cranking the torsion bars

todd11231 · January 28, 2003

IF I crank my TB what will i have to do later? Is an alignment necessary?

DamianSolomon · January 28, 2003

Usually an alignment job is necessary. You will have a slight toe-in problem. The more you tighten the bolts, the more toe-in you will have.

Frank S · January 28, 2003

Definitely get an alignment.

If not you are taking a chance on uneven tire wear and tearing up your ball joints.Cranking them will also put more of a strain on the idler arm and pitman arm but you should be able to get alot of miles out of them before they cause any trouble.

City_Slicker · January 29, 2003

Cranked mine 4 turns last week, I am going to crank back down, it is riding extremely rough. I wouldnt reccomend messing with them.

sincityZ71 · January 30, 2003

I cranked mine about a year ago. I never did get an alignment and haven't had any tire wear probs or anything, but you should get aligned. I could only crank mine about 3/4in up because one of the TB bolts bottomed out, so the toe didn't change much at all I guess...

And IMO...I love the fact that the ride got a little rougher...I still wish it rode a little more rough, it is just fun bouncing of of bumps at 70 mph. I hate trucks that ride like cars. Yet one more reason I like the Superduties so much...those SFA can make for some fun rough riding on crappy roads here inm vegas... :thumb:

todd11231 · February 2, 2003

thanks for the info...i think im gonna pass..maybe go with a slight lift instead!!!!

Chuck Cheeze · February 4, 2003

I just cranked my bars the other day. Excellent results for 5 minutes of work. The full write up is on my website listed below, as well as pictures.

I have to get the measurements from home and post them but I got just over an inch out of it. It rides firmer but still completely acceptable.

gbroad23 · August 25, 2007

There is a kit u can buy for $375 ca it gives you some new ears and shock extensions that claims to keep the factory ride with no extra stress on the front end. Sorry dont remember the brand, should be able to find it with some searching.

chancepride97 · September 7, 2007

DONT MESS WITH YOUR TORSION BARS unless you want to spend more money in the end your ball joints will go bad every few thousand miles and your camber on the front tires will be so far off the charts youll need to get adjustable ball joints to pull them back in but theres a problem with that noone makes that for chevy all brands but chevy my trucks front end is messed up from cranking on tortion bars im gunna need new tortion bars and all new ball joints and CV joints thanks to the guy who i got the truck from last year its gunna cost about 1000 bucks in parts to fix it all hell the tortion bars alone are 300 bucks A PIECE so do yourself a favor dont be cheap and crank on em

look on this pic and look at my front tires how they camber "LEAN IN" at the top thats what happens

its worst on the other side too right now its 2.0 degreese on the driver and 3.0 on the passenger and the only way to fix it is to replace it alignment wont help there isnt enough "play" in the frontend

it may look good when you do it but after a few thousand miles your truck is gunna come right back down and youll have bent bars to show for it if you drive on a rough surface it happens alot faster they make aftermarket tortion keys but dont get them get a dang lift its only 300 bucks and it comes with new spindles and blocks its way easer in the long run

GatorFan · September 7, 2007

I purchased the Ford T-bar keys when I did my T-bar mod and have had no problem for over 5 years! It lifted the front of my truck almost 2 1/2 inches so I had to crank the bolts a little to lower the front. It does ride rougher but it's a 4X4 and I don't mind it at all. Definitely get an alignment. If you just crank the bolts, you will get about an inch out of the T-bars. Out of all the posts I have read since doing it, only one or two people had any problem with suspension wear. I was one of them but it was due to not getting an alignment for almost 6 months. I have had this mod (like I said for over 5 years) and love it. Granted, you can't run 35" tires, but I don't want a 6" lift right now. When I get my 6" lift, I will put the stock T-bar keys back in and let the shop install the 6" lift THEN get my 35" tires.

chancepride97 · September 9, 2007

now its different on a ford, ford and dodge have adjustable ball joints chevy doesnt. and noone makes em for chevy just ford and dodge thats why you didnt have a problem with your frontend

BigJayDogg3 · September 10, 2007

now its different on a ford, ford and dodge have adjustable ball joints chevy doesnt. and noone makes em for chevy just ford and dodge thats why you didnt have a problem with your frontend

Um that is a chevy. What are you talking about? He said he used ford keys, he doesn't have a ford truck.