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Clearing up Ford Torsion Bar Key Questions


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I have a 2001 1500 z71 with 63k miles on it. Ive been looking at leveling kits for around 230$ but now I'm looking at the ford torsion bar key option. I know there are a bunch of posts floating around about this topic but none of them answer all the questions i have so here it goes.

Whats the difference between the leveling kits and the ford keys besides price? Whats the ride quality difference and the difference in front end part wear between the leveling kits and the ford keys? Ive also heard that the sag in the front end is due to fatigue in the suspensions components, whats the reality to this? I don't want to put these keys in my truck and have the front end then be higher than the back. Lastly how large of a tire diameter can be fit with the leveling kits and the ford keys? Thanks. Any information can help and pictures of trucks with either of the two mods.

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There's no difference between the two. They both use new keys to raise the front. Front end wear will be the same, as should the ride. The front can sag from suspension fatigue, but these trucks come from the factory with thier noses down. There is some adjustment with the keys so you can put the front just level with the back.

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There's no difference between the two. They both use new keys to raise the front. Front end wear will be the same, as should the ride. The front can sag from suspension fatigue, but these trucks come from the factory with thier noses down. There is some adjustment with the keys so you can put the front just level with the back.

There is adjustment with the ford keys or just the leveling kits? How bad is the front end part wear? Will parts need to be replaced every year, 3 years 5, ect... I had a 3" body lift on my old truck and the front end parts like the pitman arm and some steering parts needed to be replaced about every two years. I wouldnt want to go through that again.

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There's no difference between the two. They both use new keys to raise the front. Front end wear will be the same, as should the ride. The front can sag from suspension fatigue, but these trucks come from the factory with thier noses down. There is some adjustment with the keys so you can put the front just level with the back.

There is adjustment with the ford keys or just the leveling kits? How bad is the front end part wear? Will parts need to be replaced every year, 3 years 5, ect... I had a 3" body lift on my old truck and the front end parts like the pitman arm and some steering parts needed to be replaced about every two years. I wouldnt want to go through that again.

 

There's adjustment with both. They are the same part, so you adjust them the same way. I've only had mine raised for about 6 months, so I don't know that much about the front end wear, but from reading previous post it seems like it's not a problem. The point of the new keys is to raise it without putting to much stress on the front end parts. You will need an alignment after.

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I've had mine raised about 3 years now with the Ford keys and I have not had any issues with front end parts wearing out. I did have to replace my right front hub bearing assembly and centerlink but that was my fault becase I never got the front end aligned after I raised it. I highly recommend the alignment after you raise the front (as soon as you can).

 

I have 33" tires on mine and they fit without any issues at all.

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There's no difference between the two. They both use new keys to raise the front. Front end wear will be the same, as should the ride. The front can sag from suspension fatigue, but these trucks come from the factory with thier noses down. There is some adjustment with the keys so you can put the front just level with the back.

There is adjustment with the ford keys or just the leveling kits? How bad is the front end part wear? Will parts need to be replaced every year, 3 years 5, ect... I had a 3" body lift on my old truck and the front end parts like the pitman arm and some steering parts needed to be replaced about every two years. I wouldnt want to go through that again.

 

There's adjustment with both. They are the same part, so you adjust them the same way. I've only had mine raised for about 6 months, so I don't know that much about the front end wear, but from reading previous post it seems like it's not a problem. The point of the new keys is to raise it without putting to much stress on the front end parts. You will need an alignment after.

 

 

I disagree with the second to last line. Putting in new "ford" keys will essentially do the same as if you had a longer bolt for adjusting your stock keys. The same amount of stress is put on the front end parts. In reality, using the ford keys will allow you to crank farther, thus puting more stress on the front end parts.

 

That being said, you will get so many responses about cranking the t-bars, it isn't even funny. I have a 2000 Chevy Silverado Z71 and I have my factory key bolts maxxed out. My front end is still 1.25 - 1.5" lower than the rear and my cv's are still almost completely flat.

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Ive done some reading and have seen some people say that when the ford keys were installed their shocks were stretched out and they lost a lot of upwards travel. They also said that they were pretty close to hitting their bumpstops. I really wanna get this done because i would like to throw some bigger tires on my truck. Let me know if anyone has had this problem or how its avoidable. I wouldnt want to but i suppose i could spend some money on some aftermarket shocks but still even then if im gonna be close to hitting my bumstops thats still no good.

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Cranking keys will almost always make the truck ride against the bump stop , The guy a few posts back may have worn t/bars , because he is maxed and still not completely level. Typically cranking the keys to the max will add 2 to 3 inches and make the front end ride like you have bricks for shocks. .

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Yes - adding Ford keys will stretch your shocks out. That can be fixed with 3" longer front shocks. However, yes you will also be close to riding on your bumpstops as you will have a very firm ride.

 

I do believe my t-bars are sagging terribly as mine are maxxed out and my ride is nowhere near rough and my front end still sits 1.25" low compared to the back. Eventually I'm thinking about getting new t-bars or ford Keys myself to allow more crank in my front end.

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