Torsion bar question

[drolls]

I put warrior shackles on yesterday, they look sweet. I only gained a little under an inch in the back, I think because I have the Monroe load adjusters in the back and they already raised it quite a bit. I'm only about .75 inches lower in the front which isn't very noticeable. My question is should I bother cranking the bars a little bit to level it out. I would prefer to not get an alignment as I just got one recently when I replaced tie rod ends. Will cranking the bars less than an inch require an alignment? Thanks guys.

 

[1997XLTRollover]

I have my front end 1.5" lower than the rear. If you level it, in my opinion the truck gets that saggy ass look. Plus yes any movement of the torsion bars requires an alignment. I'd leave it alone.

 

[drolls]

Thanks for the input man. It looks pretty good now. I'm not gonna mess with it. The bars must have been cranked up pretty good from the factory cause I bought it with low miles and I'm pretty sure the original owner didnt change them. I was surprised by the small difference from front to back when I put the shackles on. I squeezed one of the stock shackles with my bare hands and it snapped in half! Glad those are off!

 

[corkey]

i'll chime in with my findings here now,,

if you crank the bars a bunch then yes, get another alignment,,

but ,,,

if you only raise the bars just a bit , and don't go too high it doesn't affect the caster and camber being in the middle of the arc of the arms anyways,, it just affects the toe the most as the tie rods are a set length and above the axle centerline
the tie rods are on a droop at ride height and as you crank the bars they droop even further pulling the front wheels towards each other, making for a toe in situation,
which is fixed with a simple toe adjustment,, it does not affect the camber as much,

i hope this helps,,

 

[1997XLTRollover]

Thanks for the input man. It looks pretty good now. I'm not gonna mess with it. The bars must have been cranked up pretty good from the factory cause I bought it with low miles and I'm pretty sure the original owner didnt change them. I was surprised by the small difference from front to back when I put the shackles on. I squeezed one of the stock shackles with my bare hands and it snapped in half! Glad those are off!

haha yup, same thing happened to me with my 96.

If you measure from the bottom of your front fender to the ground what's the measurement? I have 29" tires and was at 33" stock. went to 35" and it was too much of a hard angle on the suspension so I lowered it back to 34.5 which is a 1.5" TT.

i'll chime in with my findings here now,,

if you crank the bars a bunch then yes, get another alignment,,

but ,,,

if you only raise the bars just a bit , and don't go too high it doesn't affect the caster and camber being in the middle of the arc of the arms anyways,, it just affects the toe the most as the tie rods are a set length and above the axle centerline
the tie rods are on a droop at ride height and as you crank the bars they droop even further pulling the front wheels towards each other, making for a toe in situation,
which is fixed with a simple toe adjustment,, it does not affect the camber as much,

i hope this helps,,

Toe is the worst thing for tires. If toe is out that will wear tires faster than anything else. My opinion is don't touch it and if you do get it aligned.