Ford Keys Vs. Truxxx 3 Inch..

[Stl05Silverado]

So im new to the sight and I own a 05 silverado 4x4 and I am looking to lift a couple of inchs..(would love to go with a 6 inch but no money for that) I have 20s already and im goin to stick with the 20s after the lift, so what would be better and or cheeper to do the truxxx 3-1 lift, or run the ford keys, I think im goin to try to run a 305/55/20 or bfg all terrain has a 32x11.50/ 20 out so thats an option too..

 

Chris

[diehrd]

Ford keys , if ya want toss longer shocks in, but usually not a requirement

[2000DV4.8]

So im new to the sight and I own a 05 silverado 4x4 and I am looking to lift a couple of inchs..(would love to go with a 6 inch but no money for that) I have 20s already and im goin to stick with the 20s after the lift, so what would be better and or cheeper to do the truxxx 3-1 lift, or run the ford keys, I think im goin to try to run a 305/55/20 or bfg all terrain has a 32x11.50/ 20 out so thats an option too..

 

Chris

 

 

Don't go with the leveling kit. A 3" leveling kit is the exact same thing as cranking the stock keys 3", which is way too much crank. The only difference with aftermarket keys (ford keys, or the truxxx keys) is that they are re-indexed, which allows you to is crank further than the stock keys, and that's a bad thing. The further you crank, the worse your CV and tie rod angles get, which puts too much stress on those parts. Over cranking can also cause ball joint, pitman arm, and idler arm failure. The maximum you should crank is about 1.5", after that your ride will really start to stiffen up, since the suspension will be resting on the top bump-stops, and won't have any down travel when you go over bumps.

You will have guys telling you that "they've been running a 3" crank for 4 years or something, and never had any problems" but that is not the norm. Most people have severe wear, or even failure issues. Over cranking the t-bars is not safe, for you, or those around you either. Say you're going down the highway at 70mph, and a ball joint or tie rod end fails. You can't control the truck at that point, and you might take others out with you. I have a friend that maxed the t-bars on his Sonoma, and a tie rod gave out, and the front wheel ripped off. It sent the truck into a ditch, and it's totaled. Luckily it was on an empty road, and the truck didn't roll.

 

If you want to lift the truck a couple of inches, I'd definitely go with a 2" or 3" body lift. They are usually less than $300, and take about a weekend to install if you have a buddy to help out. A BL will give you the better stance you're looking for, but you won't have to worry about excess wear on any suspension components, since it doesn't touch the suspension.

[diehrd]

The suspension allows for the travel a key adjustment makes , the way you put it cranking a key tosses the suspension out of specs , and then you say the suspension stops will limit travel , ya cant have it both ways , there is a limit up and down and so long as your adjustment stays within those limits don't sweat it.

 

Bottom line is cranking for 1 to 2 inches is perfectly safe , done on millions of trucks and has tens of millions of miles to show it causes no more were then if it is stock , this freak accident you attribute to a torsion adjustment is most likely a cheap guy who drives until something breaks , Any owner of a car or truck should have the sense to have front end checked at every oil change or every other , and if you happen to own a Toyota Celica and don't do this shame on you

 

I would like to see the multitudes of law suits against these lift companies for part failure directly related to the keys they market that provide a lift of the front end , Why use law suits as a measuring stick ? Americans are sue happy and that alone says something for keys and or adjustment of keys ..

 

Toss ford keys in , because in many cases the front bars are worn and the additional indexing the ford keys account for it with the new index location .

[K.Jump]

The suspension allows for the travel a key adjustment makes , the way you put it cranking a key tosses the suspension out of specs , and then you say the suspension stops will limit travel , ya cant have it both ways , there is a limit up and down and so long as your adjustment stays within those limits don't sweat it.

 

Bottom line is cranking for 1 to 2 inches is perfectly safe , done on millions of trucks and has tens of millions of miles to show it causes no more were then if it is stock , this freak accident you attribute to a torsion adjustment is most likely a cheap guy who drives until something breaks , Any owner of a car or truck should have the sense to have front end checked at every oil change or every other , and if you happen to own a Toyota Celica and don't do this shame on you

 

I would like to see the multitudes of law suits against these lift companies for part failure directly related to the keys they market that provide a lift of the front end , Why use law suits as a measuring stick ? Americans are sue happy and that alone says something for keys and or adjustment of keys ..

