Topic: suspension question

[R3D DR4G0N]

Hi all!  I was wondering...My g/f's brother told me that I didnt need to buy the 2" torsion bar keys to lift up the front of my avy.  he said that you would have to jack up the truck or put it on a lift, and crank something that makes the front go up.  is this true?  what is he talking about?  should i just buy the torsion bar keys anyway?  please help!!

thank you!

Jon

[Main One]

There is some adjustment for leveling side to side and because of that you can often make some height adjustments for both sides.  There's a couple of bolts that press into the small end of the keys - by turning them you can do the adjustment.  I've raised mine a quarter inch of so because after 8 years and 200,000 miles it was seeming low.  I jacked mine up and had it on jackstands because it's probably a lot easier to crank the adjustment up when you aren't fighting the weight of the truck front end.

[R3D DR4G0N]

There is some adjustment for leveling side to side and because of that you can often make some height adjustments for both sides.  There's a couple of bolts that press into the small end of the keys - by turning them you can do the adjustment.  I've raised mine a quarter inch of so because after 8 years and 200,000 miles it's probably a lot easier to crank the adjustment up when you aren't fighting the weight of the truck front end.

I'd be raising it so it would be level with the back of the truck, and ohiobellboy said a 2" torsion bar key set would to the trick (does the 2" mean that it raises it by 2 inches?)  if the adjustments youre talking about only raise it a 1/4", then I will need to buy the keys (when I have money, :P)  thank you!

Jon

[Main One]

I'd be raising it so it would be level with the back of the truck, and ohiobellboy said a 2" torsion bar key set would to the trick (does the 2" mean that it raises it by 2 inches?)  if the adjustments youre talking about only raise it a 1/4", then I will need to buy the keys (when I have money, :P)  thank you!

Jon

My truck has a street-truck stance, with a rake to it, so I wasn't shooting for level.  There was more adjustment than I did.  You will want to make an adjustment anyway most likely after installing the new keys - if you are waiting for money I would suggest you try maxxing out the adjustment with the existing keys (for free) and then see if you still want more enough to fork out the cash.

[R3D DR4G0N]

My truck has a street-truck stance, with a rake to it, so I wasn't shooting for level.  There was more adjustment than I did.  You will want to make an adjustment anyway most likely after installing the new keys - if you are waiting for money I would suggest you try maxxing out the adjustment with the existing keys (for free) and then see if you still want more enough to fork out the cash.

thats a good idea, :P  I will definitely try that.  thank you!
maybe ill do a write-up on how to do it.

Jon

[oHIobellboy]

thats a good idea, :P  I will definitely try that.  thank you!
maybe ill do a write-up on how to do it.

Jon

I think Fowlhunter has some pix on cranking up the torsion bar keys. Keep in mind that you will need to do an alignment after you adjust them. If you decide that you still want to go higher and replace the stock keys with the leveling keys, you'll need to do another alignment.

[HenryJ]

This is an old "How-to" on cranking the torsion bars: S-10CREWCAB.NET - Torsion Bar Crank
It is an S-10, but the process is the same and the adjusters in a similar location.

[R3D DR4G0N]

I think Fowlhunter has some pix on cranking up the torsion bar keys. Keep in mind that you will need to do an alignment after you adjust them. If you decide that you still want to go higher and replace the stock keys with the leveling keys, you'll need to do another alignment.

Right, because of my g/f's brother, I am now under the impression that besically any time you goof with the suspension, an allignment is required.  he once took a big risk driving his jeep patriot 20 minutes from home to get an allignment after we installed a lift kit for it.  so ill have to get one after i do this, and when i get the new wheels and tires, another allignment...no problem...Thank you!

Jon

[R3D DR4G0N]

This is an old "How-to" on cranking the torsion bars: S-10CREWCAB.NET - Torsion Bar Crank
It is an S-10, but the process is the same and the adjusters in a similar location.

thats amazing...thank you for that article.  I will go ahead and do this as soon as i have some time and money to get the tires and allignment.  better prolly to do it all then get just one allignment for everything, yes?

Jon

[bluedevil]

Before you start cranking, mark the threads with 'whiteout' or even paint. In case you don't like the ride or whatever, you can always crank it back to it's original state.