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The tool you need is this one. Only half is shown but it is huge & heavy and without it, don't know how you safely would load or unload the bar. Have no idea if anyone in your area would have one. It's a big screw jack thing that stretches across car from frame rail on one side to the load link on side being worked on. You clamp it on then tighten to lift link out of saddle and loosen to lower the bar and relieve the tension. There are several pieces to it as well as extra bits to keep bar and link centered in position and act as pivot points.

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i understand the wiring stuff now. thanks for clarifying!

that tool looks like a pain in the ass. why would they make it so difficult. how the hell is anyone supposed to work on their car 50+ years later when the company has gone out of business LOL! ;0)

seriously it would be nice if there was a club one that circulated whenever someone needed it, which probably wouldn't be to often.

where did you get your tool from?? maybe they would like to share long enough for me to get one made that looks like it. which would probably not work too well, so that brings me back to the floating club tool. ;0)

thanks,

Hank

well, once again you were right. i wasn't hooking it up right. i did as you advised and everything worked great. the solenoids click the limit switch worked, everything worked ;0)!!

thanks for the help.

now i can move on to taking things apart, but i wonder if there is anyone out there that has taken the torsion bars out without the special 50+ year old tool from Packard??

thoughts??

thanks,


Hank

I can't give you any specifics, perhaps others will chime in with first-hand experience, but I can tell you there are people who have removed the torsion bars without the special tool. Cementing eyelets deep into concrete floors, using chains and cables/winches, etc. come to mind. So it can be done.

is there an instruction manual on how the original tool works, maybe i can get some ideas from that. i am pretty visual, so any thing like that would help me understand the process of removal and then maybe i can come up with something.

i have a friend that does this stuff on old hotrods and is a wiz at fabing things up.

Glad TL worked. Be sure to disconnect the rod from bar to control switch or leave the light green wire disconnected so the little heaters inside control switch don't get power or stay on and burn up.

Look in section 16--Suspension and Steering section of the 55-6 service manual. It has detailed instructions on removing/replacing TL components using the tools however the pictures here on website are a bit too contrasty. I am going to try and scan some parts again. If you have a reprint paper copy manual, they are a bit better.

everything is disconnected from battery, only used it to test operation, didn't know if i would need new anything on the TL system and didn't want to find out later when it was harder to get to, since the body is off right now.

I can think of a couple of ways doing without the tool and fabricating some pieces but whatever you make has to be out of heavy heavy material and safety would be key.

Strapping the frame down is probably a must because without the body weight, it will be extremely hard to remove the short bars since they must be in a neutral or no load position to remove the compensator without something flying across the room and perhaps a piece of you with it. By strapping the frame to floor and winching it down to simulate a load would solve that issue or possibly the other way would be to fabricate something between rear axle and top of frame to squeeze them together until a no load point is reached.

Something shaped like the piece shown is drawing with the leverage to clamp onto link is a must and instead of jack screw a chain lift or heavy come-a-long attached to opposite frame. You'd also need the centering piece to keep the link located when working on it. I can't stress enough, safety. The forces on the bars are tremendous.

are there any actual bushings on the torsion bars themselves or could i dip the car with the torsion bars intact. i did notice a couple of grease fittings on the front of the car where the bars are, so i am guessing there are some sort of bushings.

i am wondering, since the bushing are all bad anyways, if i can just dip the car with most of the suspension in place. i am going to replace all the rubber anyways.

i don't know i am just kinda lost at this point on what to do next.

i am worried about taking the suspension apart...it looks like the torsion bars are connected with those levers on the front and back and it looks like if i took anything apart they would fling back at me and that would suck big time.

what would the pros/cons be to media blasting vs dipping. seems like dipping would get into all the crevasses better.

thanks,

Hank

The grease fittings you saw in the front have a corresponding pair in the rear, and these are for needle bearings on the load arms. They have rubber seals on them and dipping will probably destroy those seals as well as all the other rubber bushings in the suspension, of which there are plenty. Most (but not those on the load arms) can be replaced fairly easily without a lot of diassembly.