Mk 5 torsion bar

[dalgrae]

Hi after many attempts I have managed to get the ally rear torsion bar cap off ref plate 20 item 36,my question is the rear of the torsion bar as much as I can see with the retaining bolt and shims removed is very rusty,I am considering trying to remove the operating lever item 28 from the torsion bar to clean up this rust,if I disconect the link lever to this operating lever will this then come off the torsion bar even if it needs a bit of gentle persuasion.The other side of the bike is fine as grease has been applied to the parts,so I can only assume the seized ally cap has not been removed for years resulting in the rusted parts.

Regards. Colin

[dalgrae]

Hi again a second thought on this ,is maybe to remove the front torsion bar retaining bracket and pull out the whole torsion bar from the rear and then attempt to remove the rear operating lever under better controlled conditions.

Any advice most welcome

Colin

[eddie]

Colin,
         With the securing bolt removed from the front of the torsion bar, it should be possible to draw the torsion bar and operating lever out as an assembly, then deal with it on the bench. If your frame has been distorted - either by accident damage or by strain caused by the suspension seizing up - the operating lever may be dragging on the pivot tube, in which case, it may be easier to draw the torsion bar out of the operating lever first. This is best achieved by using a long drawbolt and spacer tube over the end of the torsion bar - the torsion bar has the same spline on both ends.

   Regards,
                 Eddie.

[dalgrae]

Hi Eddie thanks for your reply ,so the long draw bolt and spacer is applied to  the front mounting so drawing it out of the rear operating lever,do I need to mark up the existing positions of the front bracket to spline position and also the same at the rear so I can realign the parts in the same position during reassembly.

Colin

[eddie]

No Colin, draw the torsion bar out to the back - that will leave the operating lever loose on the centre of the torsion bar, making it easier to work it off the pivot tube. You will then be able to work on clearing the rust from the end of the torsion bar (rather than trying to draw the lever over the rust, thus loosening the fit on the splines).
   With regard to re-assembly, keep the torsion bar the same way round - i.e. dont turn it end for end.  Presumably, you already have the bike on the stand. Put extra blocks under the stand to get the rear wheel high enough that you can feel the free movement in the other torsion bar, i.e. no load on the bar. With the bike lifted to this height, it should simply be a case of sliding the torsion bar back into place. When the bike is back on it's wheels, both torsion bars should be taking an equal load.

    Eddie.

[dalgrae]

Hi as ever ,thank very much,I will start tomorrow to remove it

Thank you Colin

[dalgrae]

Hi again ,so far so good ,all parts stripped out,not as bad as I thought regarding parts condition,except the operating lever bush completely blocked regarding the 4 grease holes and the radial outer groove,I have managed to unblock 2 of them so now it is an overnight soak in stale petrol to hopefully clear them with the aid of compressed air and wire probes,no marks on torsion bar so I assume frame is straight.I will pack the frame hole tube with grease on reassembly.

Colin

[dalgrae]

Can someone please advise me regarding the grease nipples for the link arms what thread are they.

Colin

[eddie]

1/4" BSF

  Eddie.

[dalgrae]

Hi again ,one side back together,my question is what is the endfloat clearance at the rear location,with the torsion bar bolted up tight at the front there are 3 shims fitted at the rear that go over the small length of spline  poking through the operating lever ,with the bolt and retaining washer done up tight there is still clearance on the shims,I take it some end float clearance is required it is probably about .010 to .015 inch

Colin

[eddie]

Colin,
          I've just looked at the owner's handbook and it mentions shims for the torsion bars but does not give any idea what the end clearance should be. As the movement of the operating lever is purely rotational, I would think the 10 - 15 thou clearance you have would be ideal.

  Regards,
                 Eddie.

[dalgrae]

Hi thank you very much again ,,one side done ,on to the other side in the next couple of days.

Colin