Alberta: Where to get a puller tool?

[Sugarphreak]

So I am about to tackle a DIY install for my leveling kit, but unsure of where to get a puller tool from.



The instructions suggested that a C-Clamp style puller be used rather than a Jaw Clamp because it could slip. Does anybody know if this is a common loaner tool? Better yet does anybody have one I could borrow?



These are the exact same instructions I received with my Kit....

http://www.trailmastersuspension.com/in ... /CL224.pdf

[Sugarphreak]

So I crawled under my truck today to check things out.... um, yeah. Things look much different than the diagrams for my instructions.



It looks to me like the torsion keys are in fact orientated outwards and held in place by a single bolt from the bottom. I could be wrong, but if I were to simply unload that bolt and remove it, the torsion bar would be able to lift up I could replace the key on the end... really this looks stupid simple.



Can somebody confirm I am not going to release a bunch of unsprung tension if I go ahead with that.



Thanks,

-SP

[Sugarphreak]

[size=12pt]AAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG!!!!!!!!!!!!!![/size]



I couldn't get the new keys in... the 1 1/16" bolt was too short to get started with the new key pitch angle and I couldn't twist the bar enough.



I was so close, like 2 or 3mm away... just couldn't get the key down enough to pop the top bolt on, so pissed off after getting so close. I am not sure if I drop the shock from the top if I can gain enough twist to make a difference.... that or borrow a giant pipe wrench and just reef on the torsion bar?

[Sugarphreak]

Picking up a giant sized pipe wrench from Princess Auto today, I will give it another go on Friday after work.



The plan is to lock the pipe wrench onto the torsion bar near the key so it sticks out past the side steps and then have somebody stand on it to twist the torsion bar down just enough to get the bolt started... wish me luck.

[Khamul]

Dude, gotta admire your commitment!!  I wimp out and get National 4WD to do it for me....



Hey - picked up my H2 yesterday...getting new glass today and some minor work at Shaw tomorrow and then i have to decide which one I keep.... I have it listed for sale in the club now as it was the intent.... But I must admit I love the size of the H2... i also like the tap up/down shifting which would be awesome for offroading... BUT, previous owner pimped it out instead for street... so need new rims and rubber....  he put 26" chrome rims with Scorpion rubber so he spared no expense..... just not what I want.....  but I like the kenwood DVd system & subs though!!!



So now the debate is on.... I LOVE my H3 Alpha though......

[Sugarphreak]

^^^ It isn't a jacked up blue H2 SUT is it?



After seeing Brian's H2 tackle some pretty crazy mud holes I am a fan, they are pretty sweet. I don't think you can go wrong with either the H2 or H3 personally.

[Sugarphreak]

Ok, Torsion bar.... say hello to my little friend



[img width=500 height=375]http://i211.photobucket.com/albums/bb25 ... ntbar2.jpg[/img]



[size=12pt]Mwwaaahahahaha!!!![/size]

[shotgun-cam]

We had our Hummer dealer do install as an alignment should be done after install.

[Sugarphreak]

I don't know if they would do the keys at our dealer here without getting a little bit pissy about the warrarnty



That is a good point, I should see if I can have the guys down at the shop do an alignment for me when I bring the tires in for mounting.

[Sugarphreak]

So the pipe wrench was NOT effective at all, it was not able to bite the torsion bar no matter how I tried!



I ended up pulling the lower bolt from the shock and then using the pipe wrench more as a lever for my wife to push the entire suspension down while I bolted up the key.



So after following the instructions (which suggested I torque the new key to expose the same amount of the bolt as the stock config, which was 50mm) I ended up over 3" higher.... which was bad. It felt like the truck was tripping over itself on corners. So I backed off the keys about to expose only a touch under 20mm to attain a 2" increase.



If I had to do it all again I would probably just crank the stock keys to expose another 20 to 30mm of bolt at the top. I figure the new keys start at around the 60mm mark when compared to the old ones... so 20 to 30mm should give you about 2". There is however a benefit to the news keys which is that I have a lot of extra space now in case I load down the front too much or I find the torsion bars fatiguing later on. It will be interesting to see how the new bumper and future winch will affect the ride height.



I did mull over the shocks a bit as well, with some kits an extender is provided; after weighing pro's and con's I didn't really find a compelling case for or against adding one to mine. Essentially the shock operation is unchanged without the extender, the shock valving is going to easily compensate for running a higher ride height and it may actually serve to extend the life of the shock by reducing the risk of bottoming out the shock under punishing conditions. The real advantage of the extender is it would prevent a larger dia. tire from coming upwards into the well and possibly rubbing, it also would give additional downward range over stock. In either case I doubt there is a discernible performance or functionality advantage.