5
===============LIFTING FRONT WITH TORSION BARS==================
Using a jack under the front cross member, raise the vehicle slightly, but leave both tires firmly on the ground. You are essentially letting the weight of the suspension and tires droop on the torsion bars some, and letting the jack hold the weight of the vehicle. This makes it easier to crank them so you don't have to overcome the entire truck weight.
Using an open end wrench (I think 3/4"), loosen the top nut, which is just a locking nut. Back it off the bottom nut a little bit.
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Now, use the same wrench to hold the bottom nut in place. Use a socket wrench to turn the bolt head. Laying on your back under the car,the bolt head faces down at you, and the two nuts are above the cross member. Looking at it, turn it clockwise to tighten it. It can be useful to have two people for this! If you are holding the bottom nut, and tightening the bolt, the bolt will thread into the nut, raising the lever arm of the torsion bar towards the cross member. The bolt head should go higher into the cross member, and the gap between the two nuts should get larger, as the nut you are holding will thread down the bolt while the top nut stays in place:
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Make some shims that are between 0.5" and 0.75". I used 3 paint stirring sticks taped together.
Look for the bump stop gap in the front of the wheel....Right inside here:
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Use the shims to measure the gap. You need at least 0.5" gap between the upper control arm and the bump stop:
![]()
A better pic from RacerXXL...aftermarket UCAs and the bump stop gap:
![]()
As indicated in my picture captions, understand these bump stops. When people say there needs to be a 0.5" gap, it is not because there needs to be physical space between the UCA and bump stop. It is because that gap is the easiest way to measure the angle of the upper control arm. If the upper control arm droops too low, the camber will be way off, wearing the outer edge of your tires very fast, and the stock camber adjustments will not be able to compensate for it. If you have after market UCAs, crank away on the torsion bars with low profile bump stops and all. Lifting control arms don't actually lift the vehicle, they simply have modified geometry so that even with a higher lift, the camber can be corrected.
Repeat this process on the other side, and aim to have even bump stop gaps on each side. It requires some guessing and checking and raising and lowering. Once you think you have it where you want it, don't quite tighten the lock nuts just yet, as you may want to make adjustments after the shackles and when the suspension settles some. I did the front end lift first so I could max out my torsion bars, and then choose an appropriate height within the adjustable shackle.
=====================================
A note on the infamous 're-indexing': Re-indexing does not offer more lift or better bump stop clearance. Re-indexing involves removing the torsion bar from the adjusting lever, and adjusting the initial position of the lever/adjuster arm. This is only done for two reasons:
1) There is no more room to adjust the lever upwards. As in you have room in the bump stop gaps to continue lifting, but the physical lever arm that the bolt goes through interferes with the cross member, or the bolt interferes with the body. When you re-index, it separates the torsion bar from the lever arm, allowing you to start the lever arm lower so you have a larger range of motion for the lever arm to raise into the cross member.
2) Your bump stop gaps are already at 0.5-0.75" but the lever arm and bolt head are below the cross member. You want the bolt head and lever arm to be inside the cross member to avoid having it snagged on terrain. Separating the torsion bar from the lever arm allows you to start the lever arm higher so that when you reach your desired lift height, the bolt and lever arm ends up inside the cross member.
I did not have to do this, but if you think you need to, check the DIY:
http://www.clubxterra.org/forums/showthread.php?t=2554
http://www.clubxterra.org/forums/showthread.php?p=505782&posted=1#post505782
REMEMBER: THIS ONLY CHANGES THE FINAL HEIGHT OF THE ADJUSTING LEVER. IT DOES NOT HELP BUMP STOP GAPS OR LIFT HEIGHT.
Another note on suspension lifts and the bump stops: A suspension lift does NOT add room for a larger tire. This only changes the ride height. The suspension system allows the tire to raise up when hitting a bump, but also droop lower. Adjusting the position for the tire to sit lower only trades up travel for down travel. Think of it like this: When you are jacking the front of the vehicle up to take a tire off...the tires do not immediately raise off the ground. The body and frame raises as the tire droops down. That magic point where the tires lift off the ground is the theoretical amount of maximum lift. You can have your vehicle ride that high, but now when raising the vehicle with a jack, the tire immediately raises off the ground, as it has no droop left. Of course, it can take a huge bump in the road as the tire has a lot of room to travel upwards. That point where the tires quit drooping is also when the UCA makes contact with the bump stop...IE the bump stop making contact with the UCA limits the droop of the front tire, so it can not droop any lower once it has made that contact.
Moral of the story: Regardless of your ride height due to a suspension lift, you can't fit larger tires than stock. You may have room for them while sitting in the drive way, but any amount of flex will cause them to rub whatever they would be rubbing if it was not lifted. If you want larger tires, the body lift is what you want as it raises the body (fenders) away from the frame, creating extra room regardless of suspension position. The suspension raises the frame (and body attached to frame), looking like there is more room, but once again, any flex in the suspension will quickly remove the extra room.
