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Ford Explorer Community - Maintenance - Modifications - Performance Upgrades - Problem Solving - Off-Road - Street
Explorer Forum Covers the Explorer ST, Explorer Sport, Explorer Sport Trac, Lincoln Aviator, Mercury Mountaineer, Mazda Navajo, Ford Ranger, Mazda Pickups, and the Ford Aerostar
The best way to do it is like everyone said in your other thread. Jack it up, tighten the bolts and make sure you count how many times you turn each side. set it down, drive it down the street, measure and repeat if needed.
one person posted it said in the ford service manual its okay to do it with the vehicle on the ground? u know anything bout that? would lowes have longer bolts strong enough? if i need longer bolts or am i gonna have to special order those?
It works just fine with the truck on the ground. Its just easier to turn the bolts with less load on them. I've done them both ways and they are definately hard to turn with the weight of the truck on them.
Its up to you how you do them. Maybe try them on the ground first. If they don't move, jack it up and try that way. Its just two little bolts and probably the easiest mod on an Explorer, so just go out there and do it.
Honestly, if you are so apprehensive to do this, then maybe you're better off just leaving it alone. You've heard these answers before, i can guarantee that if you have done any searching on here. Asking again won't solicit any new answers, and if you're uncomfortable with the answers you hear, that likely won't change hearing them again.
Searching and searching it to death are 2 different things. People here have done SO much to their trucks and taken SO many pictures I'm sure you could find front end pictures of the torsion bars, plus in torsion 101. That picture you can consider explorer specific because that's exactly what it is under the car, without the "pork chop(Torsion Key)." Something suspension related like this has been done to death. You could read for a week morning to early morning the next day and probably still not go through everything there is on here about lifts.
Tightening the torsion bar adjuster bolt does not change the spring rate. It is not a true lift. It simply changes the static position of the suspension within the stock range of travel. In order for your suspension to operate smoothly, you must have adequate travel in both directions from that static point. Topping or bottoming (going to the end of travel in one direction or the other) is harsh.
When the torsion bar adjusters are tightened, it increases the available jounce travel and reduces rebound travel. That means that it is easier for the suspension to top out. The more they are tightened, the more often the topping out occurs. That's what makes the suspension more harsh.
Besides the harsh ride, there can be other disadvantages. There are no external rebound bumpers in your Explorer front suspension. That task is taken on by the shock absorbers. Occasional topping is not a problem but allowing the suspension to hammer the shocks continually can damage them. The ball joints don't like the extra hammering either, especially at the top of travel where ball joint angles are high.
Wheel alignment is affected when the ride height of any SLA suspension is altered from factory specs. This causes the camber to go more negative which can increase tire wear on the inside edge. Toe in can also be affected. The greater the change, the more it can affect tire wear.
So ..... should you do it?
Minor adjustments have fewer negative consequences. Increasing the static height by an inch or so above stock will not make the ride terrible and it may not even push the alignment out of spec. It's still a good idea to have the alignment checked after any height adjustment.
If you decide to go for the max static height possible, the ride WILL get harsh and you can expect shorter shock and ball joint life. Having an alignment performed after the adjustment will lessen the impact on tire wear.
Thank you for that explanation rwenzing. I'm not looking for the max, the most I'm going to do is enough to even the front end out with the warrior shackles in the back. Which I don't expect it to make the ride too harsh. There will probably be a difference, but nothing major.
