Torsion lift keys?

[Rkferg13]

so i have looked all around on this site and many others and, my question is does anyone manufacture torsion keys for the 2nd gen explorers bc i have a 99 2wd and i could really use some to help lift and level the sides, since every explorer i have seen including mine sits ****eyed to one side. any help would be greatly appreciated. thanks in advance guys

 

[tenny]

keys are a waste of money....just crank the bars a little, to your liking.

you my very well need to do something about the rear as well, in order
to sit perfectly level.

I got 3 inches cranking my bars, (it was actually too high),
and had to take them down a little bit.

 

[DoraThe_Explorer]

Here is a good walk-through for you:

http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=196965

I'll second that you really do not need the torsion key. All you really need is a 13mm socket wrench and some elbow grease.

 

[Travisfab]

keys are a waste of money....just crank the bars a little, to your liking.

Why?

Cranking torsions increases the spring rate and gives you a stiffer ride

Keys re-index your your torsion bars to allow the suspension to drop (lift) and maintain factory ride quality.


Maybe I am missing something but this forum seems really hot on twisting your torsions, while the rest of the lifted truck world says NO WAY!

 

[Travisfab]

I am getting these

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Two-New-Tor...fits=Model:Ranger&hash=item19d7a414e9&vxp=mtr

 

[swshawaii]

They BOTH function the SAME way when your tires are on the ground. From the GM camp:

http://www.gmfullsize.com/tech/torsion401.html

 

[Travisfab]

They BOTH function the SAME way when your tires are on the ground. From the GM camp:

http://www.gmfullsize.com/tech/torsion401.html

There is a lot of opinion, and a few facts in that article, don't believe everything you read on the internet.

Ride in a torsion cranked truck, then ride in a torsion key truck, and try to then tell me it's not worth the $40 for keys.

I'm new here, but I have spent some serious hours playing with suspension on vehicles way beyond the technicalities of a lifted Explorer.

 

[swshawaii]

Aren't your LCA angles and shock travel the same with either method?

Keys re-index your your torsion bars to allow the suspension to drop (lift) and maintain factory ride quality.am missing something but this forum seems really hot on twisting your torsions, while the rest of the lifted truck world says NO WAY!

Interesting that only the sellers of lift or drop keys are making "maintains stock
ride quality" claims, or the people in denial that have bought and installed them. :scratch:

BTW, stock torsion bolt size is M12 x 1.75 x 63.5mm

 

[Glen4X4]

I've personally cranked my bars based on information I obtained here a few years back, which were folks claiming it does the same thing. I was going to do this to my pickup after I bought it and a couple guys on the Chevy Silverado forum claim that when they went from cranked bars to lift keys that the ride improved a little but still did not maintain factory ride.

 

[tenny]

in order to get "lift".....the bar MUST BE cranked....PERIOD

keys or no keys....IMO, keys are a scam
all they do is create space, (a ledge) for the bar....in the end, your cranking
them anyway!!......they are useless.

 

[Travisfab]

in order to get "lift".....the bar MUST BE cranked....PERIOD

That is not correct.

Torsion keys re-index your torsion bars. They change the actual mounting degree. Yes, your torsion bar is turning, but it's not cranked.

 

[Travisfab]

Im going to keep playing devils advocate here and give you guys another example.


I had a buddy that had no money to lift his Toyota pickup. Toyota trucks have splined torsion bars similar to axles, not hex style like others. These torsion bars are indexed, and can only slide in one way. What we did is ground out a spline to create another index location. From there we were able to move his suspension down, and re-install the torsion bar at a different location from stock. His truck ended up lifted without having to crank the torsions, and it still rode like a stock truck.

 

[DoraThe_Explorer]

 

[tenny]

That is not correct.

Torsion keys re-index your torsion bars. They change the actual mounting degree. Yes, your torsion bar is turning, but it's not cranked.

haha....ok....ill play your game..

please allow me to REPHARSE......

in order to get LIFT....the bars must be turned at one end, and
re-indexing the bars, is TURNING THE BAR....PERIOD...

this ok for you...???

 

[Travisfab]

haha....ok....ill play your game..

please allow me to REPHARSE......

in order to get LIFT....the bars must be turned at one end, and
re-indexing the bars, is TURNING THE BAR....PERIOD...

this ok for you...???

Yes, but both ends

 

[Campoli]

Ok so I'm still waiting on my bushing kit before I install the wars and do the TT should I just do it or get the key I mean I don't mind spending the extra cash of it'll honestly help the X is already stiffer then stock w the new shocks all the way around will the keys really make a difference???

 

[OffTrac]

I like how mine rides with +1.5" and factory keys. If you don't mind spending the money and have any doubt about what 90% of the people on this forum agree about the keys, go ahead and buy them. They're not expensive and it's not going to hurt anything. It doesn't seem anyone has regrets with going either way.

 

[obie]

Well, I've been doing buttloads of research and I think I have an answer for rough ride quality, at least. I'll know for sure as soon as I get them in, but here goes:

So everybody on here says you don't need longer shocks when doing a TT, right? Well, then why does Rancho make one specifically for 1-2.5" lifted applications? I started reading a lot over on different Ranger forums, and a few people were saying that the keys plus shock spacers really helped. And then I was thinking, why use shock spacers if you can get a longer and properly valved shock? So I checked Ranchos master catalog and found that the RS5374 shocks are .202" longer compressed, .905" longer extended, and have .703" longer travel. Now, I always used to think that since actual travel doesn't change, nor does suspension travel change, that there was no need for a different shock. But thinking about it deeper, it makes more sense for the shock to be longer. It also is probably valved differently than the standard RS5229.

So, if using shock spacers with keys/TT smoothes the ride, then a longer shock with the proper valving should make a big difference. I get the shocks Tuesday, and I'll let everyone know how they change the ride. These are a stopgap for me until I can get everything setup for the coilover conversion on the Trac, but if they really do make a difference it'll let me hold off on that for a while longer.

 

[Campoli]

Obie can you install just the keys first and take for a test drive then do the shocks this way we have both answers
I have the bilstien heavy duty shocks on my front and I don't believe they are lift shocks I can't remember I know me and the guy from auto anything.com were discussing all the different brands and types and we both decided that the heavy dutys were equally good for on and off road use since the X is my wife's DD but we do go through the woods often enough
So before I install wars and do the TT ill order the keys and go by your experience wether or not i use them

 

[obie]

The keys I didn't order, I just did the torsion crank to help clear my 33s. From what I read though, the only companies that could claim to keep factory ride quality by selling torsion key lift kits were ones that included shock spacers. And that people who did keys without shock spacers still had a rough ride, and those who had spacers had a much better ride. Besides, torsion bars are such a pain in the ass to work on that the only time I want to touch them again is when I'm ripping them out to put coilovers on And I'll probably order new LCAs too just to keep from having to press the torsion bars out, haha.

I would have just gotten some washers and larger nuts and made my own shock spacers for about three dollars, but I figured I would be a guinea pig and actually test how the RS3574s work for TT Explorers. Maybe I'll grab some stuff and do spacers this weekend if I have a chance and see if it does anything, and then if it makes a difference with the lift specific shocks.