Packard Forum Index » V-8 (1955-56)

I have to admit I'm having a hard time visualizing the unloading of the torsion system and the car is in the shop far away so I can't go take a look at it. Once the system is unloaded it seems pretty straight forward.

My shop has used a chain to hold the load arm to replace the pins to adjust the ride height but then there's still a load on the system. The shop manual shows a special tool that looks like it holds the control arm and then allows you to slowly ratchet down the load. How do you release the load without the special tool?

The Torsion Bar Loading and Unloading Tool (J-5954) is operated entirely from the rear. The shop manual illustrates the procedure, but you DO NOT NEED TO UNLOAD/REMOVE ANY TORSION BAR to replace control or support arm BUSHINGS. The load only needs to be completely removed to service the bars themselves or the front and rear load arms, which have needle-type bearings.

A special Front Load Arm Holding Tool (J-6065), which DOES NOT involve any sort of threaded rod, simply restrains the load arm to facilitate service of the front suspension components. The upper control arm and several other details can actually be serviced WITHOUT this tool IF YOU WORK CAREFULLY because the load is applied (at the front of the car) to the lower control arm.

Go back and read Randy Berger's post #10 in this thread on how to R&R the upper control arm.

HOWEVER, the front load arm MUST be restrained, by use of either the special tool or equivalent - such as what your shop did to change load arm links (what you call pins) - to service the LOWER control arm and its inner bushings.

You do not need to UNLOAD the torsion bar or have the special tool to remove the upper control arm. All the weight of the car is supported by the jackstand sitting under the lower support knuckle where it attaches to the lower control arm. The torsion bar is still under load but the upper control arm can be removed as it is not supporting anything. The jack stand must be placed under the lower support knuckle which is the outermost point of the front suspension.

I think I finally understand. Thanks for being patient! But that is good news that I don't have to unload the system or remove the torsion bars themselves. That should make the job a lot easier than I thought it would be.

Can you tell me how many bushings and which ones I should get? Max Merritt lists a bunch of bushings and I'm not sure which ones I really need for this job. Thanks!

Quote:
Unless you wanna throw everything but the kitchen sink at it, that's a question that can only be answered by first-person inspection of the actual vehicle. Parts book illustrations (see Plates 31G and 32B) show you where to find them in the application listings (by Group number), which - in turn - show how many per car.

Instead of supplying individual parts, know that some vendors put front-end kits together, which include many more parts than just the eight control arm rubber bushings - upper and lower inner, RH-LH.

However, you'll still need to spec out the bushings for the rear supports arms, if needed. If you remove the rear axle U-bolt nuts, you may find that those bushings - upper and lower - need replaced, as well.

BTW, there's also a frame-mounted bushing about midway along each of the main torsion bars.

Then, though they may not be causing your current problem, there are bushings for stabilizer bars - front and rear - to consider.

It's another case of "in for a penny, in for a pound".

Brian,

I had the front end rebuilt with a kit from Kanter when I first bought the car so I believe the front end is good. That should make the job easier.

Thanks for being patient!
I am always very patient with inanimate objects, but am still learning to be patient with people - myself included.
I am still very grateful for this forum - for those experiences I can pass along and the ones that are passed on to me.
AND for the friends I have made on this forum and the PAC forum and the AACA forum.

Attach file:

---

  (1.33 KB)

Thanks everyone for the advice! You don't know how much I appreciate this forum.

My plan now is to replace the bushings in the rear suspension and the long torsion bar bushings midway up the frame. I'll also check the front suspension bushings to make sure they haven't deteriorated since they were replaced (less than 10K miles).

Hopefully I'll see a difference in the porpoising!

Quote:
That should rule out front-end control arms as source of your "porpoising" problem, then.

I'd be more concerned about the needle bearings that the load arms pivot on. In the absence of a factory-trained dealer network, the grease fittings for those bearings are often overlooked in a lube job. See Figure 39 in the Suspension and Steering section of the shop manual for location of that fitting for front, Figure 41 shows the rear.

Perhaps before you tear into or order anything, you should try pushing some grease through these bearings. I wouldn't be surprised if whatever grease is in there is awfully stiff.

Thanks Brian. I'll make sure those bearings are lubed before I order bushings. That would be a simple fix though so Murphy says they've been lubed.