going for the gusto...

[Godfather 1138]

Sorry guys, my host site went down today. It does that every now and then. Check back, it will work as soon as they get back up. Sorry for the delay.

EDIT: EDIT: SON OF A....if that site doesn't stop going down I'm gonna have to....I'll....well, I don't know what I'll do but it's pissing me off. Hopefully they will get things worked out, and the pics will be back up soon.

 

[psychotic]

do you lower the back the same way as the front, how do you lower the back. sweet job by the way!

 

[Scott_2000]

Hey Godfather,

Nice writeup and pics!

This may be a dumb question, but did you have to get an alignment after lowering the front?

If so, how did it go and did you need any special shims?

Thanks,
Scott

 

[Godfather 1138]

For the back, all that you need is a set of lowering blocks that can be purchased at Auto Zone...handy, pick them up when you pick up the tool They are easy to do. If you have any problems email me and I'll walk you through it.

As for the alignment, yes you will need one. I have not gotten one yet as I have not had time, but i will soon. Any good aligment shop will have everything they need to get it as close to spec as possible.

Thanks for the compliments, I was afraid that no one cared that I did this

 

[FastAZZ4.0]

what tool are you referring too? i used every day tools to swap my blocks around. it took me about 30 minutes on the first one, and about 10 minutes on the 2nd one since i found an easier way to do it after the first one.

 

[Godfather 1138]

The "special tool" is used for the toursion bars (see pic #3), and it has nothing to do with the blocks. I was just refering to the fact that both the tool and the blocks could be found at "The Zone."

 

[psychotic]

I have 4WD 4 door 1996, any problems that would keep me from doing the same thing you did godfather?

 

[Godfather 1138]

Didn't you already email me about this?

As for your question, no you should not have any problem doing the exact same thing to your 96. My Chilton book shows that the 95-99 X's all have the toursion bar front suspension (2wd and 4wd, though I've never personally looked at a 4wd).

 

[psychotic]

Yes I did email you , but my email isn't working at the moment, so I decided to see if someone would post Thanks!
Probably a dumb question... but what does the T-Bar attach to / support? I'm confused on how flipping this lowers 3 in. sorry for the dumb questions

 

[taxx]

looks guuuud

 

[Godfather 1138]

As the name suggests, the torsion bar relies on torsion to create a "spring" affect. The bar runs from that crossmember into the pivot point of the lower control arm. When it is installed they torque the bar (twist it to create tension) by adding the adjuster. When it has tension it acts as the spring that holds up the front end of the truck. By letting off some of that torsion you allow the front end to sit lower. So the more tension you take off that lewor it will go. If you look at the picture of the torsion bar hanging (the frist one) you can see that it is adjusted at the end of that "big chunck of metal." If you were to turn that clockwise it would raise to front b/c it would add tension to the bar. If you turn it counter-clockwise you relieve tension thus lowering the front. Due to the limited space created by the crossmember and adjuster plate you can only turn that piece a small amount until you run out of room. Look at the picture again...you should notice that the adjuster is designed in a "lopsided" mannor where the actual adjusting side sits to the bottom side. By flipping this over it changes that setup so that it sits to the top side, this gives us a little extra space to let it rotate in that counter-clockwise direction, thusly bringing the front down the extra few inches.

I hope that made sense, if not just email me and I'll try to explain it better.

 

[psychotic]

Hey Godfather, One more thing, how many times do you turn counter clockwise for the 3 inches?

 

[X24]

I have a question that I have asked before but havent really got a straight answer to. If I want to lower the front about 1.5", how many turns on the bolts... roughly. I dont want to try it little by little having to jack it up over and over again. If someone could just give me a ball park figure, that would be just fine. Thanks.

 

[FastAZZ4.0]

no need to jack it up

you don't need to jack it up. i didn't at least. i just grabbed a socket, ratchet, and a pipe to use as leverage on the end of the ratchet. just what ever you do on one side as far as turns go, do the same on the other. you won't notice the true difference until it finishes settling. mine and my roommates took a couple of hours until it fully settled down to its height.

 

[Godfather 1138]

NOTE: You don't need a jack as long as ALL YOU ARE DOING IS TURNING THE BOLTS. just wanted to make that clear so that no one hurt them selves.

I have no idea as to how many turns will give how ever much of a drop. This really is just a guess and check procedure, sorry.

I'm not really sure I understand your quesion Psychotic. You don't actually turn the adjuster, it is turned buy the adjuster bolt or lack there of.

As for letting the truck settle after you have turned the bolts, just drive it around the block, or even just back it up and forward a few times. All that is needed to let it settle is for the tires to move to their normal position after the adjustment is made. This is b/c they go to a negative camber position and can not do this sitting still. You have to roll the truck before it will let the tires move into the "normal" position.

Did I miss anything?

 

[Bill Kemp]

Really good pics and explanation Godfather and your X looks great being down.(Like it should be.)
These are the alignment specs. EE puts in with their kit.
Camber...0 to 5 degrees Negative
Caster.....Maximum possible
Toe In......1/16"
I am curious as to what the alignment specs will be after you go to the shop. Let us know what they come up with, will ya? Dont wait too long as you are scrubbing off some rubber the way it is now.
Thanks for all the info.....

 

[FastAZZ4.0]

well i don't think you missed anything godfather. but thanks for adding the "note". i tend to assume too much sometimes. definitely don't want anybody getting hurt. well i am going ahead and doing this today, take it up to the base hobby shop and do it for a few bucks. i'll let you know how it turns out and post some before and after pics of what an " X " Sport looks like with the drop. wish me luck..........

 

[psychotic]

one more thing , You take the adjuster bolt all the way out, flip the adjuster, and don't put the bolt back in??? Godfather, you are excelent at explaining, its just that i'm only 15 and stupid. I'm not sure if this was already asked, but does the X need to be jacked until the tires are off the ground?

 

[psychotic]

Does anyone know where I can find out how to take all the panels off my 96 4door 4wd X?? I don't want to break the plastic **** and ruin it!

 

[FastAZZ4.0]

in order to pull all your interior panels out you are going to need a set of star torq bits to remove your seatbelt's bolts. the easiest way to pull out the panles is to remove your seats, it takes about 15 minutes total. this will give you all the clearance you need to move around, then pull back the edges of the carpets and you will see the screw around the base of the panels. then you need to remove the coat hanger clips. after all this, you should be able to use a flathead screwdriver to slide in between the door panels withough breaking the plastic clips. if you run into any problems, throw a reply up, i check my email twice daily and it will let me know that you replied to this thread. i added custom speakers in my rear panels, so i have pulled out my panels a few times. if you want to see the pics go to this thread. mine are the ones on the bottom, i had to have taxxman post them for me though, so they are under his user name.

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