How To - Replace Rear Torsion Bars In Your Volkswagen! Lower Your VW!

Today's video we're replacing the rear torsion bars with the Latest Rage torsion bars on The Sickxty.
I'm upgrading the rear torsion bars from stock that are too weak for my setup to a set of 24mm torsion bars. The bigger the diameter of the bars the stiffer the ride is.
I go over the process for both swing axle and IRS rear setups. This guide will also show you how to lower your Volkswagen beetle, bus, ghia, thing, type 3, etc as they all have the same rear suspension setup.
Thank you for watching.
Please like, comment, share and follow along!
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Emmitt Racing / @emmettracing
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EzGz / theezgz
DuckmanCycles and VW garage / duckmancycles
VW Nut 1967 / @vwnut1967 VvTheDuck vV / @vvtheduckvv
Backyard Kombi / @backyardkombi5466
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69 Baja Outdoors / @69bajaoutdoors
Wicked Werks / @wickedwerks845
V8N8T / @v8n8t
Dempop Garage / @demopgarage
Fixn Bugs N Stuff / @fixinbugsnstuff
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ANY alterations YOU make to YOUR vehicle are YOUR responsibility!
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[@DuckmanCycles]

I nicknamed that spring plate compressor to THE CHICKEN FOOT! The name seems to have stuck here in our club, lol

[@VWJawbreaker]

Haha, I was going to call it that and reference you but totally forgot when the time came.

[@DuckmanCycles]

Oh man, that would have been funny... haha

[@VWJawbreaker]

@@DuckmanCycles apparently I’m not that smart lol

[@DuckmanCycles]

@@VWJawbreaker nor that funny... 🤣😝👍🏻🦆💩

[@VWJawbreaker]

@@DuckmanCycles wow…. 😮 😂

[@mileageunknown8910]

Me and Trav have definitely lived dangerous without that tool!

[@VWJawbreaker]

I have also for years! Figured it was time to stop pressing my luck lol

[@thebinderbuilder]

I'll definitely have to rewatch this when I start pulling apart my rear suspension... torsion bars are a new thing to me

[@VWJawbreaker]

It’s pretty simple really…. You’ll be fine especially after what all you’ve been building.

[@briancole7935]

While I'm always impressed with your vast mechanical knowledge, what impresses me the most is the speed at which you work! Even your impact wrench is very fast. I've never seen anyone torque their wheels with such speed. 😂

[@VWJawbreaker]

Haha, editing sure speeds things up quite a bit! In all reality, it was about a 2.5 hour job start to finish and that is slower than normal due to recording.

[@dustinbrown3815]

Had a friend just order me that tool as a retirement gift. Only found out they existed couple weeks back. Had a nightmare trying to get my ride height dialed in after a wreck. Thanks for the video, I'll be using the tips in a few weeks.

[@VWJawbreaker]

Using that tool is definitely much safer, I’m kinda surprised I’ve never hurt myself using blocks of wood and a floor jack over the years. Guess working smarter is part of getting older. Congrats on the retirement!

[@V8N8T]

Another nice upgrade:) those spring plate tools really save ya I've done plenty without and got hurt once and once is enough. Looking good and everything seems to be holding up great! Gotta love being part of a good community that likes to help each other out!

[@VWJawbreaker]

Yes sir, definitely a big difference with these torsion bars yet it still rides nice. I’ve used a floor jack for many years and I figured I’ve pressed my luck one to many times and it was time to be safer about it. Always appreciate you being here and apart of the community 🤙

[@DuckmanCycles]

The rust on the torsion bar isn't a problem until it becomes one, and you'll know. BOOM! and instant squat...

[@VWJawbreaker]

Exactly lol

[@ChipsAndSparksGarage]

Great video, Gary! Yeah, that tool could possibly save your life👍

[@VWJawbreaker]

Thank you sir! I agree, I did it without the tool for many years without incident but figured it was time to get the right tool for the job.

[@jeffcoleman5160]

Thanks for the video Gary.When I was 17 me and my pop took the torsion bar off to make my big sit higher and we didn't have a chicken foot back then.Was a bitch but I never ever wanted to tackle that again

[@VWJawbreaker]

I’ve done it many times without the tool. It doesn’t make it much easier but it does make it much safer. Regardless not a fun job lol

[@MikeMoose67]

Great video Gary. Thanks for offering to help us rookies.

[@VWJawbreaker]

We’re all rookies at one point and we all have different strengths 🤙

[@TheSprinterVan]

Thank you for taking the time to produce another excellent video

[@VWJawbreaker]

Thank you for taking the time to be here, I appreciate it.

[@douglasbarnhart3324]

Thanks Gary for your time and the video.

[@VWJawbreaker]

Thank you for your time as well!

