Solved Torsion Bar 101, Everything you Need to look for!

[J-Nasty]

TT raise/twist

thanks. will i still need the front end re-aligned afterwards you think? do you think i will be able to clear bigger tires by doin this, like one size bigger?

 

[FROADER]

You may be able to get away without needing an alignment with only going up 1." I don't know for sure though. You will easily be able to fit 31s on it.

 

[J-Nasty]

TT raise/twist

thanks man. if i go up 1.25 to 1.5 with the torison bars, do you think i will be able to fit 32's? or i mite need shackles if i go up over an inch?

 

[FROADER]

Check out this chart. - http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=67200

You fall in the 95-01 category. You should be able to fit them.

 

[J-Nasty]

TT raise/twist

thanks. very helpful. is a 1-2 inch suspension lift the equivalent to a 1-2 inch torsion twist?

 

[FROADER]

Yes.

 

[J-Nasty]

TT raise/twist

thanks man. of very much help!

 

[J-Nasty]

just to make sure b4 i do this, but can you raise the torison bars with a brushguard? do the torison bars lift the frame or the body, or what?

 

[Mbrooks420]

It adds tension to the torsion bars making the a arms of the truck push downward lifting the truck. It should be no problem with the brush guard.

 

[john4870]

Need some help

I have a 1998 ford ranger 4x4 im going to order a set of 31/10.50 MICKEY THOMPSON BAJA MTZ RADIAL TIRES to put on it like my jeep. Every one says that I can't go three inches without hurting my CV Joints. Will these size tires fit? If not what is the best way to go about it. How high could it be lifted to fit these tires without hurting my CV Joints? Front hubs are locked full time will this hurt anything after I lift it?

 

[CDW6212R]

The key there is the CV joint angles. The ideal angle is 180 degrees, the axle is straight. As the LCA goes down to lift the body, the CV axle moves too. Watch the angle of the axle versus horizontal. Both CV joints on each side will have the same angle. The change in height of over a certain amount like 3" greatly reduces the life of the CV joints.

 

[steelo1]

The bars are labeled L through B. L being the softest. My truck came with D bars and I upgraded to Bs. Much stiffer than the old Ds.
If you are going with 32" tires or less I would stick with the D rated bars as the ride and travel should be better. You don't need more than 2" for the 32s. Any bigger tires and you are going to need to either cut some tupperware/metal or go with a 3" body lift... On mine I had to do all of the above for the 33s...

Some have gotten away with maxing out their bars. My CV joints made a grinding sound when I max them out so I keep the bolts at about half way. I would say crank them until you start to hear your CVs complaining then back them off a couple turns. Every truck will be different depending on wear, quality of build, and weight in the vehicle. I've seen another Sport similar to mine that got more lift than I did with less stiff bars.
Rick

I think I read somewhere that if you have that stupid ARC (like mine) that sway-bars & torsion bars are of a "softer" type, is this true?

 

[CDW6212R]

I think I read somewhere that if you have that stupid ARC (like mine) that sway-bars & torsion bars are of a "softer" type, is this true?

That was definitely the case from 95-98. I'm not sure about the 99-01 rear ARC systems though. They are so rare(option only) that few people have mentioned having them.

You are only one of two others I know of with the 99-01 ARC. I added mine, so mine doesn't count. You have the same sway bars no matter what, they had no options. You can check the front torsion bars easily, look at the front end of each. There are two letters on each, and one will be an "L" or "R". The other is your bar rating.

 

[steelo1]

That was definitely the case from 95-98. I'm not sure about the 99-01 rear ARC systems though. They are so rare(option only) that few people have mentioned having them.

You are only one of two others I know of with the 99-01 ARC. I added mine, so mine doesn't count. You have the same sway bars no matter what, they had no options. You can check the front torsion bars easily, look at the front end of each. There are two letters on each, and one will be an "L" or "R". The other is your bar rating.

My passenger (your drivers side) side T/bar has 3 rows of letters & numbers -

F_-BC
LUB
F57A-BC

I think the 2nd letter on the 1st row is a W
So does this mean I have a "B" rated T/bar?
Thanks

 

[CDW6212R]

Look at the front END of the bars. There will be two or three letters total, forged into the six sided front end of the bars. Ignore the "L" or "R" and little arrows, the other letter(s) tell you what the rating is. Note the ends below just to the outside of the LCA bolts in the frame. Look under the very front bumper at the suspension there.

 

[steelo1]

Look at the front END of the bars. There will be two or three letters total, forged into the six sided front end of the bars. Ignore the "L" or "R" and little arrows, the other letter(s) tell you what the rating is. Note the ends below just to the outside of the LCA bolts in the frame. Look under the very front bumper at the suspension there.

The letters I found where towards the front of the car & were easier to see with the wheel off, is this what you mean?
Thanks again.

 

[CDW6212R]

No, right on the end of the bar, see the six sided hole in the control arm above? Look under the front bumper, the bars are about 10" off of the ground there. This is the easiest way, of course you can pull the code from the door VIN tag, and decipher that.

 

[steelo1]

Ah ha, I found what you've been talking about.
First there's the arrow then L or R next to it, under that are 2 letters - UB , so the B means I've got a the hardest setting right? but whats the U?
Once again thanks

 

[CDW6212R]

I'm not sure, both of mine had the "U" on it. I had "L" bars I think, and I bought new "B" bars. The "B" bar I believe is the typical 4x4 spring, strong, but not the stiffest. I read later that there are a couple of other choices, number rated I recall. From Ford they were about $45 each. The Explorer torsion bars seem to be very reliable, unlike F150 bars which have broken a lot.

 

[ShadowRaven]

I lowered mine with the wheels on the ground; much easier.

All right, I've bee reading for 30 minutes and my eyes are bleeding, so I'm tired of looking for the answer. Therefore, I'm posting my question. I just tried to do my TT and literally sheered my 1/4" drive in F&$%ing half. I'm irritated as hell right now because I read that this can be done with the wheels on the ground, and hell no, on mine, it cannot. I soaked the hell out of them with PB Blaster for 3 straight days, and this still happened. I need help, preferably ASAP. BTW, it was a Stanley socket set, so no it wasn't a crap set. Thank you in advance.