Torsion Rod install help '95 AWD

[mallenfam]

Trying to rotate adjuster arm for Dorman -600 right/passenger torsion rod. Van frame is supported on stand with right tire off ground, but my modified c-clamp is at its limit to bend/fail when the arm tip still needs to rotate another half inch to slide the adjusting bolt plate through the frame.

Will unbolting the front shock drop the lower control arm a bit farther? Has anyone used a ball joint press c-clamp to do this since it looks stronger? Some posters implied installation was easy, but what tools were used to pre-rotate the rods to insert the adj plates?

Yes, I am trying to avoiding spending $100 to buy the real unloader tool for a one-time use (including replacing the unbroken original left/driver torsion rod with Dorman -601). BTW, I bought both on Amazon for $202 total with free shipping.

Thanks for the help. Hopefully we can capture a few extra repair tips for those lucky folks who get to do this job in the future!

[Blue Bowtie]

I'm not sure if it is exactly the same, but I've done that on my '00 Astro twice. Removing the shock might allow just a wee bit more droop but you need to be careful of extending the CV joints too much. I found that removing the hemispherical "nut/plate" anchor from one side of the crossmember would allow JUST enough room to allow the ball end of the adjusting screw to enter the pocket in the torsion bar arm and them you can swing the "nut/plate" back into the crossmember to re-engage the slot in the crossmember face.

It's VERY close, but I was able to get it that way both times and used only 8" C-clamps to preload the arm.

[mallenfam]

Thanks Blue Bowtie, I appreciate the response. I am concerned about overextending things. I have the torsion rod and the adjuster arm "pork chop" in position, but my 5" c-clamp is struggling (close, but no cigar) to twist the arm far enough for me to slip the nut plate through the crossmember slot. My 6" c-clamp frame twisted and permanently bent trying to do the job.

Heavy duty c-clamps are >$100 and I hate to buy one and have to cut the flat adapter end off its shaft. That's when I got the idea to do the free rental from the auto parts store of the ball joint press that has a heavy c-clamp. Its frame end has a hole where a bolt could be passed through backwards to drop into the indentation on the top of the crossmember, where the special tool normally engages in.

I was just hoping to find what was working for others.