Puma's Torsion bar keeps warping....

[chumpion]

Hi folks,

Every time I take my Puma offroad, one side of the torsion bar "pops up" on itself, and I need to crow-bar it back down when I get home. The ride home is a bit rougher than normal, and when I get back, it's easy to fix.

But it's a bit of a pain in the neck.

Does anyone else have this happen? I've popped into my local LR Dealer in Parramatta, and they said it was pretty common.....

[Scouse]

It happens with D1s a lot of the time so seeing as the Defender has a similar set up, I can see why it would affect that model too.

I have no fix for you other than to remove the sway bar :wasntme:.

[TimNZ]

Hi Chumpion, my one does it too. The dealers changed the bushes on its last service, but I don't think it will make any difference :(

Cheers,

[chumpion]

I have no fix for you other than to remove the sway bar :wasntme:.

Does anyone have any sway-bar disconnect kits or anything similar? That'd solve the problem for on and off road.....

[clean32]

take it off, swaybars are for puffers and shopping trolleys.

in all honesty, a sway bar is there to limit articulation on the road which is exactly what you don't want to happen off road.

[TimNZ]

If you are going to remove the swaybar you might want to check your states laws, last thing you want to do is void your insurance.

Cheers,

[solmanic]

If you are going to remove the swaybar you might want to check your states laws, last thing you want to do is void your insurance.

Bingo! Unfortunately since the vehicle has passed ADR compliance with it on you will be tempting fate, not to mention a big lawsuit if you take it off and have a prang. For a worst case scenario just google Nigel Gresham and read about the accident his family had in a modified Defender. He got two years jail for dangerous driving causing death and they came down hard on him for having "unsafe" vehicle modifications even though the car passed its MOT.

[clean32]

Bingo! Unfortunately since the vehicle has passed ADR compliance with it on you will be tempting fate, not to mention a big lawsuit if you take it off and have a prang. For a worst case scenario just google Nigel Gresham and read about the accident his family had in a modified Defender. He got two years jail for dangerous driving causing death and they came down hard on him for having "unsafe" vehicle modifications even though the car passed its MOT.

if you read the sentencing he was jailed for his driving not the defender

but your point about Mods, will then fitting dislocating sway bar mounts would also be illegal? or how about driving a vehicle with a known fault Like a bound up sway bar. it would seem that the original poster has already done this and posted the fact on a public forum so should he go to jail, do not stop at GO do not collect 200 dollars or is it pounds\rupees ???

as i said a sway bar is not for of road.

any way that was in pommyland

[dullbird]

Bingo! Unfortunately since the vehicle has passed ADR compliance with it on you will be tempting fate, not to mention a big lawsuit if you take it off and have a prang. For a worst case scenario just google Nigel Gresham and read about the accident his family had in a modified Defender. He got two years jail for dangerous driving causing death and they came down hard on him for having "unsafe" vehicle modifications even though the car passed its MOT.

actually although I agree that it will void insurance......

that guys crash is not a good example as a lot of the unsafe mods were to do with his braking etc.....and were done by himself and poorly..not just unbolting something that has be abscent on many other vechiles of the same model

and let me tell you its not hard to pass an MOT if you know the right people;)

I guess the question is, is the torsion bar still classed as safe when its warped??? will it allow the car to behave the way its supposed to when its working properly..

I'm actually looking to fit my sway bar back on with disconnects...

[dmdigital]

I'm assuming this is the rear sway bar:confused:

I never had a problem on my D1 or on the Puma so far either.

As for quick disconnects what do they do to insurance and roadworthy-ness

[Bush65]

...

I'm actually looking to fit my sway bar back on with disconnects...
IMHO, the disco rear sway bar does not necessarily hurt the offroad capability when connected. It helps the front to flex more so swings and roundabouts. But I have long fairly soft springs - heavy rear springs may be different.

Stock it does prevent down travel before stock shockies are fully extended. Spacing the swaybar mount down at the chassis can remedy this problem.

[dullbird]

IMHO, the disco rear sway bar does not necessarily hurt the offroad capability when connected. It helps the front to flex more so swings and roundabouts. But I have long fairly soft springs - heavy rear springs may be different.

Stock it does prevent down travel before stock shockies are fully extended. Spacing the swaybar mount down at the chassis can remedy this problem.

I have heavy rear springs.....and I shagged out my bushes it went with a real crack both of them the descision was made for me:D

[JohnR]

I'm actually looking to fit my sway bar back on with disconnects...

What brand disconnects are you going for? Do you have a link to a site? I've been tossing the idea of trying the copy or mod the electronic disconects that you can get on a Jeep Rubicon. These are expensive though :mad:

And no mine have never inverted???

Cheers,

[dullbird]

no there are links in the disco section somewhere though.....I have sent my engineer an email to ask if he would engineer them

[Grockle]

Hi folks,

Every time I take my Puma offroad, one side of the torsion bar "pops up" on itself, and I need to crow-bar it back down when I get home. The ride home is a bit rougher than normal, and when I get back, it's easy to fix.

