I need help with rear trunk torsion bar, How do I get the bar behind the roller? Options

[Doug Leggins]

The teener kicked my ass tonight! I simply wore myself out trying to get the rear trunk torsion bar behind the trunk roller.

I searched for as much info as I cold find before beginning this task. I modified my 12" adjustable wrench as mentioned on other threads on this topic. This tool proved to be a very good lever for pushing the torsion bar back. I could get the torsion bar pushed/twisted back well enough but I could not get it around the hinge roller/pin. I tried several times but could not find a way to get the roller behind the pin on the hinge.

I tried to remove the hinge then hold the torsion bar back as far as I could and then reinstall the hinge -This is the task the wore me out! No matter how or what I tried I could not find a way to get the bar behind the roller.

Anyone know the secret/technique to get the torsion bar in place?

Here is a pic of the wrench with a notch cut out on the end.