[@timswitzer792]

Youre definitely right Gary! There are several good KZbinrs out there!! Between you and Damian on Binder Builder and Guzzi Fab... you guys keep me going!! Keep up the great work!! (Ill let you know when my stickers land!)

[@VWJawbreaker]

I appreciate that man! Definitely keep me posted, I mailed out your stickers on 4/2…. Figured you’d have them by now.

[@timswitzer792]

You know how snail mail goes! No worries!! They'll get here. Now.....If I could just convince Binder Builder to make some!! 🤣🤣

[@timswitzer792]

Gary!!! They showed up!! Buuuuttttt.......You put in 3 instead of 2......

[@VWJawbreaker]

@@timswitzer792 awesome, glad they showed up finally! Yes, the 3rd was intentional. I greatly appreciate you sir.

[@timswitzer792]

THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!! Keep up the great work!!!

[@busterstravels1534]

I’ve been watching awhile. I’m kinda new to the community and have a lot to learn.

[@VWJawbreaker]

First off, welcome! Second, we all have a lot to learn. Doing your own work makes it more enjoyable imo, personal satisfaction keeping your project on the road.

[@laroark5036]

Love your videos man . And your camper is SO COOL .

[@VWJawbreaker]

Glad you like them and appreciate ya being here.

[@user-dt7nv5py6k]

Appreciate your informative videos. Thanks Gary!

[@VWJawbreaker]

My pleasure!

[@TheEZGZ]

Nice job. You are correct. New bars will settle in and may need to be readjusted. Just for reference…. I am running 27mm short bars in my desert race car. The last owner ran 26mm. I’m going to try them in my new ride 😮 If you can afford them. The fox or king reservoir shocks with adjustable shim stacks are amazing when you get them dialed in. Kind of over kill but you get style points. If not, the KYB GR2 silver shocks ride nice. The KYB white gas adjust are to harsh for me. I wish you lived closer I would let you try some of my favorite shocks.

[@VWJawbreaker]

I do wish we were closer, I would have loved to sit back and watch you build the rail and learn from your experience and wisdom. I have a set of KYB shocks that I originally had on the rear, I’ll toss them back on eventually. The king shocks are quite pricey and definitely overkill for my setup since it’s mostly on the street and not much off road except for some sandy roads and trails here and there. It needs to be as dual purpose as possible although style points would be cool!

[@FixinBugsNStuff]

Great video. Nice and safe.

[@VWJawbreaker]

Thank you sir.

[@HubertusSchaper]

Hi Garry,Nice work looks like it`s funking well.Greetings.Hubertus

[@VWJawbreaker]

Thank you! Cheers Hubertus!

[@vayabroder729]

Latest Rage offers some good stuff.

[@VWJawbreaker]

That they do. I’m glad these bars were finally in stock.

[@Jayvans_Super]

Socks and shoes on in the garage, think that's a first 😂😂. I been quiet lately, great to see you VW'ing away brotha

[@VWJawbreaker]

Come on now, I wear socks and shoes when I weld! 😂 Appreciate ya!!

[@Demop_VW_garage]

Great work Garry, the ambo has one side lower than the other but once its on the ground its perfect level. Dam weird!!

[@VWJawbreaker]

That is odd, wonder if the old bars are weaker on the one side.

[@Demop_VW_garage]

@@VWJawbreaker thats what i think, drivers side is lower.

[@VWJawbreaker]

@@Demop_VW_garage that makes sense, usually the drivers side wears out faster since that side gets more use. There’s always a driver in the car, not always passengers.

[@samatkinson1680]

Another great video.

[@VWJawbreaker]

Appreciate that sir!

[@busterstravels1534]

Very informative ty.

[@VWJawbreaker]

Thanks for watching!

[@uksniper1]

Great vid as always mate👍 some more great info for me,as the previous owner of my baja lifted it at the rear too much as it has positive camber which is a big no no on bugs I’ve been told so I now know how to drop her down safely 😉cheers Gary👍

[@VWJawbreaker]

On swing axle bugs, positive camber will make you tip over easier…. That’s why it’s a no no. Hopefully the video will help you along 🤙

[@uksniper1]

@@VWJawbreaker Thanks for the reply mate,yeah she looks like she’s gonna trip over her own wheels ,will fix it asap😎,cheers 👍

[@michaelnagy4603]

Great video ❤ 💯 thank you 👍

[@VWJawbreaker]

Thank you for watching!

[@DuckmanCycles]

Appletree is awesome!

[@VWJawbreaker]

They really are. I don’t think they get the credit they deserve.

[@DuckmanCycles]

Agree!

[@juanortega4904]

Nice work…

[@VWJawbreaker]

Thanks ✌️

[@DuckmanCycles]

That's dirty under there? That's pretty damn clean lol!

