So, you want to make a $5 torsion puller....

[nssj2]

i have no clue as to where to put this thread, so mods, if you know, please feel free to move this.

I know im not the only one who was shocked seeing a $150+ price tag on a torsion bar tool/puller.

being the cheap person i am, i took a trip to home depot, and made a torsion bar puller for $5.36. What you need....
-5 ton 2/3 jaw puller (rentable at autozone for free)
-2 5/16"x4" bolts
-4 washers
-4 nylon spacers 5/16" by 1/2"
-4 5/16" nuts
-1 pack (2 inside) fence repair strip.

set up the puller for a 2 jaw pull, using the lower holes on the arms. The parts you bough from home depot make a bridge, as to keep the arms together under tension, which is the point of this tool. start with both bolts on opposite ends of the metal piece. should go in this order:bolt, BOTH metal pieces, spacer, spacer, washer, washer, puller arm, nut. put your creation on the torsion key bracket. TIGHTEN ALL THE BOLTS. if you dont, you have a large chance of something failing, and resulting in injury. once everything is snug, remove the adjusting bolt from the torsion bar, tighten the puller onto the bar (the threaded part will fit into a hole on the key). then, just remove the retainer, back down the puller, and voila!

p.s. please be safe pulling these, they are under a lot of tension. make sure youre out of the way of the bar when you pull it. im not responsible if someone makes this and encounters a problem, resulting in injury.

 

[Dan Whitaker]

A hydraulic bottle jack works much better.

 

[Hokie]

Eh, I'd still be scared of a bottle jack ~ if it were to slip it could fly out/apart

This works really well (thats my hand in the picture) and would recommend it for anyone pulling their torsion bars.

 

[Blee1099]

We jacked up my truck by the frame to take the weight off the torsion bars and removed the adjuster bolt and then kevlar pad & adjuster to remove the torsion bar when I broke my old 97 on the trails. There is definately no need for a puller for the t-bar.

 

[kythri]

How long are those repair strips? I picked up the puller at Autozone, and apparently a 6" strip is too small.

8"? 10"?

 

[nssj2]

hum, well on mine the holes were spaced 5 1/2" apart with the 5 ton puller. if that isn't correct for yours, just measure the distance of the holes of the jaws when you have it attached snugly on the torsion pars (just like on the last picture).

 

[96eb96]

We jacked up my truck by the frame to take the weight off the torsion bars and removed the adjuster bolt and then kevlar pad & adjuster to remove the torsion bar when I broke my old 97 on the trails. There is definately no need for a puller for the t-bar.

Wow, that completely unloads the tension? So you just take the bolt off and it just pops out without tools?