Front end of 73 xke series 3 was redone but car is only 4 inches from ground instead of 6 inches so it hard to open up hood completely. how do you adust the torsion bars so that the front end of car can be raised to the proper height.

Submitted by SE98-32482CJ on Thu, 04/23/2009 - 08:39

Michael are you a member of JCNA (this site)? If so contact your club or contact them any way. You do not have to have the special tool but it does make the job easier. You are setting very low and should have a reading of 6in +-.25 in. You should also have a color code on your torsion bars--blue LH red RH. Your car would not be the first to have them reversed and if so you will never be able to get a correct ride height (or rather maintain it). While I am answering this you seem to know that the height is so I assume you have a service manual--if not you might consider buying one from JCNA on this site.

Submitted by antiqman@bells… on Thu, 04/23/2009 - 03:32

Is there anybody in the miami, florida area that can remedy this for me. Supposedly you need some special tool too put on each end of the torsion bars at the same time to raise the car but not being a mechanic I may be wrong. Thank you! Mike

Submitted by SC38-21185J on Wed, 04/22/2009 - 23:14

This is NO easy task. I cannot attest to Series 3 cars since I don't own one. If you are not mechanically inclined, you will need to find a good mechanic.

For the Series 1 cars, the service manual gives a specific measurement for making a torsion bar setting tool. (I made one of these while I had access to a vertical mill with a long bed.)

But what's involved is you have to remove the top ball joint and unspring the torsion on the bar. There are splines on each end, and they are incrementally different for fine tuning the setting....would be a good idea to read up on this procedure in a Series 3 service manual. (If you don't own one, you should). The front and rear splines ARE different, so don't get them mixed up...and...there is a right and left torsion bar, sometimes stamped L and R on the ends.

Anyway, after the torsion is unsprung (this can be dangerous as the lower and upper wishbones MUST be compressed while you remove the ball joint, and this energy MUST be slowly relieved), you put this setting bar on the suspension to hold the female splined end in the exact position. (I think this bar mounts where the shock absorber goes, but I could be wrong about that). So, with the upper wishbone in the exact right place, you slip the torsion bar into the front and rear splines, and reinstall the ball joint (easier said than done). With the V-12 being a much heavier engine than a six, I assume this setting bar will be a much different length.

They do make adjustable torsion bar tie plates, but I personally don't like them. It's just as easy to just fix your originals the right way rather than jack around with the adjustable style.
Or should I say its just as big a PITA.

And you really need access to under the car given the size of the V-12, which means having a lift. Again, you really need to read a manual on this, and find a suspension expert who knows how to reset torsion bars. It's really too bad that somebody got the torsion bars wrong....I suspect they were just trying to lower the car for that "cool" value. Surprise!!

(If you didn't have suspension rubbers replaced, now would be a good time while torsion is relieved)

Good luck.

Patrick McLoad