Hey there. Ive got a '97 F-150 4x4 and im about to install a 3" body lift on it to make room for some bigger tires(35/14x16.5 Ground Hawgs to be exact). From what ive been told, to clear the size tires im looking into, ill need to crank the torsion bars up anywhere from ONE to TWO inches for maximum clearance. So, my question is, what are the consequences of cranking the torsion bars? I realize that i might not have the smoothest ride afterwards but, hell its a truck right? Its not supposed to have a smooth ride But ive also heard from some buddies of mine an other irreputable sources that in some cases this can cause a total break down of various suspenison parts and just totally jack your front suspension.

What im looking for, is for someone to level with me here and tell me what cranking my torsion bars will actually do to my truck. Will it tear the hell up out of the suspension? Or just make my ride a little rougher.

 

I cranked mine up an inch and a half about two months ago. It looked a little odd having the front higher than the back so I notched it back down to one inch. I don't think it rides any rougher and although it hasn't been that long I cant feel any ill affects. I guess time will tell.

Sorry this doesn't help much but the setup on the new truck hasn't been out long enough to really tell if it causes any long term problems. I don't think it will. The only reason Ford didn't jack 'em up that high was for looks. There is plenty of room on the screws to crank them up a full two inches.



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'97 F150 Lariat, Flareside, SC, ORP, 5.4, 305/70/16 Goodyears, AR Baja wheels, dual exhaust, Smittybilt nerf bars, fog light mod and Big Bird mirror toy.
kkirt1@hotmail.com

 

Guys, tightening up the torsion bars is nothing new. It's done all the time here to enable 4WDs to carry snowplows. The idea is to make the truck handle or "carry" the plow better. A plow can weigh 600 lbs. plus, BTW. The 88 and up GMs have a torsion bar setup, as do the 97 and up LD Fords. The front end alignment is affected by the amount of tightening of the torsion bars that you do. Yes, it can also affect front end parts wear too. The ball joints, idler arm, tires, and tie rod ends can all suffer from running the torsion bars too tight. I have seen ball joints on some GMs literally pounded apart because the torsion bars were cranked too tight. I guess what I'm trying to say is, watch what you are doing. You are changing the front end settings when you do this. Tom.

 

I just don't understand.... Why go with a body lift ???? It may look cool but it won't work worth a darn... All those truck that are performance trucks don't have a body lift.. A suspension lift is the only way to do it correctly.. I follow the world of offroad racing pretty close.. And I see no body lifts on those S.C.O.R.E. trucks.. And the Class 8 truck in my garage has no body lift and sports 35" BFG Baja's on it... With 26" of front wheel travel.. And 24" of wheel travel in the rear... But alot of Pavement Pounders do sport body lifts.. LOL... Just my opinion.... WILD

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98 F-150 XL 4X4 Extended cab. Custom Built light bar mounted on front bumper (built by me) Holding 3 kc daylighters. This truck is all bussiness . no flash .. just results....this aint no Pavement Pounder... Custom paint by me,Desert pinstripe on white background

 

Wild
Why a body lift? A couple of reasons. First, the cost of a body lift is $128 and the cost of a 4-5 inch suspension lift is $1400-$1600. You can fit the same size tires with both lifts. Second, the point of most lifts is to fit bigger tires and therefore have more ground clearance. A suspension lift offers no benefits in this department either. A suspension lift will increase articulation, but I don't know of anyone that is going rock-crawiling with these new F-series trucks and an aftermarket suspension lift does not increase articulation by that much anyway.
I do agree that if you are going to go racing down wash board roads the suspension lift is the way to go, but if you want the ability to fit larger tires and therefor improve your off-road ability a body lift will suit your needs just fine.
My truck has a 3" body lift and 35x12.50 BFG Mud Terrains. I use the truck off road every weekend either for hunting, camping or just plain having fun on the dunes or in the mud.

DrunkMudder
The torsion bars on my truck have been cranked up since I got it. I have had it about a year and a half and I go through some pretty rough stuff off-road. I have had no problems. The ride is a little rougher than stock, but it is not harsh.
About the tire size. I have 16.5 inch Center Line wheels and no problems. I do think you will have to trim the fenders a little to fit the 14" wide tires under the front fenders. Hope this helps.

