Help: Tire guy won't do torsion twist for me! Says he's doin me a favor!

[ACBlessing]

Hi all:

After reading about the thousands of X drivers with torsion-twist lifts, I decided to get mine twisted up at least an inch. The tire guy says my camber would be off so bad, I'd wear my new 31s down in six months and my steering and ride would be screwed. He practically had a heart attack over it over my very desire to perform a torsion twist lift. Hell, I just wanted an inch, not much.

I guess he's the resident expert because the other employees revere him as the 4X4 and lift specialist.

Now, before I take it somewhere else and insist it be done, let me ask this crowd of real-world users.......

(1) Will a 1.5" torsion-twist lift REALLY screw up camber, steering and ride THAT bad? A LITTLE bad? Anything? What did I possibly miss when reading everyone's success stories about their torsion-twist lifts?

(2) Can't I put blocks under the torsion bar mounts to lift the body?

I would appreciate any specific information and experiences in response. Thank you very much.

-AC

 

[SCEXPLORER]

I did the twist and everything seemed fine except that i developed a pull to the right. I took it for an alignment and it still pulled to the right. I'm not sure if it is because of the torsion twist. I say do it. It's worth it.

-Ray

 

[Michigander]

You'll be fine with the TT. I took mine to Muffler Man and they threw a fit, but a younger kid there my age said he would do it for me (apparently the only one with the guts to try new stuff). He didn't charge me any $$, that way they weren't held liable. He turned them up with pnumatic gun, but didn't level em' out. I drove it back to school, crawled under there and moved them around with my own tools. To tell you the truth, if no one will do it for you, just do it yourself with a ratchet set. You really don't even need to jack the car up.

It won't hurt anything, especially if you only go 1"

 

[Robert]

If you only go up an inch, I don't think you will see any wear differences at all. I lifted mine about 1 1/2"-2" a year ago and have since put 20,000 miles on my Michelin LTX ATs. They are wearing very evenly with no hint of bad camber. I just went out and measured my tread depth. After 20K miles, I have 7/16" on the inside edge and the outside edge of the front tires. From the looks of it I suspect my Michelins will go at least the 50K I got out of my Firestones.

 

[JDraper]

I've got a 2" TT on mine, and my alignment is fine. I've been checking the tire wear just about daily since I did it, and I can find no sign of cupping or uneven wear. I also noticed no difference in the ride. It took me a grand total of about 1 hour to do my shackles and the twist. All you have to do for the twist is jack the front of the vehicle off the ground and use a socket wrench to turn the torsion bolts in a few turns, drop the vehicle back down and measure. Do this until you reach the desired height. To go up 2" I probably put in about 15 turns on each side. Measure both sides before you do the twist, and make sure you go up the same height on both sides. You may find that you have to turn one bolt more than the other (I did) to get it level.

Good Luck!!

 

[2001ExpSport]

I have mine twisted as well, and I have 33's. They are wearing normally, but like SCEXPLORER it pulls to the right when braking. From what I've read, a lot of explorer's do this. I only noticed it when I put on the 33's. Before that it was fine.

Do it yourself, your wasting your time and money to take it anywhere.

 

[Maniak]

I say do it yourself.. its not hard.. I would recomend you lift the truck (by the frame).. that way you take the pressure off the torsion bars.. That will make lifting it easier.. (easier to turn the bolts)..

~Mark

 

[Lamah]

to do a torsion twist, what else do you need? i've been hearing about these warrior shackles.. how much do those cost and where can i order them ? also, if someone could point me to a thread that explains what exactly you have to do, i'd appreciate it. i would also be willing to take pictures along the way to help out others.


thanks,
Jeff aka Lamah

 

[Maniak]

Jeff,
Here are the instructions for the torsion lift.. from the tips page..

http://www.4x4central.com/torsionbars.html

As for the rear.. you have 3 choices..
War-153 Shackles (can get ordered from Desert Rat) <$50ish Lift the vehicle but keep the ride the same..
Add-a-leaf (not sure on where or price).. Lifts the vehicle and will tighten up the rear suspension some (good if your old springs are sagging).
OME-36 springs.. These springs cost over $300 for a set.. and will lift you about 2" give or take a little.. In my personal opinion these springs ride better than stock (I've have them now)..

 

[ACBlessing]

I appreciate everyone's reply's and you're all verifying what I thought....that the TT lift isn't detrimental. Just don't know why the tire guy got all worked up. I'll probably end up doing it in my garage.

On my original post though, I also asked about the possibility of putting a couple block under the torsion bar mounts on the frame, thining I might get an inch or so out of that, on top of twisting....anyone try this?

Thanks again everyone and please keep posting.


-AC

 

[Michigander]

I can't help you with the block idea.

But if you do end up putting on the add-a-leaf, this is the part I ordered and installed last week.

Summit Racing
Part: EXP-13120 short, rear leaf .... $26.99

order at Dead Link Removed or you can call 1-800-230-3030

 

[Lamah]

thanks maniak, apparently 91-94 dont have torsion bars ... dissapointing to me cause i coulda got 1.5" or so for ~50 bucks ;(

 

[ACBlessing]

Thank you Michigander...appreciate that part number and as for Lamah...shouldn't he feel lucky that all he needs it coil spacers instead of doing the TT?

 

[Lamah]

heh ... more options !!! where can i get that ? i'm gonna do a search for the topic in like 2 seconds.

plus, wouldnt i need a rear lift too ?

thanks,
Jeff aka Lamah

 

[Stephen S]

Lamah, you can put F-150 coil spacers in the front, which I understand are pretty cheap from Ford, and they'll give you about 1.5 inches. And yes, if you want the truck level, you'll need a little lift for the rear. For the rear, read Maniak's post above.

 

[Lamah]

yeah, been reading a lot on it right now. i think i will go with the f-150 coil spacers and the warrior shackles. do you have to call desert rat to order the shackles ? cause they arent on their site

I think i'll do this and call it quits till i get a job =/

the expenses continue.. and as so as i get my license next wednesday, i'll be forkin over my money to the local gas stations ;(

 

[Maniak]

You do need to call them as it is a special order.. but from what I've read it only takes a week or so to get. It only took them 1 week to get them for me (I'm local to them).

~Mark

 

[hornz2000]

just use hockey pucks...

 

[2001ExpSport]

Hockey pucks get brittle after a few years. DON'T use hockey pucks, they are no where near rated for that load capacity.