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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
Can anybody help me. After i did my 3in spindle lift and i put some new longer torsion bolts which gave me 6 in the front and a soa in the rear which gave me 7.5. Every time i go over a bump its like i have no shocks in the front. i also put on 2 in. shock extenders and they didn't even help. What should i do?
The tighter the torsion bars, the 'springier' the suspension will feel. The only fixes (that I know) are to back the bolts off a little, or get softer torsion bars. You might want to get stiffer shocks to help as well.
yes and no. yes because with a bigger knuckle you can drop your torsion bars back down. no because your torsion bars will still be cranked above stock to match your SOA rear. with as much as you have them cranked now, it must be like hell when you hit a speed bump. like froader said, when you put a bigger bolt in, you stiffen the ride, and the only way to resolve it is to get a softer bar (meaning it will twist easier) or back off the bolt.
Maybe your shocks are maxed out, meaning they are running at maximum length so you have no travel. I know that when I did my TT and AAL/shackle it was a rough ride till I modified/changed the shocks for more travel.
yes and no. yes because with a bigger knuckle you can drop your torsion bars back down. no because your torsion bars will still be cranked above stock to match your SOA rear. with as much as you have them cranked now, it must be like hell when you hit a speed bump. like froader said, when you put a bigger bolt in, you stiffen the ride, and the only way to resolve it is to get a softer bar (meaning it will twist easier) or back off the bolt.
I agree. You may be able to help the ride a bit with better shocks, but the torsion bars will still be too tight, and the ride will still be terrible. If you can find softer bars, that would be one option, but for now your best bet would be to either loosen up the bars or just suffer through the ride. Good luck .
Pretty much, since the torsion bars are so tight the shocks can hardly be used to dissipate any energy from the suspension travel. The idea behind the shocks is to dampen (dissipate) the movement of the vehicle chassis in relation to the tires (as its weight compresses the suspension on a bump), and the torsion bars do the same as coil springs would in storing the energy and then expending it to keep the suspension down and on the road. With the bars so tight, the flex movement is so little that the shocks can't absorb anything because they barely move, so all you get is the feeling of very stiff springs. Better shocks may help some, but really only in the instances of larger bumps where there is more suspension movement; and even in these cases the ride will still suck badly.
jburkej421, your best bet is to either try and find some softer bars and run some stiffer shocks, or you can try and ditch the torsion bar setup all together (I haven't researched enough to tell you what your options are here). Again, best of luck.
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