Hello, can any on tell how much lift you can get from the factory torsion keys on a 04 Dakota.
Thank You

 

Usually around two inches or so, which is really all the further you want to go, as other things start binding if you go much further.

 

I just put a curtis poly plow on my 04 Dakota and when I drive with the blade lifted up, the bottom of the jack leg (pictured below) will scrape the ground.
The torsion keys are adjusted all the way out, I was thinking of installing 1-3" Front Leveling Lift Kit Torsion Keys but it doesn't seem they would give me much more lift without causing problems. What would you recommend to get an extra 1 of lift.
The weird thing is I had this same plow on my old 04 Dakota with the factory torsion keys adjusted all the way out and never had a problem with scraping.
Thank You

 

Torsion keys *might* fix that.... They re-index the torsion bars to give you a bit more lift than the stockers. (supposedly.....) Might just be your torsion bars are getting weak?

 

Your bump stops are probably toast... did a quick search and found these for the 4wd. The ones on mine are torn, smashed and need to be replaced.

https://www.carid.com/2002-dodge-dak...parentsubmodel=WHEEL+DRIVE|4WD+%28Four+Wheel+Drive%29


These Sumo Springs are on the rear axle of the Ram, could not find the pic of the ones on the front.



pic of front bump stop I found



https://dodgeforum.com/forum/1st-gen...bump-stop.html

 

Thank you I never would have thought about the bump stops. I just had new rotor and brakes put on the front and asked the mechanic to check out the rest of the frontend, he told me every looked good. The bump stops were broken of even with the bump stop holder on both sides, just ordered new ones today.
How would I tell if the torsion bars are weak?

 

No real way to test them, without some specialized equipment....

Bump stops aren't going to raise your ride height, they will, however, decrease the amount of available suspension travel. (back to stock levels though....) How much more down travel do you have left on the front suspension?? Measure clearance to some fixed part of the suspension, jack it up till the tire starts to leave the ground, see what ya got.

 

Well got the bump stops in and they didn't change the ride height, but I feel alot better about having them in especially with the weight of the plow, I don't need thing bottoming out and causing damage.
What would you recommend? measuring off of?

 

Use one of the lower control arm mounts. That should be easy to get to, and give you an indication of how much travel you have available.

 

The bump stop actually has two purposes - first one is, of course, prevent metal-on-metal impacts when the truck bottoms out, hence the name bump stop. The second, which not many know, is to act as a spring damper. A torsion bar, being a long shaft, is a single rate spring. The bump stop, through the material and shape, change the torsion bar system into a variable rate spring. When the suspension is loaded, it helps take some of the load for the torsion bars, and acts more like a variable rate coil spring.