I have read some other posts about cranking your torsion bars to get more lift. I would like to know how you do that and how effective is it. Thanks Matt
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Most just do it to a) level the truck and b) to gain more clearance when running say a 285 or 305 series tire. Doing it requires you to get an alignment. Do a search someone on here shows or explains how it's done.

 

I agree.

 

Just curious. I turned both my torsion bars up about two cranks just to level the truck out. I checked the alignment and have been watching the tires for uneven wear. NOthing seems to be wrong with the alignment. However, the truck seems a little "bouncier" over small alterations in the road. Is that b/c of no alignment or is that just a characteristic of having the torsion bars turned up?--DIY

 

Having not done it myself, I can't say for sure, but only if you really crank them up is when you need an alignment, probably not just a little. The tires as you say would tell that story. You are right about it bieng bouncier a bit, again from what I've heard seems characteristic.

 

Increasing the preload on the torsion bars makes the initial portion of the suspensions travel slightly stiffer. This is the "bounciness" you are describing. Also, when you say you "checked" the alignment, do you mean you "eyeballed" it or had it checked on an alignment machine? You really need to have it checked by an alignment machine.

 

No, my "checking it" was pretty crude. Measure the front and rear of the tires (from a common point) before and after the torsion bars were cranked. I basically just checked the toe in. Didn't really check the camber and caster angles, which I'm assuming are really what changes when you crank the torsion bars up anyway. As long as I'm not wearing the tires unevenly, I'm not going to worry about it too much. Besides I'm starting to get annoyed with the aforementioned bouncy ride so I may just let them back down.

BTW is there any good way to lift the front end a couple inches without ajusting the preload on the torsion bars? I know you can get those re-indexed torsion bar keys, but I'm pretty sure you were the one who said that's not a great idea either (too much preload). I'd like to level this thing out without adversely affecting the ride quality.--DIY

 

The reindexed torsion bar keys do the same thing you did, only more of it. If you don't like the ride with the increased preload, it's time for a full suspension lift or a body lift. However, a body lift won't level the truck, it will just lift the entire body 3 inches.

 

That's what I was afraid of. Pretty sure I won't be spending that kind of dough on my truck any time soon. Guess I'll just have to live with it or turn it back down. Thanks for the advice.--DIY