wasn't bottomed out although I had just reindexed. Oddly, the ride after reindexing was much more supple than before. Perhaps that additional softness was my bracket slowly stripping itself. FML.






So now what? Should I use the swayaways again or might there be an inherent problem? They were used but in good condition.
it looks like a new bracket is about $51.00 bucks and I MIGHT be able to find one in a junk yard. Not many Frontiers with good fronts out here. Are the longer arms "lift versions" more robust or do they use the same stock torsion bar mount?

 

[The BN Guy]

I had something similar happen to me a few years ago. Except mine happened in the driveway when we were test rocking the rig. Oh and a friend was under the truck when it happened.

My theory is that we didn't seat the t-bar far enough into the bracket. I still used the t-bar as it looked in good condition with no damage. I had to wait three days for a new one from the dealership. When it comes to suspension...I'd be leary of getting something from a junkyard as you don't really know if it's structural integrity may or may not have been compromised.

Ironically I still have mine and let my engineering students measure and draw it in CAD just for the fun of it...and to remind me to check everything three times before testing! lol

 

[adrenaline503]

I had something similar happen to me a few years ago. Except mine happened in the driveway when we were test rocking the rig. Oh and a friend was under the truck when it happened.

My theory is that we didn't seat the t-bar far enough into the bracket. I still used the t-bar as it looked in good condition with no damage. I had to wait three days for a new one from the dealership. When it comes to suspension...I'd be leary of getting something from a junkyard as you don't really know if it's structural integrity may or may not have been compromised.

Ironically I still have mine and let my engineering students measure and draw it in CAD just for the fun of it...and to remind me to check everything three times before testing! lol

Yea, it must not have been seated correctly. I even tapped it with a mallet a few times. Sheesh. Or, I could get the Total Chaos kit and be done with torsion bars forever! From the pic does my t-bar look okay for reuse?

 

[Silver dude]

Yeah I'm rocking the sway a ways as well. My theory is also that they didn't seat far enough into your brackets. Bars look great and being that they are a tough high grade steel I wouldn't worry about them at all. It is a pretty common failure with guys that off road. So you could equate it to the springs being higher tension with a higher load from a winch bumper or tires thus causing failure by over stressing them. I carry a few spares both a bracket and adjuster with me out on the trails. SLR used to sell hardened steel adjusters however nobody has ever made a bracket. I've considered getting a stock set Cryo'ed but not sure if it would be any better.

 

[adrenaline503]

Yeah I'm rocking the sway a ways as well. My theory is also that they didn't seat far enough into your brackets. Bars look great and being that they are a tough high grade steel I wouldn't worry about them at all. It is a pretty common failure with guys that off road. So you could equate it to the springs being higher tension with a higher load from a winch bumper or tires thus causing failure by over stressing them. I carry a few spares both a bracket and adjuster with me out on the trails. SLR used to sell hardened steel adjusters however nobody has ever made a bracket. I've considered getting a stock set Cryo'ed but not sure if it would be any better.

Thanks for the comments. At least I don't appear to be a total moron. At least not the first. Time to track down a bracket tomorrow. Bleh.

Another thought. I got these sway aways used. Since I don't know the previous position there were in, what are the chances of me getting the 2 sides to be equal? In effect wouldn't they be indexed differently?

 

[adrenaline503]

Just ordered a new mount from the dealership, it should be here tomorrow.

 

[KUMA]

Dang that sucks, I never seen it in person but have seen someone on one of the forums slip it and got stuck with one side low. I wonder would it be possible to do something like Cryo freeze and harden the steel? Or would that change it to much and make it not fit together..

 

[tremors834]

Yea, it must not have been seated correctly. I even tapped it with a mallet a few times.

If one end of the t-bar is not seated correctly, how does the opposite end still fit in the mount or even how does the whole t-bar still fit?
Is it because the mounts are open and the opposite end can pass through further??
I'm guessing when the t-bars are in the mounts, you should check the see where the ends are actually seated?
Perhaps check the position of the old t-bar ends before removing so there is something to compare?
I ask because I'll be installing my HD t-bars soon.

 

[adrenaline503]

If one end of the t-bar is not seated correctly, how does the opposite end still fit in the mount or even how does the whole t-bar still fit?
Is it because the mounts are open and the opposite end can pass through further??
I'm guessing when the t-bars are in the mounts, you should check the see where the ends are actually seated?
Perhaps check the position of the old t-bar ends before removing so there is something to compare?
I ask because I'll be installing my HD t-bars soon.

I will post some pics later (need to get out and enjoy the sun) but the trick (on Nissans) is to make sure the front bracket is loose. This will allow enough play to seat the bar in the socket. One the front is seated you pop the rear anchor in place and use a mallet to tap it forward into position. Once it is tapped forward the anchor/adjustment bolt will slide through the cross member very easily. Once the bolt is I gave a few more taps and checked to make sure the splines were fully engaged. Now, it is true that if you have the splines bottomed out in the front anchor, some of the splines will show in the rear anchor. But, if you look at your stock ones you'll see the same thing. I suppose you could fiddle with it to make sure there is equal spline showing in the front and rear, but I'm not sure that's really necessary. I found that in the process of indexing the rear anchor the whole assembly seats itself where ever its going to end up. As long as the bar is seated correctly and aligned you should be fine. Its very hard to explain but hopefully when I get the pics loaded up it will make more sense.

 

[tremors834]

Big thanks.....

 

[Jcapello]

Hi Guys,
I know this is about 18 months late, but I had the same thing happen to me. So I did some investigating. It seems there were two problems. The first was I reindexed to far. I moved my T-bars 3 splines in increase the hieght when I probably only should have done 2. I used Sway Aways like most others posted here, so they were beefier than the standard bars, which you can do 3 splines on. Resetting the torsion adjuster back to it's original position overstressed the T bar arms (the socket on the LCA) and when I hit a bad bump I too was dragging the ground. The second problem I discovered was based on ifo from the Nissan Dealership in Austin. The parts manager told me that they knew there was a manufactoring defect in the OEM T bar arms, they were not meeting the original specs they were supposed to be designed for. I ordered new T bar arms and they were noticably beefier and slightly deeper. I replaced the arms and reindexed my T bars correctly, 2 not 3 splines and they worked perfectly. Just my 2 cents worth, but If I can save anyone the grief of having to go through this it was worth it.

Awesome site, will return more often.
Later,
John

2004 Solar Red 4x4 Xterra V6, PML, 32" BFG KO's, Hi Lift, K&N, Bilsteins all around, resonators removed and more to come.

 

[sasfrontier]

Do the sway aways have a recess cut around one end for a c clip? I know older pathfinders had a c clip on the rear of the t bar just in front of the crossmember to prevent the t-bar from backing out of the control armbracket.

 

[adrenaline503]

No, no c-clips.