521 Torsion Bar Direction

[chukar]

Hi,  I'm rebuilding my 521 suspension and removed both torsion bars.  I labelled the bars to keep track of the left vs right bar but then removed the circlip and the rear anchor arms.  I failed to note the front and rear ends of the bars.  Does anyone know if the markings on the torsion bar are towards the front (control arm) or towards the rear?

 

I took photos when I removed the bars but there is enough dirt and oil on them that it's hard to tell. 

 

Here is a photo of the 521 markings after bars have been cleaned.

Thanks

 

 

 

[datzenmike]

If the front and rear splines are the same then it doesn't matter. The twist is in the same direction.

[chukar]

The front and rear splines are the same but I thought the twist would be different depending on whether the markings are towards the front or rear.   Maybe I need to think more about this with a clear head.

 

It makes some sense to me that the markings would be towards the rear since that is the visible part of the bar but watching the old "how to reindex video" on ratsun I don't see the markings at the rear.

[mklotz70]

markings toward rear

[chukar]

Thank you both for the information.  I attached another photo hopefully better showing why I was getting confused. 

 

If you rotate the rod on the left of the photo in the direction of the arrows and than flip that rod front to back and rotate it in the same direction, the arrows do not properly describe the rod's rotation.

 

I trust both of you and will plan on installing the markings towards the rear.  I'm just finishing up Mike's ball joint conversion on the 521.  Thanks Mike!

[datzenmike]

Yup, you're right. If flipping end for end then changing right and left bars would work. I think Mike's right also, the marked ends go to the rear.

[chukar]

Thanks Mike.

[mainer311]

The arrows on your prop don’t make sense. The arrows shouldn’t be in the same direction, since one end of the bar is reacting the other. Mike is right in that you could flip the bar around and it would be twisting in the same direction.

[mklotz70]

factory manual may have more info....be the same for all of the torsion bar trucks.

http://www.bluehandsvideo.com/manuals.html

[chukar]

Thanks for the input Mainer.  I wasn't trying to simulate the twist of the torsion bar in the truck with the prop in that photo.  I was having a hard time visualizing if it mattered which end of the bar is facing forward because I couldn't find the info in the 521 FSM.  I'm going to dig through some other service manuals for Datsun trucks as Mike Suggested. For now I have place the markings towards the rear.