Hey guys, my buddy has his ram's torsion bars raised to level out his truck. He said it only costed him 15 bucks from the shop to do. Since I do not plan getting bigger tires in a very long time, should I just do this? Will it affect my ride or mess up the suspension later on? This a bad idea...I just want it to be level...or should I wait for the leveling kit?

 

Crank them yourself so easy to do. The ride gets stiffer. parts will wear out faster but who cares they probabley would have worn out anyway. Look in my gallery to see how mine turned out. The leveling kits will do the same thing just make the ride a little more like stock. All the wear you get from cranked torsion bars will also happen with the leveling keys that you would get. And for $200 less, ill take a little stiffer ride than buying the leveling kit.

 

How bad is a "stiff" ride? And how fast will parts wear? Looks like you have aftermarket shocks though...will my stock ones be ok??? I really want it lifted up in the front and don't know what route to go!

 

+1

Even though I've done body lifts to three of my trucks (SFA front ends) and a suspension lift to my current IFS 1500 (I'm so impressed that I'll do suspension lifts from now on), I've done T-Bar cranks on two friends' trucks and other than the ride being noticeably stiffer, there were no adverse effects.
If this is just a looks thing or for fitment of a slightly larger tire, and you are not into serious off-roading then I think cranking the bars is fine. You should do it yourself, you only need a couple of jack stands, a jack and a basic tool set. There are probably a zillion how-to's on this and other forums, so just do a search then go to it.

 

Here's my buddies truck who had it done. I think it looks real good.....but I'm just waiting for more input on this! I still haven't ridden in his because he lives an hour away and haven't seen him in a while, but hopefully feedback will let me decide!

 

Yeah, I hardly EVER off road.....and it is pretty much just for looks...so ride isn't too bad?


I mean will the ride be so bad that my girlfriend will bitch about riding in my truck??? Or will I just notice it??

 

Every once in a while someone says it's just too stiff and lowers it back down, but I'd say 95% of the guys who do it definately notice the harsher ride but not to the point that it bothers them, or at least the better look outweighs the harsher ride.
Crank it, if it's too stiff for you, crank it back down.
As far as the shocks go, if you just crank a couple of turns till it's sitting about level, the only time a stock shock should bottom out is if your pushing it, like off road. Although some get longer shocks, most are able to stay with the stock ones.
Again, lift it, if your shocks bottom out, crank it down a turn or to and try that, if still a problem, crank 'em down another turn. You ain't doing anything to your truck that you can't undo, or adjust as you try it for a while.
Give it a shot, worst case is you wasted an hour or two's work and end up spending money on a lift kit instead. But if you intend to use your truck as you said, I think you'll be just fine with the t-bar crank...

 

Ok, I'll just slip a shop a 10 or 15 to do this. I live at an apartment complex and my parent's have all my stuff at home (college)...and that's too far to get that stuff, plus I want this done now...so should I just tell them crank it to where it sits level with the rear??? Thanks for the info!!!

 

Great thread....I was looking to buy a kit on ebay but after reading this I think im gunna crank the torsion bars. Will the front be just has high then using a leveling kit? Thanks for the good advice hammer