Hey guys I benn reading a lot about cranking your torsion bars but I am unclear on how or if I need to have a specialty store do it? Second of all if I crank them up an inch and throw on some 285-75-16 I will gain about 1-3/4"?

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97 F150 4x4 SC,4.6L v8, tu-tone black/silver, K&N Filter charger, Lighted moonvisor(nice), Fiberforms under rear-seat dual 8" subwoofer enclosure(color matched).

 

Higround,

I had a local alignment shop do my T-Bars. They adjusted them for free as long as I had them do an alignment for $39.99 (or so).

With my 285's I really leveled out the truck. I figure aprox 2" with tires and T-Bars.

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99 4x4 XLT supercab 5.4L Flareside, Deep Wedgewood Blue/Med. Graphite w/Captain Chairs, Pioneer DEP-4000, Tint, K&N, Bedliner, 3" Catback w/3 Chamber Flowmaster, 285/75/16 BFG A/T on American Racing Python wheels, Stull Billet Grill, Clear Corner Lenses.

'00 Expedition XLT, Silver w/Dark graphite interior, 5.4L, Stull Billet Grill, 2/4 Drop and some other stuff. All in all she'll stay stock. Ok, maybe a Flowmaster 50 series soon.

 

Loser1,
Thanks for the info. Sounds like thats exactly what I am going to do (along with 285's of course).
Highground.

 

I am considering doing the same thing (285's and cranking torsion bar). I have a few questons.

How many turns did you put on it, and how much lift did you get? I only want a little bit of lift...I like the way my truck sits now, and plus, if I level it and then tow something heavy, it will sit down in the back (AND I HATE THAT). I do want to make it a little more level, though.

Also, has anyone noticed any change in the ride or the handling of the truck after cranking the T-bars?

Any other side effects?

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'97 F150 4x4 Off-Road Extended Cab Lariat Flareside white/tan, tan leather, 4.6, 3.55

Duraliner bedliner, Husky floormats, Custom seatcovers (I only cover the leather when I'm really dirty, though), Premier single-lid toolbox

Gibson 2.5" split-rear exit cat-back exhaust, K&N Air Filter

Many more modifications to come

http://ocu-stars.okcu.edu/cvenable.stu/index.htm#b

 

lovemy4X4,
Half a turn will net you about a quarter inch. Initially, I cranked mine up a turn and a half (3/4"). It seemed to make the front end just slightly stiffer. Also, there was some squeeking from the front for a few miles. It sounded like a rubber bushing squeek. But that went away. I then installed my winch and lost a quarter inch, so I cranked them another half turn. I took my measurements from the tow rings to the ground. I haven't had the front end aligned yet, but probably should. It dosen't feel out of line but you can't always rely on what you feel, as far as front end alignment. For now I'm keeping a close eye on the tires for irregular wear.

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98 F-150 XLT 4X4 ORP Super Cab Short Bed, 4.6, Auto. Superchip, Gibson sing. cat-back, Airaid, 80/100w German head lamps. Warn HS9500i winch with semi hidden mount. Wrangler dual battery kit with red & yellow top Optima batteries. Torsion bars cranked up 2 turns. Needs one more door and a lot more power. I think I need to talk to Mr. Whipple.

 

Cranking up your torsion bars is BAD!!! The following reasons are why: down travel of suspension is decreased, increased CVB joint wear, not cranking each bar will cause unevenness of truck, cranking too much will cause bad alignment and possible situation of not being able to align at all.

 

There was some discussion on this topic previously.
https://www.f150online.com/f150board...ML/000309.html

In short, always re-do you alignment when you crank the bars as it changes drastically. This I know for a fact as I have cranked many a bar on old chrysler products while they were on the aligment machine and wow! Second, do not crank them too much. Obvious question, how much is too much. Well, if you note that your upper control arm bumper shows signs of wear, then you know that your suspension is hitting the frame on the rebound after bumps and you may be too high.

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BLK 2000 F150 XLT 4X4 SuperCab SB, Shift-on-the-fly, 5.4L, 4R70W, 3.55 LS, 4-Wheel disc/ABS, ORP, Keyless, PWR Seat, Slider, Soft tonneau, Cab steps.
MODS: Rhino, Molded flaps, Mobil1 0W-30




[This message has been edited by XLTJAKE (edited 02-25-2000).]

 

Now, Now, lets not exagerate. They are adjustable for a reason. However you make a good point that too much of anything is not a good idea. That goes for a lot more things than jsut torsion bars. And an Alignment is surely in order if you do it. I left mine alone for that "down hill all the time" stance. Plus, if I am always going down hill, I am getting better gas mileage right?

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97 F-150 SC Lariat, Styleside, White over Gold, 4.6L (Windsor), Automatic, 3.55 rear end, electronic 4X4, w/ every option of Lariat and ORP packages except the 17" wheels (I even got the OR decals now!) MOD's so far: K&N air box mod, Gibson Super Truck, clear Bugflector II, Leer TSC 600 hard cover, Bridgestone Dueler OWL ATP 265/75 R-16's, TrailMaster Invader N7 shocks, Smittybilt step bars, Ford moulded mud guards, "White-white" head lamps, Cloud Rider Design's SS Grill and bumper opening, Bosch Platinum + 4's, Hayden 30K+ Tranny Cooler,Class III Reece load distributing hitch system, full wiring including trailer battery charging system, Escort Sensor II Brake controller, Superchip




[This message has been edited by cphilip (edited 02-25-2000).]

