I had my 04 Dodge Ram 1500 4wd torsion bars cranked 2" a few months ago and after around 500 miles my mechanic told me that my driver's side cv was ruined and needed replaced and that they needed to lower the truck. I took their word for it and we lowered it. After awhile I decided to go with an actual suspension lift to have my cv angles at a safe angle and achieve the lift I desired. After much research I came to the conclusion that ifs lift kits are just too expensive for what I would use it for. Now my question is that is there any way of leveling/cranking the torsion bars that would keep my cv's at an appropriate angle? Do any type of leveling keys actually work help? And also if I just replaced the passenger side cv with a new one would that work since my cv's probably just needed replaced since they were probably shot after 82k or any type of aftermarket cv work? I'm willing to do anything to achieve 2-3" of lift without buying a full suspension lift and without completely ruining my cv's. Also is it just cheaper to crank them 3" and just replace the cv's when needed instead of firing out the couple grand total it would cost for an actual lift? I have rancho shocks that are 3" longer than stock for that purpose so that is covered. Any ideas or opinions will be considered thanks!

 

I haven't heard of guys killing CV's that quickly. You likely had a bad CV already.

 

Anyone else have any opinions? I found a site that sells cv axels for like 50 each so would it just be a better idea to crank the bars to 3" and block the rear and just replace the cv's when they go out rather than spend a couple grand on a full suspension lift?

 

i've had a leveling kit now for 3 years, believe me its not worth the hassle. I'm currently in the process of going back to stock height. The cv's aren't the only thing that go when they do. You have to remember that the intermediate shaft (stub shaft or axle shaft whatever you wanna call it) shears apart with the cv. Its not really the cv joint that actually breaks down its the can that plugs onto the shaft coming out the diff.

Yes you can get the parts for cheap but it all adds up. I'm doing:

2 stub shafts (left and right) - $70 shipped (rockauto)
2 cv axles - $120 shipped (ebay)
2 stub shaft bearings & seals - $60 shipped (moparpartsonline)
2 shocks (no spacer on my level) - $90
1 Heavy duty c clamp - $15 (home depot)

Totaling $355 and that doesn't include any of my time

I paid a shop in jan 2012 to replace cv's and stub shafts for $1400 so unless you know what you're getting into i'd steer clear of the leveling kit. The amount of money you will spend initially and then on repairs you might as well just pay for a proper suspension lift, in the end you'll be saving money.

Oh and the rancho shocks that are 3" longer; BAD IDEA!!!! put the front of ur truck on jacks and let the wheels hang, if you cant spin the wheels your shock is allowing the wheel to drop/extend too far, and therefore making the cv bind, you will snap your cv's!

 

I guess i didn't really think about all that adding up. How many miles would everything last? I really don't drive the truck often and I'm sure i would sell it before putting 15k more miles on. And also does anyone know where to get the best price on a full suspension lift? The cheapest I've found and were considering was rough country and zone

 

If you're going to sell it within the next 15k miles, don't bother with any of it. Leave it stock and save your cash for whatever you're going to buy.

 

What I'm trying to say is I'll put 15k miles on It at the most in a year. So how quickly will my cv's wear out with a 3" level? Because if they last 20k the truck will be sold by the time they need replaced. This is also why I would rather level it 3" for free rather than spend all the money on a full lift Just in case i do want to sell it in the future I don't be out that couple grand from the suspension lift

 

You get what you pay for... you will definitely break them sooner than 15k with a 3" cheapo lift...

 

Would 2.5" be better? I mean will that extend the life of the components longer than a 3"?

 

Not by much... if you're just going to be cranking the torsion bars you are going to put excessive wear on the CV's b/c they will not be at the proper angle.

I'm not going to stop you from doing it, but you should consider the potential risks it will have on your wallet...