replacing rear torsion bar mounts?

[95GMCJimmySLE]

ok, so when I took my girls 95 Jiimmy SLE 4.3L Vortec 4x4 into the shop to have the bad idle looked at I also had them see what this pop/knock sound was that could be heard once in a while when making a slow sharp turn. They tell me the rear torsion bar mounts are bad. They say those can only be bought at the dealer. I think they said it would cost my girl $220 installed. This is in addition to them telling me the EGR Valve needs replacing (cause of the bad idle) and the exhaust has been sounding bad lately and needs to be replaced as well. Not to mention she should get new tires before winter. So I would like to do the EGR Valve and torsion bar mounts if I can. I'm used to working on my Honda but have done a few things to her Jimmy like the front ball joints, oil cooler lines and fan clutch.

So my question is, how hard is it to replace the rear torsion bar mounts? Do you need any special tools to do the job? Are there any links to how to replace the rear torsion bar mounts?

I searched but only found people describing the same thing as my girls car is having and then other saying the torsion bars are easy to replace but no one really explained how. Any help would be greatly appreciated. With all the stuff that needs to be done, anything I can do to save her some money would be a big help.

Thanks

[ChrisGood]

Hey how hard was it to change out the ball joints? upper or lower? I need to change out my lower ball joints, but i have a bad knee so i can only sit on a stool or the ground, no kneeling or squatting. What did it take to do it, fairly simple, how much time?

[95GMCJimmySLE]

they weren't bad. Three of them had already been replaced prior to me doing them so those three were the easiest. The fourth one however was a PITA because it was still rivetted in. First I had problems getting the damn knuckle off. Once I realized I had to loosen the upper ball joint first I had the knuckle somewhat off. Then the axle wouldn't come out. I'm used to the axle just sliding out like my Honda's. So I went and bought a 3 jaw gear puller and had just enough to grab onto the lip of the hub and push the axle out, very simple. Then once I had the knuckle off, I started with the lower ball joint which had the rivets still. I drilled them out first with a 1/8 drill and then went up to a 1/4 drill. I started to burn up that bit so I went and got another as well as a cold chissle. Once I had them drilled to 1/4, I just took a baby sledge and the chissle and hammered the heads off the rivets. Worked great. Assembly was easy.

The first side took way too long because I had to run back and forth to the parts store and Sears quite a few times. But once I had the first side done I was able to do the other side in about 2 hrs I think. In that 2 hrs I also repaired the ABS wire which was broken. 2 hrs may be long for some but that was my first time doing ball joints so I'm happy.

It took me a weekend to replace all front ball joints and brakes all around. It was also my first time doing drums, so that took a little longer than usual.

Overall, not too bad. Just make sure you allow enough time and it helps if you have another car (or friend with a car) to take you to the store if you find you need something else. I bought a drums tool kit from Craftsman which helped installing the rear drum hardware, a 3 jaw gear puller, allen head socket bits (for the front brake caliper) and ball joint seperator. Everything else I already had.

[ChrisGood]

Thanks for the insight, I figured drilling out the rivets would become a pain but i have alot of good bits and a pretty sturdy drill from my last job where i had to drill steel and iron often for grounding locations. Brakes are always easy for me i have 4 wheel disc, cake walk.

So other than maybe some backup bits, I need a 3 jaw gear puller and what about a tuning (pickle) fork for seperating them?

[ChrisGood]

As for removing the rear torsion mounts, I would take a look at the work at hand and have a big can of penetrating lube in hand. I would even spray it on a day or two in advance, then again the next day and so on until the day you remove them to make the work slightly easier.

[95GMCJimmySLE]

no, problem. Glad to of helped.

The drill bits I was using were good bits. They were HSS, not carbide but still very good quality. It may have been used prior to then, that may be why it burned up sorta quick. I design cutting tools where I work and these are the same bits they use in the shop. We do a lot of work for Ford, GM, some Chysler and lately been doing work for Honda, Toyota and Nissan. We also work with other small shops much like ourselves.

The pickle (tuning) fork will work, just make sure the wedge end is big enough. I first rented one from AutoZone and it wasn't thick enough to pop the ball joint free. Thats what I used since I didn't care about damaging the ball joint boots since I was replacing them anyway. If you don't want the ball joint boots damaged like when your replacing an axle or something, I would suggest using something different.

As for the rear torsion bar mounts, the car is still at the shop so I can't look at it until we go and pick it up later today. I use PB Blaster to loosen rusted bolts. Works great. I agree, spraying a day ahead really seems to help loosen tham up more. Is there any other advise you can give me about the rear torsion bar mounts? I've read on here people saying they are easy but no one explains the process or anything.

Thanks

[ChrisGood]

I would measure the height from the rim to the body so that when you replace them you can make sure it is back to the correct ride height. other than that i think its all just elbow grease.

I also found this:
http://www.sytyarchives.com/howto/vi...dir=suspension

[95GMCJimmySLE]

great, thanks. Thats exactly what I was looking for. Thank You

Doesn't seem to hard. We're getting the exhaust fixed right now and then when we get it back I'll be changing those mounts and also cleaning or replacing the EGR Valve.

Thanks again for your help.

[95GMCJimmySLE]

ok, so I went to the dealer yesterday to buy the mount. I told the guy what I was looking for and he asked which part it was in his diagram. I looked but didn't see anything that looked like the part in that article so I described what the part looked like. He said he knows what I was talking about but it doesn't seem like the 95 Jimmy has that style mount. So I told him I will have to make sure before I order anything.

I went home and looked at the car and didn't see anything like the article showed but looked just like the diagram did. Here is what the diagram looks like...



So my question is, which part is it that I need to replace? Part #18?

Also, once I know what part needs to be replaced, how do I go about replacing it? Is it something similar to that article just a little different? I was busy getting frustrated with the stripped hole that mounts the EGR so I didn't spend too much time looking at the underside of the car so forgive me if it is something simple that I should be able to look at and figure out.

If it doesn't rain today I'll be working on it again, hopefully retapping the hole that mounts the EGR so I can get the EGR back on the car and move onto the torsion bar mounts.

Any help is greatly appreciated.

Thanks

edit:
resized picture.

[95GMCJimmySLE]

ok, so yesterday after finally getting the EGR back on I looked under the car at the rear of torsion bar to see what looks to be the part I need.

Part #18 in the diagram above looks to be the part I need to replace. That part is what mounts that subframe/support to the frame of the car which to mind understanding is what that part did in that article that was posted earlier.

It doesn't look to bad. Just follow the same basic steps that the article explained but instead of two bolts holding the bracket to the frame, there is only one. And just one nut that holds the subframe/support to the bracket.

Any thoughts on this?