I notice on this site there isnt a pictorial "how to" on cranking your torsion bars. I know its fairly easy but would it help any of you guys and be worth me making some instructions showing it?

I was going to lift the front of the dakota today or thursday when I'm off and thought I would ask first because it wouldnt take me much extra time to show where the bolts are and how much lift you get from them if it would help anyone.

 

It is really simple. By "cranking up the torsion bar" we mean tighten up the adjusting bolt.

Notice this will give you more height in the front, but it will cause slight more harshness in the front suspension. This only adjust the front.

The socket size is 15/16in. Or 23mm or 24mm.
Do both sides as equal as you can.
It may help to turn the bolt by taking off some of the tension off of the bars by jack up the truck by the frame so the wheels hang down, it gives you no reference where you are at with the height!
You may need to use WD40 on the bolt if it is to hard to turn.
And an Impact wrench will make easy work of it.
When done lower the truck and measure both sides of the truck to see if it is sitting level side to side, adjust if needed.
Then truck around the block to unsettle the suspension then remeasure!
You will need to get an Aliment done to the front end.
With stock Torsion bar keys/ Anchors you can tighten up all the way.

If need be you can buy Re-indexed/ lift Torsion bar keys. From www.ebay.com or http://www.totalperformanceonline.co...1321/50/100-14

They will give you more lift above what stock keys can.
When cranking up Re-indexed keys it is important you notice that the control arms has bump stops. Once you reach this point stop.
Also the Torsion bar will start bending. The bar is unsafe if bent. Keep it straight.
Notice this will give you more height in the front, but it will cause slight more harshness in the front suspension.

If needed we have TONS more Lift Ideas in the FAQ2 in this section.

Here is a pic of what to do. Turn the bolt the red arrow is pointing to.

 

I know how to lift the truck, I was wondering if anyone wanted a set of pictures depicting the before, during and after with the amount of lift gained shown. I'll just snap the pictures and make a tutorial like the one on the explorer forum. If you guys would like to use it after I post it thats great, if not no loss to me.

 

Yeah, you can do a write up with pictures! We'll take any write ups we can get. Anything you want to do a write up on, go for it! It doesn't matter if there is already a write up on it cause chances are you won't run into all of the same problems as the person who wrote it up before you!

One thing I disagree with you on Felipe is lifting the truck off the ground. While it may make the bolt easier to turn if the truck is off the ground, it gives you no reference where you are at with the height!

Also, to add one more thing, once you turn up the bars, drive the truck around the block to unsettle the suspension before you remeasure!

 

if u crank up the torsion bars will it not throw the top of the tire out at the top and wear the outside of the tires out on the road? if so how can u get it realigned? u cant shim it in and cant shim the bottom out so how can i do it?

 

Yes it will throw your alignment off.

To fix it I would just take it to an alignment shop after you finish, it shouldnt be hard to correct for the small amount of lift you would gain.

 

So I take it that Dodge didn't put solid front axles on these trucks?

 

Tim718 -> You pull the tops of the tires back in, the bottom stays put. So technically, you narrow the wheelsbase of the front.

Rolla91 -> You'd be surprised! It took the guy over 2 hours to line up the front of my truck after I cranked my torsion bars! It throws off all directions... camber, caster and toe. You have to start with caster and get that within spec. That is controlled by the rear bolt on the upper control arm. Then you move to camber, which is controlled by the front bolt on the upper control arm. Then you adjust toe, which is controlled by the tie rods.

Az93Dkota -> Nope, the 4x4s are IFS.

 

Okay I edited my post to add your points Brian. I posted that in the FAQ2 to help others.

 

Yeah it would take more time than just a factory car but its their job so they can handle Normally it wont even cost any extra.

Sometimes even if they work for hours it won't come back to factory specs again. Just gotta let them do the best they can.

My lowered Explorer is about 1 degree negative on the camber and there isn't any real way of fixing it without major modifications. Even at that as long as the tires are rotated it doesn't make any noticeable difference in tire wear.