Hi i was just looking around on the net and i found torsion keys that'll give me 2.5 - 3" of lift and i was wondering if by putting them on my 99 3.0L 4x4 ranger it would cause any type of damage or mess anything up other than my alignment, so if anyone has any insightful info i'd really appreciate it if any of you guys could fill me in.

 

Forget the torsion keys, waste of money. To have the same effect for free, just crank the torsion bar bolts. Get a jack and lift your front wheels about three inches off the ground (there can't be any weight on them, use the front crossmember), and locate the torsion bar bolts. Tighten them about 4-6 turns (no more than 6) and slowly lower your truck. The measurement at the wheelwells should be the same. You should get 2-3 inches in lift. Then, after this is done, head over to your local shop and get an alignment done.

All the torsion keys do is what I just told you. But they cost 75-100 bucks.

 

There's been a whole series of conversations about this lately.

From what I gather it makes the ride awfully stiff.

 

thanks alot for the advice, i appreciate it, but will if mess anything up in the front end at all?

 

just your alignment

 

Waves just installed a set on his truck, he was able to gain 4" of lift on the front, he added a leaf to the rear and is running 33/12.50's. He has pitures posted in his gallery, it lookes awesome. I'm also going to get the keys, I have my t-bars cranked and I'm not quit level, I need just a tad more. There is a concern at a full 4" that it could cause exsesive ball joint wear, Waves is going to be our ginnie pig. But just to get your truck truely level should be fine. Some stock t-bars have enough adjustment to level your truck and some don't, seems there's no two the same. Mine didn't, also will relieve some of the strain on the stock adjustment keys. There's whole lift kits being offered for chevy and dodge now that have these keys and a set of shocks, plus a few other do dads. I would recomend the keys for leveling a truck, the jury is still out as far as a 4" lift kit. Concidering the price of a lift kit for our trucks, it is a cheap alternitive even if you have to replace ball joints more often (maybe). Some manufactures are confident enough to produce it and sell it as a kit and they tend to do thier homework in the day of the lawyer.

 

So what's it like when you turn the T bar? Do you need a 1/2" breaker bar with a 10 foot cheater pipe just to move it, or does it rotate relatively easy?

 

Should be easy, just requiring a socket wrench and some jackstands.

 

It's real easy, you just drop it off and the allignment shop and pick it up an hour later hee hee. Installing new keys will be move involving, Waves had his 4x4 shop do it, plus they added the leaf to the rear. Alot of guy's crank thier t-bars in the driveway, I just wanted to make sure both sides were the same and if they weren't, I could yell at someone else besides myself.

 

Wendell - for the record - didn't make the beach sunday, it rained all evening and night saturday night, has not stopped raining yet, no soft sand, it will be packed for a few days now at least...lol...typical ya know....

 

"Thanks buddy", were getting a load of your Texas rain here today, "all day" hee hee !!!

 

It might last for a couple of days like it did here...man there are spots here that got 10" in the last 2 days - should make the muddin fun -

 

I've been checking it out on fox news, they say a few people even drowned in thier cars, thats not good. You be careful out there, don't get crazy on me, 4x4's have thier limitations in deep water as well, yours not as much as some ha ha. You sure got a tough looking truck. Do you have an open rear diff right now, or a factory lsd ?

 

Hey man it's a truck, not a submarine, I don't drive off in anything that would cause me to change all the fluids in my truck...too much of a hassel in my book...really sad two women drove into a flooded underpass yesterday morning and drowned in there car....I just don't get it...such a senseless way to loose your life. You have to understand, it's flat here...like really flat, in fact much of south central Texas is a swamp except for the roads and citties we build and pour concrete on top of it...what everyone up north gets in the form of snow, blizards, ect...we get rain and floods...just part of the deal...this is nothing new to anyone who has lived here for over a year....under heavy rains our roadways turn into rivers(the water has to go somewhere!!!)...period...you just have to use your head and have a little luck....really nice day today so far sun is out, no clouds....only 20% chance of rain later this afternoon...

In any case the waves are up and clean, am heading to the coast later this afternoon...I don't expect the sand to be dry, soft, and deep....it will be more like concrete...but I am gonna go check it out and will let you know how the truck felt, 31's were nice, but I think the 12" wide 33's are going to be the ******......I think it will really make the going very easy in any soft sand I find -