[@VWJawbreaker]

I didn’t get the camera under here enough. It’s not filthy but no where as clean as before I went off roading lol

[@DuckmanCycles]

you got to keep in mind what Volkswagens usually look like underneath, years of tarry oil stain filth, rust, and under coating everywhere lol

[@VWJawbreaker]

@@DuckmanCycles very true but this has only been on the road for 8 months and I’m ocd about leaks lol

[@DuckmanCycles]

I wish you did this Brazilian Bus for me... UGH!!! I'm sore, and somehow ended up with some bad vertigo, momentary panic I almost had to call for help while I was under the Bus. I couldn't tell which way was up! I never experienced that one before!

[@vayabroder729]

Holy S, bro! I hope you’re fine!

[@DuckmanCycles]

@@vayabroder729 Yeah, vertigo runs in the family, I've dealt with it for life, but I didn't know it could get that bad. I was a mess for a couple days, I had to turn my head all around and like magic it settled.

[@VWJawbreaker]

Dude that’s not good. Are you ok now??

[@jeffcoleman5160]

Sir Duckman you better straighten up I still owe you a beer whenever I make it to Florida .That place is full of old people .Wait I'm 61🤬

[@DuckmanCycles]

Yeah I'm fine took a couple days to settle, but I'm good! Kind of funny that the guy who owns the Bus told me and he had vertigo episodes and that's why he couldn't work on it... maybe the Bus is haunted.

[@mileageunknown8910]

Great vid as always! I honestly never even thought of different torsions, now that you've had it done for a bit how does it ride?

[@VWJawbreaker]

It made a huge difference and it barely rides stiffer than before.

[@vpierce3815]

Love your videos. They helped me build my 2110. Question tho: I noticed you didn’t have the tall shifter when you were driving. Is there a reason you went back to the short one? Im thinking about the tall shifter for my ride.

[@VWJawbreaker]

Thank you, I appreciate that greatly. So, on the Sickxty being an early chassis the shifter sits closer to the dash than later bugs do. I had the tall shifter in there at first but first gear was almost on the dash which isn’t an issue in Jawbreaker which is a ‘73.

[@STREETSTANG07]

Another great job and explaination. What does the inner spline of the torsion bar go into. Is it some kind of inner spring. One job I never had to do. Also on my bus it has adjustable torsion arms the last owner put on. I take it that would help set the ride height. Thanks again.

[@VWJawbreaker]

Thanks man! The inner spines slide intro the torsion housing it’s self. The adjustable spring plates are nice and helps tweak things especially if one torsion bar is slightly weaker than the other.

[@vintage76vipergreenBeetle]

👍

[@VWJawbreaker]

Appreciate ya sir.

[@lawrenwimberly7311]

If ya send me those old torsion bars, I'll make you a knife out of one of them... the torsion flat springs in the front beams work well for knives as well

[@VWJawbreaker]

That would be cool but I already gifted them to someone.

[@hummv8]

Good video! Jam up job! Will we be seeing video from NO DOUGH? How long is the chicken foot?

[@VWJawbreaker]

Thanks, I appreciate it! I didn’t bring my camera to record No Dough. I’ve recorded it in the past several times and wasn’t able to be there all weekend this year. Not sure how long the tool is, I’ll try to measure it later this week. Thinking probably 16-18” long.

[@type4revolutionstudio]

👏👏👏👏👏👏

[@VWJawbreaker]

Thank ya sir 🤙

[@punchysgarage]

You should wire my sandrail for a video. I'd be forever grateful 😅. I hate wiring. So clueless.

[@VWJawbreaker]

If I had the room I’d definitely think about it.

[@punchysgarage]

I heard that. I just need a diagram of a sand rail with a type 4. I can probably figure it out though. Just need a weekend free.@@VWJawbreaker

[@charlesloar3210]

Great Video! What fuel pump are you using?

[@VWJawbreaker]

Thanks! Running the Carter electric 3psi fuel pump

[@VWRICH23]

How does YT know to stick an ad in when the cold start is coming lol

[@VWJawbreaker]

lol, I have no idea!

[@TheJorgSacul]

Strange question: what are you using as your central jacking point? I was under the impression that it wasn't good to do it under there?

[@VWJawbreaker]

Great question. I’m using the trans support bar that I beefed up. It won’t bend when jacking up the car due to the extra bracing I put into it. Never jack on the engine or trans its self.

[@TheJorgSacul]

Ok, thank you. I knew there had to be some sort of mod involved. Rock on!

[@robertlambert5299]

Where did you buy the torsion tool from? Where did you buy the digital angle finder? Also what is Appletree that you spoke of?

[@VWJawbreaker]

Tool was bought from Appletree. Amazon / eBay also sells them. Angle finder can be bought from anywhere, literally Appletreeauto.com 🤙

[@robertlambert5299]

@@VWJawbreaker thanks Gary

[@VWJawbreaker]

@@robertlambert5299 anytime sir.