Torsion bar cranking....yay or nay?

[2001Yuke]

I am thinking of picking up a set of shock (front and rear) to throw in when I am doing the rear spacers.

 

[812EnRoute]

Has any one had any problems after doing the key and spacer lift with any thing going bad such as u joints or any front end parts?

Also if I did just the lift now and did tires later (when I had some more extra cash) would the truck look to funny with stock tires on it or could I get away with it for a little while?

 

[Yuke2K]

Has any one had any problems after doing the key and spacer lift with any thing going bad such as u joints or any front end parts?

Also if I did just the lift now and did tires later (when I had some more extra cash) would the truck look to funny with stock tires on it or could I get away with it for a little while?

As long as you don't go any higher than 2" of lift, you should be ok. There will be slightly increased wear since you are changing the geometry of the LCAs/CV joints/half shafts/ect, but again, if you keep the lift modest, you shouldn't see any negative effects. Just a little bit of increased wear and maybe a little bit of a harsher ride in the front, depending on how much lift you go with.

As for the stock tires looking goofy - nah, you should be ok. You're only leveling out the front suspension compared to the rear - it's not like you're tacking on 6" of suspension travel.

It'll look fine.

 

[2001Yuke]

Ya what he said .

I think it would look fine, I haven't noticed anything negative since I did mine.

 

[Yuke2K]

Ya what he said .

I think it would look fine, I haven't noticed anything negative since I did mine.

^^^ and his looks mighty damn good with those 33" Coopers

His truck is actually what I'm modeling my suspension mods off of.

Get those 1" spacers on the rear yet?

 

[2001Yuke]

Nope, Boost couldn't find the ones he was gonna send me so I am probably going to order some from him. I am going to have to be careful with my spending because my girl and I are expecting she is only 10 weeks but you guys know how that is.

 

[iamsmithers]

Question for you all, when you crank your torsion keys do you do it with the truck sitting on the ground or jacked up on stands? I just want to make sure I'm doing this right...?!?!? Thanks!!

 

[Yuke2K]

Question for you all, when you crank your torsion keys do you do it with the truck sitting on the ground or jacked up on stands? I just want to make sure I'm doing this right...?!?!? Thanks!!

If you are just cranking the bolts on your stock keys, then I suppose you COULD do it with the truck sitting on the ground...but I wouldn't recommend it at all. With the truck in the air you are only cranking against the weight of the suspension parts hanging there. On the ground, you are taking the weight of the truck and adding it to the equation. This translates to alot more stress placed on the bolts and keys, as well as much more work for you since you'd actually be cranking the bolts against the weight of the truck, too.

If you are actually replacing the keys and not just cranking the bolts then you'll have to get the truck up on jack stands, no questions asked. You can't remove the keys without first taking the tension off of the front suspension; you could really hurt yourself.

Remember, torsion bars are springs, and pretty powerful ones too. If the gear puller/key removal tool that you are using slips and all of that tension unloads at once, you can kiss your hand goodbye if it's anywhere nearby! And thats with the truck in the air....having ADDITIONAL tension on the suspension by leaving the truck on the ground just makes it much, much more difficult, and dangerous.

 

[iamsmithers]

Thanks Yuke! I already swapped the keys out (with some help) with new ones but need to crank 'em up a bit to get it aligned properly. A buddy has borrowed my jack stands so I was just seeing if it was possible to do it on the ground. I wasnt sure if cranking them on the ground would be harmful to the truck. Thinking about it again, looks like I'm going to get my stands back!

 

[2001Yuke]

I did some towing yesterday and I am not afraid anymore. I had to move a shed from my girlfriends, dad's house to ours about 40 miles. I rented a Uhaul 6'x12' Utility trailer that had an empty weight of 2485lbs. This shed was built by her dad, it took me about 3 hours to take apart, prying the nails out. Its ALL wood, with a base of a good 250 lbs, total I would guess its around 1000lbs. There was no sag, and no rubbing even with my big ass tires. I will still have air helper springs put in it I start doing any real towing. So far so good. I need more power.

 

[iamsmithers]

One last question for you all...anyone know the ratio (approx.) of height adjustment to one full revolution of the torsion key bolt? Or another way to say it, how much change will occur to the front height if the torsion bolt is turned one full revolution. Anyone know, lemme know!

 

[2001Yuke]

Have no idea...You can be the first! Measure it for us, I am sure that someone will want to know in the future.

 

[Hulz07Tahoe]

I just had my 01 tahoe done last week. we used new torsion keys to lift the fron about 2.5 in and spacers in the reaer for about 1in lift. I also put new skyjackers on it. I am runnin 285 maxxis bighorn mudders , and it rides great!. I kinda thought it would give me a rougher ride, but not the case! Very happy with what I did for the money.looks much beefier now tooo , and is never a bad thing!
Nathan

Got any pictures????

Thanks!

 

[jrobertson]

Quick question guys; I am also new on the whole Tahoe thing. I recently installed 3 inch lift keys. The guy at the alignment shop told me maxing the keys out would cause the steering wheel to jerk violently when you hit a bump. Is this true? Im only sitting a half inch higher in the front than the back. I was really hoping for more clearance. Can you guys tell me how much is the max to turn the keys up without causing trouble? I still have almost a full inch of threads showing on my torsion key bolts. I have seen where several people are sitting a full 1.5"-2" higher in the front than the rear which is what I had hoped for so that I could put a 1 inch spacer in the rear and still be above level in the front. I like the squatted look. Do you guys have any measurement on how much threads you have left on your bolts? I assume some of these guys have them ran all the way up.

 

[BIGxSMOKEx209]

As long as you don't crank the sh*t out of the bars you'll be fine, just maintain flat cv angles if possible. The main issue with cranking on these stock 1/2 ton trucks is the low spring rate which requires different torsion keys with a higher index to achieve the desired amount of lift. Go find some stock f-150 keys and have an alignment shop install them and re-align the truck, then go buy some longer front shocks and enjoy having a truck 2" taller.

What year ford keys?