 

Yes with bigger tires you do get a LITTLE more ground clearence.. Lets see.. a stock wheel is lets say 29 inches.. And a 35 " tire is 6 inches larger .. and half of that is 3".. So going with a 3"body lift and 35" tires will give you a frame clearance lift of essentially 3".... Now a 3" suspension lift with the same 35" tires will give you a 6" frame clearance lift... I guess it all depends on what you are doing with the truck and if you want to give the appearance of a lift or really do a lift... To each his own...
As far as offroading... Where my Ford goes it is extremely rough.. We are not talkin forest service roads or the like... When you start draggin front and rear bumpers and have to have a skid plate to cover the belly from front bumper to the rear of the transfer case... That is some serious fourwheeling... Not jeep stuff but puttin this truck through its paces and maybe to its limits...

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98 F-150 XL 4X4 Extended cab 5.4 Custom Built light bar mounted on front bumper, 3 K.C. daylighters. This truck is all bussiness . No flash .. Just results. White in color with some Desert pinstriping (brush scratches).... This ain't no Pavement Pounder... HAVE A GREAT DAY !! B'CUZ I ALWAYS DO !!!!

 

wildazboy:
are you running a suspension lift? if so, which one.
p.s. I'm still curious about your light bar

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'97 F-150 lariat 4x4 flareside. k&n genII, gibson super truck, hella ralleye 2000 lights, JET module(not everyone has a superchip)

 

No suspension lift on my rig (yet).. My race truck gobbles up the money for those kinds of mods... lol..
On the light bar... I WILL try to get that out this weekend... Been busy, (to busy I think)... Thx for the interest... WILD

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98 F-150 XL 4X4 Extended cab 5.4 Custom Built light bar mounted on front bumper, 3 K.C. daylighters. This truck is all bussiness . No flash .. Just results. White in color with some Desert pinstriping (brush scratches).... This ain't no Pavement Pounder... HAVE A GREAT DAY !! B'CUZ I ALWAYS DO !!!!

 

I cranked mine up and it worked well for about 15,000 miles. Then they lost their tension and the tires started rubbing. That's why I have Chevy 1-tons. The Ford bars are cheap and easy to replace. I say crank 'em and replace if you have a problem.

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'97 F150 SC 4x4: Rancho 4", 3" body, Chevy 1-ton torsion bars, custom fabricated shock hoop and torque tubes, 14 Rancho RS500 shocks, 39x15 MT's on Weld 16.5x12, skid plate, billet grill, step bars, and system

 

Seems like this is the big boy category, so I gotta say something too.
AGOOFFROAD,
Looks like you got one heck of a truck there, sure sounds like it to me. Do you have a pic of your truck, I sure would love to see it, thanks.

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Mudder, Black 98 F-150 4x4 0RP 5.4 s/c, Magnum bug shield,Grizzly
roll bar,4 KC lights,2 Baja lights, Manik grill guard,Westin step bars,Sonic aluminum treadplate 36" tool box, Flowmaster dual exhaust, K/N air filter, 265/75/16 BFG AT/s, American Racing Baja wheels and a F150 Online sticker. More to come for the Attention Getter: Ramsey winch, 2 more KC lights, Rancho shocks. This truck is alotta flash, go, and everything, real good results If you would like to see pics, email me at eegmkg@gateway.net





[This message has been edited by mudder (edited 07-15-1999).]

 

How about some more info on those chevy 1 ton torsion bars. I haven't had any problems with mine, but I am interested in geting some stiffer ones. Did you have to do any modifications? How hard was the install? Do you have a part number so I know which ones to get? If you don't mind can you tell us how much they cost and where you got them? Thanks in advance.

 

I got the Chevy torsion bars at the dealership. Cost: $170 each (ripoff). It also required that the cross member be moved back. Ford torsion bars are only $70 each, but I could not get a part number for the 1.36" diameter bar from a F-250 light duty. I only got about another .5" out of the Chevy bars over my stock bars (off-road package). Th chevys are significantly thicker. I would recommend the largest Ford bars if you can find a part number. I spent 3 weeks trying to find it and no luck.

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'97 F150 SC 4x4 (white): Rancho 4", 3" body, Chevy 1-ton torsion bars, custom fabricated shock hoop and torque tubes, 14 Rancho RS5000 shocks, 39x15 MT's on Weld 16.5x12, skid plate, billet grill, step bars, Gibson exhaust, Stillen air intake, and system

 

Oh yeah. Four wheel parts charged me $100 to install the Chevy bars. I would look at wrecking yards for used bars before running to the dealership.

 

AGoffroad: Where can we see this beast? Sounds like an awesome truck!

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'97 F150 Lariat, Flareside, SC, ORP, 5.4, Mods: 305/70/16 GY ATS, AR Baja wheels, dual exhaust, Smittybilt nerf bars and fog light mod.



[This message has been edited by kkirt1 (edited 07-20-1999).]