New Torsion Bars, Lift Keys, or Longer Bolts?

[gavin]

So, I'm not sure exactly which route to go.
Obviously, my torsion bars have "sagged."
My driver's side adjuster bolt is tightened completely down, and I only received about 1/2" lift.

I know plenty of people have just bought longer bolts, but this concerns me for a couple reasons. #1 - longer bolt, means more tension on the bolt; increasing the chance of the bolt breaking. Is it possible the bolt would break? Yes. Probable? most likely not, but I'd rather not take a chance.

#2 - wouldn't a longer bolt also create more tension on the torsion bar itself, since it's already "sagged"? Possibly increasing the chances of the torsion bar itself breaking? I have only read of one instance on the board where a torsion bar broke, and it was on some heavy trails (so obviously not just driving down the road).

Lift "keys" - same as reason #2 in regards to a longer bolt.

Now, new bars would be the best way to fix this. I know that. And at <$65/ea, I don't see that being too much really.

Of course, I would love to just go to coil-overs, but that is a bit too spendy for me.

Anybody else have opinions?

 

[410Fortune]

longer bolts there are MANY trucks running around using the longer bolts, it works just fine even with sagged t bars (my truck has 170K Miles on it, they were sagged big time)

I lifted my 96 with the longer bolts, it works perfect.
Torsion keys I do not see the need

I did not want to buy new t bars or upgrade to the stiffer ones because I plan to go coilovers some day on this truck (I hate the t bar ride)
Even with new T bars you may find you want longer/stronger bolts then the factory... my 96 had the pass side bolt maxed out when I got it, pass side still sitting 1" lower then drivers

 

[gavin]

yeah, mine currently has 160k on the odo, with an actual of around 170k or so. Dri. side definately sagged a lot. Pass. side bolt still has ~1"+ worth of threads left, dri. side maxed. And it's only ~0.5" above OEM ride-height.

Since my truck's a pavement pounder, I s'pose it wouldn't hurt to go with the bolts. Any idea what grade the originals are? And what grade bolts to go with, 8.8? or however it is the metric are named (I notice they always have 5.8, 8.8 on 'em)

 

[410Fortune]

grade 5 bolts are factory, grade 5 replacements will be fine.
IN fact I had a hard time finding grade 8 torsion bolts, only grade 5.
I had to order mine from a local shop called Fastenal, they did not stock them

The grade 5 bolts will BEND if you are not careful with adjustments
To do adjustments I highly recommend getting the tire off the ground and supporting that side of the truck by the frame (let th esuspension sag) this will make turning the bolt SO much easier.
I got 3 sets of bolts when I ordered, enough to do my 96 truck and my SIL 97's truck and to have two spares just in case
I also ordered them way too long, knowing I would be cutting them.
I do not want bolts hanging down low on my Ex because I do wheel it a little bit, having spare bolts allowed me to fine tune it using super long ones, then measure and cut another bolt to fit perfect... only 3-4 threads are still showing at ride height on my 96

So lower vehicle, bounce the suspension a bit, measure, drive, measure... jack it up and adjust
repeat several times

Here's how we did my son in laws truck:

http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=194149&page=4

 

[gavin]

yeah I dinked around with my torsion bar adjusters a lot. So I know the whole process :
looking at your pics though, 100mm does seem to be way long. But for as much as it's sagged, for the dri. side anyway, it may be about right.
There's a couple Fastenal's around here, just gotta stop by. But of course they close at 5pm, which is when I get off work. But they open at 7am so I should be able to get in there on my way in to work. Maybe that will be another weekend project for me.

I already purchased a set of Daystar body mount bushings... was hoping to get that done this weekend too, as I'm sure that will give me another 1/2" lift

 

[gavin]

any idea what the length of the OEM bolt is?
and I read in a couple threads (that were about 1+ yrs old) that the replacement bolt's head needed rounded. eh? Is a standard hex-head too large to fit?


just if I had $1000.... there's a guy up here selling the front-end suspension lift from a Superlift kit!


edit: ok, I see what's meant by rounding the bolt... to it fits in the dimple of the key like the OEM bolts. Still curious as to stock length though. Couldn't find that in any of the threads I looked at.

 

[98xploder]

there is a site i had posted somewhere in this forum that sells just the front end of the superlift kit for 600 bucks NEW. just an fyi for ya.

 

[gavin]

there is a site i had posted somewhere in this forum that sells just the front end of the superlift kit for 600 bucks NEW. just an fyi for ya.

louisville4x4.com
yeah I saw that post
but shipping to AK would cost a couple hundred, I'm sure.

and the one the guy is selling, is also brand-new, never installed. And I believe it also includes shocks.

where-as louisville4x4 wants an extra, what, $500 for the shocks? Or so that's how it spells it out anyway.

 

[Paraphoe]

Gavin,

Here's the link I used to order my new bolts when I needed them:

http://www.fastenal.com/web/products/detail.ex?sku=0121852

And some info on the change:

http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showpost.php?p=1693195&postcount=56

 

[gavin]

Gavin,

Here's the link I used to order my new bolts when I needed them:

http://www.fastenal.com/web/products/detail.ex?sku=0121852

And some info on the change:

http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showpost.php?p=1693195&postcount=56

your thread is the one where I realized what part of the bolt needs to be rounded and I s'pose I could just get sets of a couple different sizes, and just figure it out from there. I certainly don't want a ton of bolt sticking out.

 

[Paraphoe]

As you probably figured out, I got the 100mm. I wouldn't go with anything smaller than the 80mm which you can find here:

http://www.fastenal.com/web/products/detail.ex?sku=0121850

I'd get both the 100mm and the 80. The 100 ended up being fine, they only stick out a little bit. Not a big deal at all.

 

[gavin]

I was thinkin of gettin 80, 90, and 100.
Especially since I'm not sure if I'll even need to replace the pass. side one. I'm sure 100 will be too long for that one, since as-is, it has over an inch of bolt sticking out. Just the dri. side that's sagged terribly, and bottomed out bolt with only ~1/2" over OEM ride-height.

 

[Paraphoe]

I didn't relaize they had 90mm. It's a safe bet to go with each of the three lengths, then. They're cheap enough!

 

[gavin]

well, they had 90s on the website anyway.
and in grade 10.8
I figure 90 is a good medium.
The OEM bolts look to be around 60-65mm long?

 

[Paraphoe]

I want to say 60, but I can't swear to it. I'm fairly certain that's accurate, though.