Torsion Bars

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Oct 1, 2006 | 09:36 PM

zman764

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Laughing Gas

Joined: Nov 2003

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Torsion Bars

Ok after reading many threads on this forum I am scared to ask this question as I think I may get the kind of response the people asking about body lifts get. I was woundering about cranking up my torsion bars to lift the front of my truck 1 inch. I plan to in the future have 285x70x17 allterrain most likely possibly mudterrain tires. I know I don't need the Tbars cranked to fit those tires. But I just think my front end looks a lil bit lower than most of the other trucks I see that are just like mine. My question is can I safely crank the tbars to give me 1 more inch in the front? Will it cause damage to any components of the front end? I assume that doing this is going to throw off the alignment of my front end and change the way the tires wear... is this correct?
I have a 97 f-150 200k miles 4.6L 4x4. The front end squeaks im thinkin control arm bushings or maybe ball joints. I have plans to replace those whenever I get some time.

Ok don't hold back... what do ya'll think about cranking the Tbars?

Oct 1, 2006 | 09:58 PM

chrono4

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Joined: Jan 2004

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From: Elkhart IN

My brother has a 97 exploder we cranked the torsion bars all the way up on, and he drove it like that. dont remember the size we fit on it, but yes they did wear funny because the wheels were \ / slightly. his squeaked like crazy too.

Oct 1, 2006 | 10:42 PM

fishmanndotcom

Lead Driver

Joined: May 2000

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From: Senoia, GA

your ride will suffer a lil too. i've heard that after a while the bars that have been cranked tend to finally break after being stressed for so long. you can go get your front realigned but usually its not enough to offset the price!

-cutts-

Oct 1, 2006 | 11:46 PM

RotGrubestier44

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Joined: Nov 2005

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I'm sure 1" won't hurt too much. Just don't go overboard, and if you want to put bigger tires on, even if its not for eXtr3me offroading, save the money up and lift it asap. Besides, if you crank em 1", and you don't like it, or something gets screwy, take em back down. At least you know better than to go with a body lift. We've messed around a bit with torsion bar keys, cranking them, and even dropping the whole diff/torsion bar crossmember setup on several late model chevys with great sucess. Don't be afraid to experiment, just do it in moderation.

Oct 1, 2006 | 11:51 PM

zman764

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Laughing Gas

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the factory tires are 265 70 17, im only getting 1 inch larger tires, so i wont be doing any lift. To do this, do i need to have the front end off the ground? What is the procedure?

Oct 2, 2006 | 06:37 PM

chrono4

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From: Elkhart IN

Having the front end up makes turning them ALOT easier, just turn them on one side, setting it down and driving it to settle the bind of the tire till its about right, then turn the other side just as many times.

Oct 2, 2006 | 07:39 PM

zman764

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Laughing Gas

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I am scared I am going to mess up the front end. Like I said I only want to go up about 1 inch. I want to make very sure that its not going to cause any problems. I'm pretty sure my ball joints need replacing anyways. I plan on replacing to uppercontrol arms when I have some time and if that takes care of it I am going to assume the balljoints are fine. If not then I will replace the Bjoints. So if wearing out the balljoints a lil sooner is all I have to worry about then thats not gonna stop me. But I want to make 100% sure nothing is going to go wrong.