Ford Keys

rtbrick · April 26, 2003

I installed a set of the Ford torsion bar keys last night. Putting the keys in was a snap, but getting the front leveled out was a bit of a pain. I still may have some room to work with it.

For all you suspension gurus here is where I am at on measurements (measured through the center of the wheel to the lower edge of the fender):

Front - about 37 3/8"

Rear - about 38 1/2"

I see that most folks end up with a half inch difference in height from front to rear (usually 37 and 37 1/2). Do you think I can go up any more? I started at about 35 1/2" in the front, so I'm at about 2" of lift. The Hill 4WD site states about 2 1/2" as the max lift (relax, I bought my keys at Ford for $22 ea). There is still a bit of a rake to the front. I may try another 1/2" on Sunday.

I would like to hear from others who have experience with the keys.

If I had to complain about my 2000 Silverado Ext cab Z71 it would be about the sagging front end. I am really pleased with the new look. I get new tires (BFG AT)next week to finish it off.

Shaners · April 26, 2003

One inch of "sag" is about perfect in my opinion. That way you can throw a few hundred lbs in the bed, and your headlights won't be pointing to the treetops.

When I adjusted my torsion bars I measured in three different places on the frame rails to the ground. The reason I did this is because I found out that the fenders are about 1/2" different on each side, and I was more concerned about the chassis being level.

rtbrick · April 26, 2003

Shaners,

So exactly where did you measure? I guess front, middle and side of the frame rails between the wheel? Another guy suggested I do that last night, but I kinda got caught up in what I was doing (and forgot).

timk49 · April 26, 2003

rtbrick ,

Can you post the ford key part number and will the same one work on my 03 2500HD?

duck slayer · April 26, 2003

rtbrick, I too don't care for the bad front end sag in my 1500 z-71 ext. cab. Would you mind telling me what the install involved, what you had to do and how long it took you. This looks like a great site I wish I would have found it before today.

COZWV · April 27, 2003

Details Please, and part numbers. Sounds like the thing to do!

CanadianZ71 · April 27, 2003

Ditto on an explaination as to how this is done. After you are done raising the truck in this manner do you have to get an alignment? Any details would be appriciated.

Firetiger(MN) · April 27, 2003

rtbrick ,
Can you post the ford key part number and will the same one work on my 03 2500HD?

If you want to do a search here you'll most likely find the part number, but have to wade through A LOT of posts on torsion bars.

Aside from that, I too would like to know if the Hill got the keys for the HD's from a "cheaper" source as they did for the 1500's.

On my '02 it didn't take much cranking to level the truck at all, but on my '03 I don't have much bolt left on the driver's side and it's just about level. Maybe that's due to the weight of the Duramax? I lost count of the number of turns I had to use to get the front end up on this one. Much more than my '02 though so I'm looking to get the keys.

Firetiger(MN) · April 27, 2003

I remembered a post on the different "keys" that GM uses and did a search. Here's what I found:

http://www.gm-trucks.com/cgi-bin....ing+kit

May have to look into these Green coded keys for under $30.

Shaners · April 27, 2003

Shaners,
So exactly where did you measure? I guess front, middle and side of the frame rails between the wheel? Another guy suggested I do that last night, but I kinda got caught up in what I was doing (and forgot).

I parked my truck on the most level piece of asphalt that I could find, and picked random places on the frame rail under the cab, that were identical side to side.

I measured, then cranked, then drove, then re-measured. My fenders aren't the perfect match but my frame/chassis is... :thumb:

rtbrick · April 27, 2003

All,

The install was actually very easy. If you are you are ever so slightly mechanically inclined, then you can do it (if not have it done at a shop!).

Full directions and a comparison to the Hill keys can be found at:

http://www.anythingcars.com/members/chane/

Just look under the information/tech section.

You'll need to put the truck on a lift or jackstands. I am in the Army and each post usually has a decent autocraft shop, so I had acccess to a lift. Take a two jaw gear puller and situate it on the crossmember with the threaded rod inserted into the dimple on the torsion bar key (you'll see what I mean when you look). Crank the gear puller to take pressure off of the adjusting bolt and then remove the bolt and the small block that it threads through (for leverage). Then loosen the gear puller to release the tension on the torsion bar and key. Once all the tension is off the bar, slide the bar forward and slip the old key off. Put the new key back on, put the torsion bar back in place, situate your gear puller, crank up on the key until you can slip the block in through the hole in the crossmember (again, if you look under your truck you'll see what I mean), thread the bolt back through the block and into the retaining dimple (second dimple) on the key and tighten until you can remove the gear puller. Do the same for the other side. Then you'll need to start adjusting the bolts/keys up and down, side to side, until you get the front end where you want it. I had the keys swapped out in about an hour. I bet if you hustled you could get them swapped in 30 minutes. It took me another hour or better to get the adjustments done (I'm a bit anal about that kinda stuff). I still have a bit of a rake to the front, so I will probably try and adjust another 1/4" or 1/2" today.

That's the gist of the installation. I had a Hanes manual that I referred to in addition to the information on the website above.Chane

rtbrick · April 27, 2003

I played around a bit with the torsion bar key adjustment. The front of my truck now sits at about 37 3/4". The rear is right around 38 3/8". Both measurements are at the fenders because I was more interested in the visual leveling of the truck. At one point I did measure the front and back of each side at the frame. It was very close. I will drive the truck for a day or so to let the suspension settle down and then take some final measurements all around. I am waiting on my BFG AT KOs to arrive at the local garage, so I have a couple of days for tweaking. I have to say it looks great. I catch myself starring at the truck every time I stop and get out (or peeking through the kitchen window). Looks like a new truck.

rtbrick · April 27, 2003

Go to my webpage to see a picture of my truck with Ford keys installed.

http://mywebpages.comcast.net/rtbrick/Z71home.htm

curly · April 28, 2003

I installed my keys yesterday and after seeing the truck with them, all I could ask myself is why I waited so long to do this mod (I've only had the truck two months

). I set mine at level (front / rear)and plan to drive it this week and get an alignment done (to give it time to settle in good).

BadBowtie · April 28, 2003

Running the risk of possible chastizing (especially on my first post, so at the same time, Hello!), I ask if any of you thta have had the keys on for an extended period have experienced any negative effects from doing this. I don't see how this is different than just cranking the torsion bars up 2", besides the inproved ride quality?

Has anyone worn out their front ends more rapidly due to this? or run into any other problems? Thanks and I'll intorduce myself a little too.

I'm John, I found this site from Ryan, who is a member over at MyChevyTruck. I have a 91 k1500, 350, custom headache rack, toolbox, lights, etc etc, I hope to get involved and learn more from this site!