torsion twist/shackle lift and trimming how to

[jake1018291]

mean lookin sport trac now haha think im gonna do this with my 97 xlt the only other options i can find is a 3 inch body lift for 250 and a 6 inch suspension lift for like 2500

 

[jake1018291]

and how the heck are those leaf springs holding all that up that high without bending backward

 

[LONO100]

on my trac, there is a little bit of a bend taking place on my rear leaf springs because of the shackles. nothing too noticeable, but if you look at it hard enough, you can def notice it. im switching to add a leaf this summer before anything gets worse.

 

[Suicide77]

Hell yeah! Good work man!

 

[Jbo6924]

Great write up, helped me a lot!

 

[LONO100]

glad it helped!

 

[Drknjme]

TT cranked all the way

I followed these instructions to do my shackle and TT lift and read on some other posts to make sure I wouldn't screw anything up. Since my st is 4x4 I know I'm not supposed to go more than 2" on the TT since I'm in a wheel chair I was fine with that as I am only trying to lift it 1-1.5", everything came out good all my corners are within a 1/2" but I'm concerned about the TT cause I had to crank both torsion bolts all the way down (up) since this didnt raise my fronts more than 2" will everything be fine or should I back them out some cause the bolts being all the way in is too far. My fronts are 30.25" and back right is 30.75" and back left is 30.5". My original height was front right 28.75" front left was 28.25" both rears were at 29.75" if someone could please let me know if I'm ok or if I need to back off the bolts ASAP I would appreciate it cause I'm currently driving it like this and would like to change it back before it does any damage. Thanks

 

[OffTrac]

You'll be perfectly alright, in my opinion.

 

[swshawaii]

My fronts are 30.25" and back right is 30.75" and back left is 30.5". My original height was front right 28.75" front left was 28.25" both rears were at 29.75"

My front is lowered 2.5" and the ground to center fender height is 31.25" using 29" tires.
Rear is 33" using 3" drop blocks. What tires are you using and how are you measuring?

 

[LONO100]

i agree, you should be fine. you may have had to twist the bolts down farther because the torsion bars may be a be a little more worn than normal. drive it around a bit to get it to settle up and make sure you get your alignment done.

 

[Drknjme]

My front is lowered 2.5" and the ground to center fender height is 31.25" using 29" tires.
Rear is 33" using 3" drop blocks. What tires are you using and how are you measuring?

I'm measuring from the bottom edge of the rim to top center of the fender. Since I have foam pad laid on my garage floor I didn't want to pull from the ground and possibly have a variance due to weight compressing the foam or cause of air pressure. I also didn't want to try and pull from the center of the wheel and possibly hold my tape a little off from where it was on my starting measurement so I figured if I pulled from the bottom edge of the rim it would keep my measuring points consistant and give me an acurate difference to know what amount of lift I got. Thanks everyone for the quick response

 

[sprttrackin]

Great write up. Where did you find the shackles? I want to make sure i dont buy the wrong thing haha

 

[LONO100]

you can do a search on google for "warrior shackles #153" and tons of links will pull up. i think i bought mine from amazon. im planning on switching to an "add a leaf" set up as soon as the weather gets warm again. hit up offtrac if youre interested in going that route as well. hes got good knowledge on the ones used for our tracs.

 

[LONO100]

I've been getting questions on where to find these shackles. The best way to get them for the best price is doing a google search for "warrior shackles #153" and use the shopping tab. Good luck!

 

[The Dorff]

so do the seasoned lifted trac owners agree the aal is better off than the shackles bc i wana go cheap but not so cheap im threatenin my baby

 

[OffTrac]

I do believe the add a leaf is the better option but I'm starting to think about trying the long add a leaf instead of the short.

 

[MidnightRebel07]

Yep, go with the long add a leaf. I'm gonna be building my own leaf packs using two sets of ST stock springs when I do my SAS, SOA hopefully in the fall if not winter, depends if I get all the parts by then.

 

[Alwayssideways]

I have the short leaf. Do you have a part number for the long leaf?

 

[Brack's Trac]

Great job on your ST, it looks absolutely beautiful! I have a white ST myself. Would you mind confirming that what you did from stock to finished product was:

1 - 3" body lift (I have a 3" JCWhitney body lift currently)
2 - Performed a 2" (recommended not to exceed 2") torsion twist
3 - Exchanged shock shackles to the Warrior #153 shackles

If this is correct, my ST should be at the same "level" with yours. Additionally with those RS5000 shocks, wouldn't this 5" overall lift be too much for the RS5000's? Wouldn't you have to go with the RS9000's? Thanks again and I look forward to your response!

 

[LONO100]

with my setup in this write up, i gained just under 3" of height. what height you get will depend on a few variables:

if you have 4WD, you will not be able to TT your front end more than 2" without a high risk of compromising your CV joints. so if you are 4WD, dont TT more than 2"! i have a 2WD so i cranked those babies up to well over 2".

also, i was able to net 3" of height from the rear end just by changing to warrior 153 shackles. i have heard of other forum members using the same shackles and netting anywhere between 1.75" - 3.0. it may have to do with how your springs react to the new taller shackles you will be installing, you will also have serious lift the first day you install the shackles, and then it will settle overnight or after a few drives to something a little more permanent. i remember getting over 3" just from the shackles, and then they settled in and i got just under 3" of lift in the rear.

there are plenty of forum members who also run rancho RS5000's, and have anywhere from stock to 5" lift height and they are running just fine.

oh, and NO body lift on my trac. i fit the 33"s with just a simple TT/shackle lift and some moderate trimming. yes it can be done and can be fully functional on the trail and in the city. just take a look at the link in my signature and you will see what i mean.