But it's a bit of a pain in the neck.

Does anyone else have this happen? I've popped into my local LR Dealer in Parramatta, and they said it was pretty common.....

Are you referring to what we call 'anti roll bars' if so people over here take them off for serious offroading and re install for road use.

[Bush65]

Are you referring to what we call 'anti roll bars' if so people over here take them off for serious offroading and re install for road use.
That is what I have assumed.

[Bush65]

What brand disconnects are you going for? Do you have a link to a site? I've been tossing the idea of trying the copy or mod the electronic disconects that you can get on a Jeep Rubicon. These are expensive though :mad:

And no mine have never inverted???

Cheers,
When the stock sway bar is connected and the wheel on one side is able to droop as far as it will go, the forward facing arm (of the sway bar) and the link at the axle end become aligned. On my disco, this happens before stock shockies are fully extended.

When the wheel is forced back up, it is possible for the link to invert. It is just luck (with a little bit of gravity) if the link returns to the stock position.

The problem is that the link is too short, and or the chassis mount for the sway bar is too high.

Edit: dullbird was talking about the sway bar on her disco. As it is a 110, defender thread I don't know how this applies to swaybars on defenders.

[solmanic]

if you read the sentencing he was jailed for his driving not the defender

COrrect, but he copped a serve from the judge, not to mention his former fiancee about the modifications he did to the vehicle.


...a lot of the unsafe mods were to do with his braking etc.....and were done by himself and poorly...

This is the thing... a lot of chatter on UK forums I read suggested people who knew him and the vehicle were confident in his abilities and the condition of the car. It comes down to professional opinion and that means seemingly OK off-road modifications could be classed as unroadworthy on a technicality. So simply removing a sway bar could be judged by some as "you took off a thing that was meant to make your vehicle corner better on the road" ergo, you made your vehicle un-roadworthy (or at least less roadworthy.


I'm actually looking to fit my sway bar back on with disconnects...

That seems like the best option by far so your vehicle maintains its on-road manners and legality but gives you the option off-road.

[clean32]

the tragedy in the UK and the press reporting of it hasn't given a clear picture of what exactly where the mods and faults, but i have posted this else where and am still interested in getting some more facts.

sway bars will by nature limit actuation. there job is to push the lower wheel up and the high wheel down relative to the body, that the opposite of what we want. simple really.

although my first post was a bit toung in cheek and bearing in mind that i have a whooping big diesel tank hanging out the back which precludeds the fitting of a sway bar. as this tank is all kosha i see no problems.

disconnects, great idea, but what happens if it fails? or you do the big stretch with out unlocking it? but if you where to fit them i would up grade to a heavier sway bar to get the best benefit. they are not a bad idea but my view is it just adds more potential problems

extending the mounts, yes seen this done, they hang off your bum like dangly bits and would make nice parallel trenches on any accent unlit they get ripped off. forward mounted sway bar not a bad idea.

if the porting of your shocks are good and correct then there really is no need for a sway bar either unless you drive your defender like a petrol head.

lastly if it handling on road that you wish to improve the real way its the sway bar up front that will do the work. unless your rear springs are like marsh mellows.

[dullbird]

COrrect, but he copped a serve from the judge, not to mention his former fiancee about the modifications he did to the vehicle.



This is the thing... a lot of chatter on UK forums I read suggested people who knew him and the vehicle were confident in his abilities and the condition of the car. It comes down to professional opinion and that means seemingly OK off-road modifications could be classed as unroadworthy on a technicality. So simply removing a sway bar could be judged by some as "you took off a thing that was meant to make your vehicle corner better on the road" ergo, you made your vehicle un-roadworthy (or at least less roadworthy.




That seems like the best option by far so your vehicle maintains its on-road manners and legality but gives you the option off-road.

I'm not doing it for road manners...as believe it or not mine improved on the rear when I took it off.....it always felt like the springs were fitting the bar.. constantly around coners..soon as I took it off the car rode much much better around corners...people said to me take the bar off you wont notice a difference I can honestly say I noticed an imporvement not nothing at all.

the reason I would ike to put it back on is purely insurance....

[chumpion]

Thanks for the replies folks - I guess I'll have a nose around the RTA site, and see what I can find.

As I said originally, it's not a big deal, just a pain in the arse having to pop it back down after going off road....

[frantic]

Landrover really need to LOOK and listen , all we want is for them to remain competitive in all areas with jeep's wrangler (rubicon) , a swaybar disconnect, optional diff locks( the disco gets em why not defenders?) and child seat bolts in the seat backs.
Ill even give em an ad jingle/pitch for free! photo of muddy boots trapsing into/ out off a defender ,bags, food , spilt drinks and crumbs dropping to the floor slogan" the 4wd designed to handle up to 5 miners(minors)" shoots to a photo of 7yr old footy boot wearing twins in the back 2 seats and 5 yr old triplets in the middle row all strapped into car seats then a scene of the parents hosing the crap out off the floor.:D