Just looking for any info on upgrading torsion bars. Wondering if anyone has replaced stock torsion bars with, say, the 7700# package heavy-duty bars?

I have a plow on my 2001 F-150 Screw and was thinking about doing this to prodive a little more stiffness when the plow is on.

Any help or comments are greatly apperciated. Thanks!

 

Hi, I am bumping this to the top because I was looking into this at one time as well. I think Ford makes many different series of torsion bars for our trucks varying from very soft to very harsh. Does anyone have any detail on this?

Crotteau

 

I just purchased the 7700# bars and they are sitting in he garage, waiting for my new bumper to get built.
They are substantially thicker than my standard '03 Supercrew 4x4 bars so they should be just the ticket for a heavier bumper and winch (or snowplow).
If you do a search you should be able to find a thread or two about this installation.
Lonster

 

Thanks for the info. As long as we are on the subject of this, does anyone know of any online Ford parts dealers?

Thanks again,
Crotteau

 

AbramsM1, Here's the details of what you want. Ford heavy duty bars are an exact fit and trust me on the specs, I did extensive research with Ford on this. The only heavy duty bars are Spring code 7 and they don't go in order of stiffness. A 4 is less stiff and so is an 8. The Spring code 7 was designed for the Ford F150 7700 lb GVWR snow plow package. They will raise the front GVWR to that of the F150 with a snow plow package. This is the data I have: Front will now be 4150 lbs. I've pasted a link for you to look at: www.fleet.ford.com/truckbbas/non-html/MVE7.PDF

The Expy and F150s that have torsion bars are all the same length. Several friends of mine and a bunch of bubbas on this site have installed these exact same bars on their F-150s, mine are on my Expy and they're awesome. Also, if you're inclined, you can get some serious extra inches (several at least) if you crank them up with no problem of breaking. Remember, you WILL have to get the truck realigned after install and if you crank them, watch the angles on your CV axles!! They'll wear much quicker. The cost from www.fordpartsonline.com for the price of 53.00 and from the dealer, about $75 each. Here's the part numbers:
Right Side = F75Z5B326-KB, left Side = F75Z5B327-KB. Hope this helps.

 

Hey, thanks for the help on that. It was exactly what I was looking for.

Thanks again,
Crotteau

 

AbramsM1, you're welcome. Let us know how it goes with the replacement bars.

 

Actually, I gotta tell ya that it will be a while before I do any of my planned projects. You see, my truck is in storage and I am in the Army deployed to Bosnia for a while. So, if I don't get back to about the results any time soon, that is why. I sure do miss my truck and plan on spending a couple of well-earned weeks of leave modifying her when I get back. The fact that we have email and internet access over here sure has helped out a lot. I think I have learned more about cool stuff to do to my truck here than I ever thought of before.

Later,
Crotteau

 

AbramsM1, Thanks for what you're doing to keep your Nation safe over there. I'm a Navy Helicopter Pilot and have been deployed to Bosnia and Kosovo too; also to Afghanistan and Iraq, so I know what you're saying. Email and internet access is definitely a modern wonder, we have it on the ships too. I usually did my mods to my truck while I was at home too, it makes it even more fun to do. If you need any more help/advice once you get home and start the mods, email me at schreiber@tampabay.rr.com and I'll try and help. I'm stationed at SOCOM now at MacDill. Be safe and keep up the great work!!

 

biggins,
I'm very interested in how your truck rides with the plow on the front. Does it oscillate from front to back when you hit a bump at highway speeds?

I have a fairly lightweight slide-in camper (about 1400lbs). I upgraded the rear springs to get an additional 1000lbs capacity, but I get a damped front-to-back oscillation when driving above 65mph, with just me in the cab. It feels like the front-end is too soft. If I have four passengers, there's no oscillation. The rear is very stiff with the rear spring upgrade.

I still have the original shocks, which I plan to upgrade, but I suspect that stiffer tosion bars might be helpful too.

 

If you upgrade to new torsion bars, is it necessary to have an alignement done if you don't crank them up for more height? I've always thought the entire suspenson was too soft. The extra leaves (500 lbs extra capacity) I had added to the back helped that end tremendously.

 

Black Truck, I know that if you remove and replace the bars for other maintenance, you're supposed to mark them to ensure you re-install them exactly how they were before removal. If you make a measurement on a flat surface to the front frame of the truck by the bars before removing the old bars and then installing the new ones, you might get them close enough to not require a re-alignment. Your best bet would be to try this and then drive it to see if it pulls at all. You need special tools to remove the bars, so most guys have just baught them from Ford Parts online and then taken the truck in to have a Ford mechanic do the 1/2 hour to 1 hour labor. I hope this helps.

 

Schreiberclan

Sir- (I assume you are a "sir" since you are a pilot) Thanks for the the help and support. Both for the truck and the military.

Take care and thanks again,
SSG Crotteau

 

Hey there,
I went to the Ford dealer to order the 7700# package heavy-duty bars. But they said they need to know what suspension code of the truck that has one so they order them. Do anyone has one, if so can I have the code? Thank you. Also why the dealer don't the codes the suspension?

 

If you look at my earlier post, I gave all of these details!! they are Spring Code 7.