Can the torsion bars be installed incorrectly

The vehicle is a 2001 Tahoe, 2wd, 5.3 liter.
I am learning as I go. I did look to see if there was a thread adressing my questions. I did find some with valuable information. So, thank you to all those folks who post info for us to learn from.
Having said that, I recently had a garage replace my front lower control arms. Over the last few years, all of the suspension has been replaced, except for these. So he returns the tahoe to me with the front end up real high and says I have to have it aligned somewhere else. Apparently his equipment doesnt work on chevy vehicles. Ha ha.
The alignment shop says they cannot lower the truck and do the alignment, because the torsion bars were not installed correctly. They said I need to return the truck to have it fixed by the first guy, so they can align.
With the key bolt all the way out the truck will not go any lower. Also the torsion bars are bowed outward toward the frame. Is it normal for the bars to flex that much when under load? Is it possible that the bars were installed reversed; left with right?
I returned the truck to the first garage to get checked out again to see if something is wrong.

Thanks for any advice.

As far as I know, when new, they're universal. After being used for so long, they develop "memory". When swapped, they're being twisted against this memory. Their resistance to this backward twisting makes them more firm, which takes more weight to twist them, so they hold the front higher. The shop should've marked them before removal. They need to be swapped and clocked properly. Then it should align with no problem.

The first tech should have known this and his can't align Chevy's excuse is ********. He can't align it after he messed it up, like @iamdub said. Good techs will mark those torsion bars just like when you remove a driveshaft and mark where it was bolted in to the yoke to make you you phase it properly when reinstall.

iamdub said:

As far as I know, when new, they're universal. After being used for so long, they develop "memory". When swapped, they're being twisted against this memory. Their resistance to this backward twisting makes them more firm, which takes more weight to twist them, so they hold the front higher. The shop should've marked them before removal. They need to be swapped and clocked properly. Then it should align with no problem.

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Like he said!

I've only ever removed torsion bars to throw them in the trash and replace with coilovers, however the 3 sets I've done all of them have had a slight bow or bend to them. I assume if you installed the bow crowned the wrong way it would change the spring rate to some extent.

my geuss would be the l/r tag thats usually on them is gone and he reversed the sides completely or put them in backwards. ive never messed with them myself so i have never had to deal with your issue. however dealing with metal all day and knowing what the bars do. if they are kept facing the same way and on the right side they should still be adjustable. if they aren't adjustable at all makes me thing they are completely reversed one way or the other. if they are atleast placed facing right on the right side they should still be trying to twist similarly as they were. if you reverse them your going against the above stated metal memory and its already fighting against what the truck is supposed to be doing. as a side note i also suggest being fairly gentle with the truck. i can see this causing the torsion bars to snap if your suspension flexes hard enough.

Thanks for the input. The mechanic did have them marked, and claims he never removed them completely to install the new control arms. So they can't be mixed up. He did lower the front end closer to where it belongs, but still would not align. Weird, he claims the alignment equipment he has wont work on my wheels, yet he fixed my steering a few months ago and did an alignment. So it still has to go to another shop for the alignment. Thanks for all the info..