 

I've been thinking about a body lift(due to outrageous suspension lift prices) to lay on some meaty tires on my 97.The tire I have in mind is a 33"X14.00X16.5 bogger on 12" chrome barts w/beadlocks.The head honcho at my local shop said I would have to crank em up(t-bars) about 1.5 inches to clear the front bumper, but said the alignment would run me about $140 ! I have shopped around ,but no-one seems to want to do an alignment on an altered front end. I'm probably going to have to pay the price, but I guess it's better in the long run (and cheaper than new tires!).

LESSON : Ask questions before you spin those nuts! It just might cost you.

 

I just want ya'll's opinion. (yeah, I'm an Okie)

[I'm don't know a lot about this.] I have 2 T-bars, right? If so, do I crank both of them?

Do you think I will be *safe* with 1 or maybe 1.5 turns on my T-Bars? Will my ride get rough?

 

Yes of course you have to crank them both, if you dont, then your truck will lean. I did mine today about 3/4 and it made mine level. You should have come to Tulsa today. mudder,pony, me and nomo all met for lunch and took pics. I also got my body lift on , and I really like it.

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1997 Ford F-150
4x4, 4.6 V8, 5spd
extended cab, XL
Silver
Mods:K&N Air Filter, Flowmaster 70 series 2 chamber muffler,Rancho RS5000 shocks, 3" Performance Accessories body lift,33x11.50 Durango M/T's, Westin Nerf Bars,Tinted windows, Front Blackouts,Alpine CD player, Rockford Fosgate Amp,12" Kicker competition VR sub,
"THE HEARTBEAT STOPS HERE" sticker on windshield

http://hometown.aol.com/ad%20offRoad/index.html

 

Howdy All,

Looking at a 1999 sales brochure it states that FOxFO's have an adjustable height torsion bars.

So adjust away, then have an alignment done.

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2000 F-150 Lariat, Flareside, Black, SC, FOxFO, 5.4L, 3.55, Garmin Street Pilot Color GPS

 

Just a sugestion, if you want to crank up your torsion bars, and then want a reputable tire shop to do your alignment try this. If at all possible try to do the torsion crank at home, then go to your favorite shop and dont mention the torsion bars were cranked, cause you just might get cranked in the wallet for no reason other than to fill theirs. I mentioned it to my shop and they told me it was going to cost $100.00 extra to align the vehicle after the crank. Well I opted to get a second oppinion, and this time failed to mention the torsion bars were adjusted to the tire shop.They did my alignment for their normal price and I was told it was all in factory specs after my allignment.good luck...

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1999 F150 XLT 4x4, 5.4L, white over silver 2 tone. Cat back Flowmaster duals with rolled stainless tips for the exit pipes, K&N filter charger kit, and a Lund wind deflector painted white to match. Clifford g3 alarm

 

Any time you alter the front suspension you should have an alignment done. (Raising or Lowering) I believe the higher prices you were quoted was not just because of the tortion bars being cranked.

These Fords have very little front end alignment adjustment built in. The upper A-arm bolts have square plates on them which limit the adjustment on them. These have to be replaced with new cam bolts so that caster/camber can be adjusted correctly. There was an earlier tread about this for even non-altered trucks in this section, and some people had been quoted as high as 140 to have this done. I bought the cam bolt kit for about $50 and then my alignment was $30.

Might want to check into this....


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Chris Thomas
1998 F-150XLT Flareside STX Sport Package, 4.6L Auto 3.55 Oxford White/Gray interior, Factory Anti-theft system
Picture: http://216.147.104.171/Y2K/members/ChrisT/christ1a.jpg
Homepage: Chris & Brandi's Universe
Mods: A.R.E. Decklid/Oxford White with gray fabric liner, K&N filter with Airbox Mod (removed silencer), Lowered 3" front/5" rear, Tinted Windows, GTS sloted taillight covers (painted Oxford white to match), Removed STX stickers
Audio: Kenwood Truck speakers with 10" woofers, Rockford Fosgate and Alpine Amps, Ford 10 disk CD changer
Future Mods: 20" rims and tires, True duals with Supertrap tunable mufflers, Superchip, Supercharger, Jacobs Ignition, and whatever else I can think of!!!

 

When I cranked mine up I had the aligment done and I had to put shims in to correct for what had done. I ask them if it was going to hurt anything they told me that I should not go any farther than to level out the truck they use them to level out the trucks when the put snow-plows on them.. my 2 cents

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1999 F150 Bright Red Extended Cab 4x4 Off Road, With Gray Interior, 5.4L, 3.73 Gears,

Add On's for now!
Access Tunnel Cover
Stainless Steel Nerf Bars
Stainless Steel Rocker Pannels
Flowmaster Exhaust
Lund Bug Guard
GTS Head Light Covers
K&N Air Filter W/ Air Box Mod
Putco Bed Rails
Red Stering Wheel Cover
Pionneer CD Deck

Wish List: F1 Ram Air Hood, Tinted Side Windows, Brushguard, Wiper Crawl, Visor, Lift W/ 34" M/T Tires, ETC...