another question hahaha so ive read around a little, and from what ive read cranking the t-bars will keep the wheels from rubbing so badly, but what exactly does it do? and how do you do it? does it just keep you from turning your steering wheel all the way? thanks again, hah you guys are so much more helpful than the guys on the focus forums

 

instead of a coil spring or a leaf spring, the torsion bar is a torsion spring. when you twist it, it will spring back to its original shape. the rear mounting point of the tbar is a fixed point (unless you crawl under and crank them a little), the front of it is mounted to the control arms so when your wheel goes up, it twists the bar. the bars rigidity will twist the bar back and push the wheel back to the ground.

when you "crank" the tbars, you are slightly relocating the rear, fixed point of the bars. since you have moved the rear, the front is also gonna move. when you crank the rear, you lift the front of your truck.

to crank them, crawl under one side of your truck and look for the tbars. about 1"-1.5" thick and about 3.5' - 4' long. they run from front to back. follow the bars to the very back and their will be two adjustment bolts that are perpindicular to the ground. tighten them to lift and loosen them to lower.


i have read that 1 complete turn equals 1/4" of lift but i cranked mine 3 turns on the passenger side and 2.5 turns on the drivers side (it was uneven side to side) and got about 1" of lift



EDIT: in your other thread about the lift and tires, you mentioned you were looking at a 2" suspension lift. if you buy a 2" suspension kit, most of them just crank the tbars and come with new control arms for the front and include and add-a-leaf or lift shackles for the rear. you can do it yourself for much cheaper... just research it a little more before you pay $400-$500 for a kit

 

is there not a limit on how much you can crank the t-bars?? and what all would i need to do a good 2" suspension lift if i did it myself?

 

most don't go above 2" on the t-bars, and i don't know if its even possible.

Jigg showed someone how to crank the bars on zr2usa a while ago, here is the post - http://www.zr2usa.com/mboard/index.p...st&p=54252

and remember, 1 full turn = .25" of lift

 

i think it is possible to go (slightly) over 2" but most dont even recommend more than 1.5" due to increased wear. if you were to go more than 2" there would probably be a majordecrease in the life of your front suspension

all you would need is to do a tbar crank, and some way to lift the rearend... new lew leafs, add-a-leaf, or lift shackles

 

even the one inch lift your going to wear out the insides of your tires in no time.. i had a buddy who learned the hard way..kinda felt bad cause i talked him into it

 

im getting an alignment in about 2 weeks so i shouldnt have any major wear on the inside tires... and actually after cranking them, my tires seem to be more aligned than before

 

couple things your missing.

when you "crank" the torsion bars you are changing the geometer of your front suspension. Hence the need for an alignment.

Howveer an alignment wont fix the other problems cranking the t-bars casues, namely harse ride, increased wear and tear on teh rest of your suspension, steering parts. In essence your shortening the lifespan of your ball joints, tierods, etc.

When you crank the tbars you change the amount of force needed to make the suspension travel. If oyu go up in ride hieght you are gaining that ride height at the expense of suspension flex. It will take more force to make your suspension move, you will have a more bone jarring ride, all the while you are eating parts.

crank them if you want, its your money.

 

The absolute most you can get out of a torsion bar crank with stock keys is just shy of 2 inches. There are kits out there with new keys that re-index the torsion bar to get you even more lift but you risk snapping the t-bars. Trust me thats NOT A GOOD THING!!!!!! Had it happen to a good buddy of mine in a ranger and he nearly lost it. Stick with the factory keys, crank them up to 5 turns at most to be on the safe side (mine only let me hit a max of 7 turns for reference) and if you need more get a bigger lift kit or solid axles and leafs with spring over conversion.

 

what are other ways to lift the front end other than t-bar crank?