Torsion Bar with no adjustment bolt

[Rocko973]

My 2003 Chevy Silverado 1500 HD 2WD looks like it never had an adjustment bolt for either of the torsion bars.  Has anyone ever seen or heard of that?  The key with the treaded hole is there, but looks like there was never a bolt in it.  It was like that from factory.

[BigBlockBurban454]

That certainly sounds strange to me. Does it have a lift or is the suspension stock? Does the front end look too low? How does it ride? 

 

Being a 1500 HD, the front end should be similar to stock, but it may have more rake with bigger leafs in the back

[Rocko973]

Thank you for responding, BigBlock.  My truck is all 100% stock, bought it new.  No mods whatsoever.  It's got 167K miles on it, and luckily only had to replace fuel pump twice and an alternator once.  It's even on its stock brakes!

 

I never noticed until now that there are no adjustment bolts in place for the torsion bars.  The front is slightly lower than the rear, but it doesn't look abnormal. And it rides pretty stiff, but not too uncomfortably.  I am actually finally replacing all the front-end suspension components - Pitman Arm, Idler Arm, Upper Control Arms, Lower Ball Joints, and Inner & outer tie rods, that's when I noticed there were no bolts there for the torsion bars.  But once all that is done, I will be getting an alignment, so I will be interested in what they say about it. Thanks again!

Edited January 5, 2024 by Rocko973

[BigBlockBurban454]

Well again it sounds strange to me, but since your the original owner, you know your truck. The missing bolt is curious, but if the ride height is about right and she rides nicely, then without the bolts is just fine. If you wanted to level the truck, adding bolts could be a cost effective way to do it as long as it doesn't stiffen the ride up too much. Gotta be careful with adjusting those torsion bars. Ive honestly never had my hands on a 1500 HD model as they are much more uncommon, so I cant speak for certain here.

[Rocko973]

Yeah, seemed a little odd to me too, that's why I was asking the question here.  I wonder if Chevy forgot, or just decided it didn't need them.  Thanks again for sharing your perspective.

[redvett]

Someone removed the key bolts maybe stolen but regardless you will need them before an alignment can be done. Buy some new bolts and clean threads in the keys with a tap and install before you go to the alignment shop. Make sure the tech know of the situation so he can adjust "Z" height.

[Rocko973]

Thanks, redvett!  Good point you make about getting those bolts before going to the alignment shop. I'll order some ASAP.

I suppose someone could have easily stolen mine since they're easily accessible, just seems like an odd thing someone would steal. But then again, people steal all sorts of things all the time, so I wouldn't be surprised.

[newdude]

Yea, those should definitely be there.  I would imagine they were at some point.  

 

They will be needed to properly set alignment on the torsion bar IFS as they are used to set the Z height of the truck before adjusting the caster, camber and toe.  

Edited January 5, 2024 by newdude

[Rocko973]

Thanks, newdude!  That is good information!  All the responses here were exactly what I was looking and hoping for.

Folks like you, bigblockburban4, redvett, and many others like you are what makes this forum so incredible.  I will definitely do my best to help out others too in anyway I can, but I really appreciate all your responses.  If I come across anything interesting, useful, or unusual regarding my current work on my truck's suspension/alignment, I'll be sure to share it here. Thanks so much!

[BigBlockBurban454]

I definitely agree with the others, I didn't even think about z height for alignment. So I agree, get some bolts, chase those threads, and install them. Put them in with little tension if you don't have a torsion key compressor, take it to the alignment shop and make sure they know the situation. Looks like a problem solved to me