Who's done 2"+ tt on a 4x4?

[SGR1600]

I'm just wondering who has disregarded the warning to not go higher than 2" on a tt on a 4x4? Have you had any problems with your CV? Broken extra wear??

 

[Lefy]

I've had it done since like may last year i think and and i havn't noticed anything. but make sure you get en alignment or else your tires will wear weird.
mine have but it's alright

 

[JDraper]

Doug, DasFrem, and Lizardtrac (pre solid axle) all are well over 2" of tt on their trucks.

 

[exteo]

That is a very good questionI know that Ford does states that 2in is max to crank them but also CV joint can operate up to 22 dergees so I suppose if you keep them at about 20 degrees you should be alright. I know I cranked them 3"s on a pathfinder and had no problems. The other think you have to consider is that after you crank them you loss down travel so whatever you see it as on the ground that is what it will be with the wheels in the air. correct me if I am wrong. Does anyone else have an opinion on this or experiance???

 

[sk1er17]

Originally posted by SGR1600
I'm just wondering who has disregarded the warning to not go higher than 2" on a tt on a 4x4? Have you had any problems with your CV? Broken extra wear??

hey, ive been thinking this too... all i need is another inch up front and i can fit 33's- is this the reason you're asking?

BTW: whats the stock angle that the Torsion bolt is set at? (like, we cant go 2" above what measurment...)

 

[SGR1600]

I'm not really thinking about doing it, I'm happy with my current setup, I'm just wondering if anyone has dared to dare, so to speak. I just want to know if what people say is true about the excessive CV joint wear.

And the 2" isn't a measurment taken from thr torsion bar, it's the height of the body off the ground from where it started.

 

[sk1er17]

Originally posted by SGR1600
And the 2" isn't a measurment taken from thr torsion bar, it's the height of the body off the ground from where it started.

Thats my point, where exactly did it start from? For example, say you buy an explorer and the previous owner did 1" TT and doesnt tell you, so then you do a 2" thinking its safe but over-all thats a 3" TT and you wear out your CV's... knw what i mean?

Or another cirmumstance, you upgrade your torsion bars to a better set, how do you know where to start your 0" at to measure up to 2"... maybe when the CV joint is 180 degrees?

 

[SGR1600]

I don't know... hopefully someone will jump in here and tell us...

 

[dreamr]

hmmm me is curious also

 

[hiridin]

i am also xtremely interested in a answer... please someone who knows give some info/ prior experience... l

 

[dreamr]

bumpety bump

 

[nissanboy]

factory manual will have stock ride height numbers... it measures from there.

 

[Critical_Level2]

Before my torsion twist my front fenders were about 32 inches measuring from the ground to the middle of the whell opening. I also have 15 inch rims and 235/75R15 rts tires on it. I hope this can help.

 

[exteo]

ok guys here is the dirt. I went to work today and talked to a few techs there about this issue. As for the measurement I had a print out I was going to type in here but I forgot in my tool box I will post it tomorow. As for the Big "torsion Twist" and 3"s goes it is not the cv angles you have to worry about you can easily get 3.5 inchs ( I wouldnt go higher, personally). Fords warning of no higher than 2" is for the TORSION BAR NOT THE CV AXLES. what you have to do to stay within spec is take the torsion bar out of the lower control arm rotate in the opposite direction you would crank it one notch reinsert the bar into the control arm, reinsert into crossmember and then crank it up not only with this allow you to crank them higher it will also retain factory ride quality (hence crank it another inch) The reason this works is because the torsion bars afterbeing under the vehicle for soo long have permently twisted over time as any spring once stretched will never go back to what it was. so you will use that to you advantage. Once again use at your own risk as Ford does have a warning on it for a reason. Also I heard this first hand therefore this is second hand information but dont get me wrong I have see it done and I would not hesitate to do it on my own vehicle.

 

[Lefy]

the Offroad tech guy at my shop Jds Offroad
said that i could have cranked my tbars alot more before it effected cv angles i just didn't want to believe him because he never really works with ifs besides working on his tahoe. but knows his angles from working with new drive shafts on lifted trucks.

also he said it would make the already rough ride with the torsionbars even worse. less downward travel.

one drunken night at my house over winter break my friends, when leaving thought it would be funny to test my crl customs bumper so there was two girls jumpin on it while 3 other guys pushed up and down. well they got my trucks front tires to bounce off the ground a good 4-5 inches before i could stop laughing and get them to stop. yes i know this had a lot to do with the fact i had stock blown shocks still in it with 138k miles. but i'm sure the torsion twist also caused this.
I have my bilstiens on order i'll have them as soon as i'm back home. hopefully

also i'm pretty sure this didn't help my alignment at it seem off now. does any one kill a lot of ball joints with their offroad ex?? or alignment parts.

 

[Critical_Level2]

When I had my pathfinder, the nissan truck forums I was on talked about re-indexing the torsion bars which is what you described by rotating the bar one notch to level out the stance. Anyone who has seen a 90-95 pathfinder will know the front sags big time and this was the procedure to level the stance.

 

[exteo]

ok here is for stock applictation. measure the distance between the ball joint and the ground(A) Then Meausre the distance between the control arm bolts to the ground (B). Now subract A from B the measurement should be 4.33-4.56 in.

 

[sk1er17]

so if that measurment is above 6.56 inches then we're over a 2 " TT...

 

[exteo]

that is right (Note this measurement is only for non ARC explorers)

 

[nissanboy]

yup "re-indexing" t-bars is common among Nissan owners... dont see why it wouldnt work for explorers also. That will also save you from haveing to get longer adjuster bolts to crank higher. you can reindex two notches or more if you want.

a little correction though, you dont take both ends of the t-bar out of the mounts. just one end comes out and then you turn it a notch or two or three. reinstall the bar end you twisted and then crank the adjuster back or tighten it up to where you want it.

just remember that you only have ~7.5" of travel and cranking a t-bar just moves the suspension farther down its travel. So if you had 4" of droop and 3" of stuff and you crank 3" you end up with only 1" of droop and 6" of stuff, and that is the reason for the stiffer ride. Your suspension can no longer droop to absorb bumps like it could at stock height.