Lift, 33's, fender, sag/lean

I'm amost finished with project iraqi exploder!!!
pics and details to come later...
For now, I need help on deciding my next course of action.
I put the wheels/tires on and they hit the fenders big time!! I tried to do a torsion bar twist, but his drivers side was sagging about an inch before I even started. I researched the remedy, and that was to level it out using the torsion bars. My problem is it is losing an inch of lift that way. I measured from the ground to the fender lip and I got it to be 39" all the way around. But the front is hitting big time. I was not aware of this problem before I started this project. I don't know why the rear is not sitting up higher, but oh well I guess, it is what it is.
My thoughts are, everything is level now, so all I need to do is trim away until it fits good and when my buddy comes back from Iraq, he can decide wether or not he wants fender flares (depending on hacked up it looks).
I told him about it and he thinks crank the front end up all the way (drivers side will be sagging about an inch lower) and then take it to a frame shop to see if they can fix "it".
What do you guys think? I need to get this thing done!! Hunting season has already started!!!!

TIA,
Mike

 

[fordxranger]

maybe get some new torsion keys? that might even out the front and allow you to crank them up evenly. also maybe you could move some weight in the rig ie: move the battery to the opposite sides of the rig(ex. from FR to LR), remove some unnecessary parts, make some new inner fenders to clear the tires, remove the plastic flares and just keep the fenders bare. maybe throw an add a leaf in the rear to bring that up a little or add f150 springs from a junk yard that way you regain about an inch or so all the way around.

 

[Four0Sport]

x2 on removing the factory flare, tires shouldnt rub as much that way

 

[yellowford]

You can get torsion bars from an Explorer with a V8 and they will be heavier allowing you to gain back the height you've lost plus add more.

 

[gmanpaint]

Might replace the stock dr side torsion key bolt with a longer 100mm bolt. Don't forget to get an alignment done. The rear leafs are most likely worn on dr side from more weight from gas tank. Getting a pass side set from a salvage yard or a donor will most likely give the rear some more lift as well. Other than that, break out the saw and go to town on it!

 

[mike12pt]

Might replace the stock dr side torsion key bolt with a longer 100mm bolt. Don't forget to get an alignment done. The rear leafs are most likely worn on dr side from more weight from gas tank. Getting a pass side set from a salvage yard or a donor will most likely give the rear some more lift as well. Other than that, break out the saw and go to town on it!

Hmmm, I think heard about doing this. I will pick up a couple bolts from work and give it a try later today. The rear seems to not be a problem, other than... if I can lift the front higher, both sides of the rear will be lower than the front. Right now all wheel wells are 39" from the ground. I can get the front to 40" (hopefully with getting the longer drivers side bolt), but the rear will still be at 39".

I will check it out after work and let you know.

Thanks

 

[mike12pt]

Ok, my work didn't have any full threaded bolts I needed, so I checked it out before trying to buy some. I cranked the drivers side as much as I could and there is maybe 5-6 threads left (meaning a longer bolt wouldn't do anything)and I couldn't get it any higher, so I just matched the passenger side and went ahead with the trimming. I got it to clear, but not by much. I took it for a test drive and it appears to not hit anything. Going off-road will be a different story. For now, I will leave it as it is and he can decide what course of action he wants to take.

Now, I have a little job to do before I'm finished with this thing and that is..... it sounds like a diesel, so I'm going to replace the rockers and pushrods. It didn't sound this bad before I tore it apart (that's why I didn't replace them during the build). But I added new heads and springs, so the new springs probably made it sound worse.

 

[RangerJared18]

How do you get to the front flare fender bolts?

 

[mike12pt]

How do you get to the front flare fender bolts?

Not sure, I didn't take them off.