 

Toss ford keys in , because in many cases the front bars are worn and the additional indexing the ford keys account for it with the new index location .

 

Wow amen brother

[2000DV4.8]

The suspension allows for the travel a key adjustment makes , the way you put it cranking a key tosses the suspension out of specs , and then you say the suspension stops will limit travel , ya cant have it both ways , there is a limit up and down and so long as your adjustment stays within those limits don't sweat it.

 

Bottom line is cranking for 1 to 2 inches is perfectly safe , done on millions of trucks and has tens of millions of miles to show it causes no more were then if it is stock , this freak accident you attribute to a torsion adjustment is most likely a cheap guy who drives until something breaks , Any owner of a car or truck should have the sense to have front end checked at every oil change or every other , and if you happen to own a Toyota Celica and don't do this shame on you

 

I would like to see the multitudes of law suits against these lift companies for part failure directly related to the keys they market that provide a lift of the front end , Why use law suits as a measuring stick ? Americans are sue happy and that alone says something for keys and or adjustment of keys ..

 

Toss ford keys in , because in many cases the front bars are worn and the additional indexing the ford keys account for it with the new index location .

 

 

But constantly riding at those limits will put excess stress on the parts. The CV's are not designed to operate at those angles all the time. It's like saying that if the engine revs up to 5600 RPM, it should be OK to floor it from every stoplight. Yes it will rev up that high, but that doesn't mean that it should be operating at that level constantly. When parts are at or near their limits, they wear faster. You can't deny that.

 

There's nothing wrong with cranking the t-bars an inch or 2, I agree with you on that. I will be cranking my t-bars about an inch once it warms up. They're a very convenient way to get a little bit of height out of the truck but when you crank in the place of a lift kit (3" of crank is way too much), that's what causes problems.

 

 

Ford keys , if ya want toss longer shocks in, but usually not a requirement

 

You do not need longer shocks, since the suspension is still operating within the stock limitations. All you're doing is forcing it further down in it's range of travel.

[GatorFan]

Fellas, I agree. Cranking the T-bar bolts or replacing the keys with Ford keys (like I did) is fine as long as you don't overdo it. DV2000NJ, as you said in your first response, "...many have done it but that is not the norm" is true if you MAX the bolts. If you just crank them to get the level look or replace the keys with re-indexed keys, I really don't think the amount of strain on the suspension will be enough to warrant wear at an extreme rate. If you do this mod and go off-roading a lot, then you might run a risk of premature wear (more from off-roading than lifting the front). I think some folks just level the truck for looks and to add some bigger tires under their ride. For those looking to add 35" tires, then this IS NOT the way to do it. A body lift works as well but in my opinion, it is so much easier to turn the T-bar bolts or replace the keys rather than paying someone or buying a $hitload of beer and coaxing your buds into helping you do a body lift. Plus I don't feel like cutting my valence up or building brackets for my brush guard to attain the factory position. Again, the choice is up to the person but I DO agree that maxing the T-bar bolts is like playing craps... one wrong roll and it's over. The only thing to remember for sure is whatever you decide to do suspension wise....GET AN ALIGNMENT!

[GatorFan]

Sorry. Hit the submit too many times.

[GatorFan]

Accidently hit the submit WAY too many times

[Stl05Silverado]

a body lift is not an option...dont like them what so ever..And I really dont believe that they could sell a product that wouldnt be safe to use everyday, or maybe they have the top lawers just waiting on a phone call from them when someone does to try sue them for a unsafe product..With the truxxx kit they send with the product shock extenders so your not always topping out the shocks. I owned a 98 ford explorer AWD and I cranked the t-bars up to fit 32s on it, when the stock was like a 28..nothing to severe ever happened with that..and I wheeled it almost every weekend, ya when I was towing the boat, and I went over a nice bump I could hear the shocks top out..but never any failure..

[2000DV4.8]

a body lift is not an option...dont like them what so ever..

 

 

Not trying to be an a$$, but why don't you like body lifts?