Using a jack under the front cross member, raise the vehicle slightly, but leave both tires firmly on the ground. You are essentially letting the weight of the suspension and tires droop on the torsion bars some, and letting the jack hold the weight of the vehicle. This makes it easier to crank them so you don't have to overcome the entire truck weight.
Using an open end wrench (I think 3/4"), loosen the top nut, which is just a locking nut. Back it off the bottom nut a little bit.
Now, use the same wrench to hold the bottom nut in place. Use a socket wrench to turn the bolt head. Laying on your back under the car,the bolt head faces down at you, and the two nuts are above the cross member. Looking at it, turn it clockwise to tighten it. It can be useful to have two people for this! If you are holding the bottom nut, and tightening the bolt, the bolt will thread into the nut, raising the lever arm of the torsion bar towards the cross member. The bolt head should go higher into the cross member, and the gap between the two nuts should get larger, as the nut you are holding will thread down the bolt while the top nut stays in place:
Make some shims that are between 0.5" and 0.75". I used 3 paint stirring sticks taped together.
Look for the bump stop gap in the front of the wheel....Right inside here:
Use the shims to measure the gap. You need at least 0.5" gap between the upper control arm and the bump stop:
A better pic from RacerXXL...aftermarket UCAs and the bump stop gap:
As indicated in my picture captions, understand these bump stops. When people say there needs to be a 0.5" gap, it is not because there needs to be physical space between the UCA and bump stop. It is because that gap is the easiest way to measure the angle of the upper control arm. If the upper control arm droops too low, the camber will be way off, wearing the outer edge of your tires very fast, and the stock camber adjustments will not be able to compensate for it. If you have after market UCAs, crank away on the torsion bars with low profile bump stops and all. Lifting control arms don't actually lift the vehicle, they simply have modified geometry so that even with a higher lift, the camber can be corrected.
Repeat this process on the other side, and aim to have even bump stop gaps on each side. It requires some guessing and checking and raising and lowering. Once you think you have it where you want it, don't quite tighten the lock nuts just yet, as you may want to make adjustments after the shackles and when the suspension settles some. I did the front end lift first so I could max out my torsion bars, and then choose an appropriate height within the adjustable shackle.
=====================================
A note on the infamous 're-indexing': Re-indexing does not offer more lift or better bump stop clearance. Re-indexing involves removing the torsion bar from the adjusting lever, and adjusting the initial position of the lever/adjuster arm. This is only done for two reasons:
1) There is no more room to adjust the lever upwards. As in you have room in the bump stop gaps to continue lifting, but the physical lever arm that the bolt goes through interferes with the cross member, or the bolt interferes with the body. When you re-index, it separates the torsion bar from the lever arm, allowing you to start the lever arm lower so you have a larger range of motion for the lever arm to raise into the cross member.
2) Your bump stop gaps are already at 0.5-0.75" but the lever arm and bolt head are below the cross member. You want the bolt head and lever arm to be inside the cross member to avoid having it snagged on terrain. Separating the torsion bar from the lever arm allows you to start the lever arm higher so that when you reach your desired lift height, the bolt and lever arm ends up inside the cross member.
I did not have to do this, but if you think you need to, check the DIY:
http://www.clubxterra.org/forums/showthread.php?t=2554
http://www.clubxterra.org/forums/showthread.php?p=505782&posted=1#post505782
REMEMBER: THIS ONLY CHANGES THE FINAL HEIGHT OF THE ADJUSTING LEVER. IT DOES NOT HELP BUMP STOP GAPS OR LIFT HEIGHT.
Another note on suspension lifts and the bump stops: A suspension lift does NOT add room for a larger tire. This only changes the ride height. The suspension system allows the tire to raise up when hitting a bump, but also droop lower. Adjusting the position for the tire to sit lower only trades up travel for down travel. Think of it like this: When you are jacking the front of the vehicle up to take a tire off...the tires do not immediately raise off the ground. The body and frame raises as the tire droops down. That magic point where the tires lift off the ground is the theoretical amount of maximum lift. You can have your vehicle ride that high, but now when raising the vehicle with a jack, the tire immediately raises off the ground, as it has no droop left. Of course, it can take a huge bump in the road as the tire has a lot of room to travel upwards. That point where the tires quit drooping is also when the UCA makes contact with the bump stop...IE the bump stop making contact with the UCA limits the droop of the front tire, so it can not droop any lower once it has made that contact.
Moral of the story: Regardless of your ride height due to a suspension lift, you can't fit larger tires than stock. You may have room for them while sitting in the drive way, but any amount of flex will cause them to rub whatever they would be rubbing if it was not lifted. If you want larger tires, the body lift is what you want as it raises the body (fenders) away from the frame, creating extra room regardless of suspension position. The suspension raises the frame (and body attached to frame), looking like there is more room, but once again, any flex in the suspension will quickly remove the extra room.
