Do the C-clamp looking torsion bar tools work on these trucks?

[ghunt81]

I went to Autozone and they had an OTC GM torsion bar tool on the loan-a-tool program, but it gets narrower at the top and won't fit around the bracket on my truck. Looks like this:

I've seen several of the ones on ebay and elsewhere that look like this:

which appears to have a wider throat.

Will this style work or will it not clear the bracket either?

 

[JoshT]

I can't recall for certain, but I believe that I tried one of those many years ago when I did some front suspension work. If I am remembering right then it didn't work, but that time I ended up finding one meant for the truck to rent.

When I rebuilt the suspension a couple years ago I improvised. I had it on jack stands and let the front suspension full droop. Followed the instructions in the repair manual manual for bar removal. At the point where you would use the "torsion bar tool" to relieve tension I used my floor jack with a long 3/8" or 1/2" extension to lift the key off the adjuster, socket end of extension in the dimple on the key. If using a ratchet it might be easier to remove the adjuster bolt while their is still tension on it. IIRC when reinstalling, I left the upper control arm separate from the knuckle and the shock disconnected to relieve tension and get max droop, I was removing them anyway. I think when I put it back in I was able to just push up on the bar by hand and stick the adjuster plate back in the hole.

 

[ghunt81]

I was actually able to do it with my 2 jaw gear puller and it worked great. I already had the shock removed so most of the tension was off it anyway.