TORSION KEYS

[DH22G]

I just recently took off my running boards on my truck and noticed while i was under that the screw to the left torsionkey seemed to be out farther than the right side. when i looked at it also seemed to be leaning to the forward left a bit.. Could it be the key or could I just be seeing things. I tried to measure with a tape mearsure the clearence on all 4 courners and it was off from the rest i was just wondering if anyone has had this happen randomly. also how to fix? do i need to get it aligned again or what?

[DH22G]

I just recently took off my running boards on my truck and noticed while i was under that the screw to the left torsionkey seemed to be out farther than the right side. when i looked at it also seemed to be leaning to the forward left a bit.. Could it be the key or could I just be seeing things. I tried to measure with a tape mearsure the clearence on all 4 courners and it was off from the rest i was just wondering if anyone has had this happen randomly. also how to fix? do i need to get it aligned again or what?

[PARAGON]

I have a thread about this on here somewhere. I'll see if I can find it. Basically I stumbled across mine. One was screwed in nearly all the way and the other side was backed way out.

There was not difference in ride or height but it bugged me that there was that much difference. They replaced the weaker torsion bar(one with screw almost all the way in) and did alignment and all is good.

[KenP]

Here it is:
http://elcova.com/groupee/forums/a/tpc/f/6706011751/m/719107543/r/719107543#719107543

[PARAGON]

Damn, beat me to it. But that is indeed the thread I was referring to.

[DH22G]

thanks guys.. i will have that looked at i guess.. thanks!

[drmiles]

I had one of the torsion bars (left) screwed all the way in. I took it to the dealer, said I wanted bigger tires and it needed to have some adjustment. They replaced the torsion and aligned without question.

Does anyone know if you can purchase and install a heavier duty torsion bar. With the winch on the front and jumping hills the front travel exceeds my wishes!!!

[PARAGON]

I remember somewhere that you can but the bars are "tuned" to the truck. If you put a bar on that is "stronger" you are going to stiffen the ride and lessen reactivity to the terrain. I think.

Anyway, without looking it up, the bars come in mm sizes and ours are XXmm and I was either told or read that you could go to beefier ones that are the right length etc. I'll look.

[drmiles]

Rides too soft anyway. If I want smoother ride I'll lower my tire pressure. I saw one in 4 wheel parts magazine 6 months ago. When I called they weren't on the market yet!
Now I can't remember who they were.

[PARAGON]

I'm not sure but it seems like you have a lift and bigger tires. On an torsion bar set-up, since the front end is basically a lever with the torsion bar acting to "push" the suspension down, wider tires will change the dynamics of the suspension. Just like on any lever the further you move from the fulcrum the less energy is needed to move the lever. Applying that on the suspension, the wider tire moves the end of the lever out and reacts with the torsion bar more aggressively. So, a bigger bar should be advantageous when you have a bigger tire (especially wider). Add more weight to the front end with something like a winch and now you have more weight creating more moving energy when the suspension is working.

I would think one of the lift companies or someone like that would have more aggressive torsion bars for this reason. That would be the first place to look.

[Hummie2]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Does anyone know if you can purchase and install a heavier duty torsion bar </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Sway-Away p/n 1763 list price $640. They have been on backorder forever and just recently came off backorder. Advertised as 20-30% heavier springrate than stock & has splined end and comes with splined torsion adjuster(porkchop). You can turn the bar 1 spline and readjust the adjustment bolt to add more preload to the bar.

With the stock bars the lower control arms are designed to be in contact with the bumpstop when set to proper "Z" height. The bumpstop is figured as part of the total springrate and when you add more preload to the torsion bars and raise the control arm away from the bumpstop you actually lessen the total springrate until the control arm comes in contact with the bumpstop again. If you raise the front by adjusting the torsion adjusters you should drop the bumpstop with a spacer by the same amount to maintain the correct springrate.

I played with airshocks on the front for a while and it felt like increasing the springrate was an improvement on the H2. The airshock didn't have enough dampening for the front however and I swiched back to Rancho shocks and maxed out the torsion adjusters. I have a set of Sway-Away bars ordered and will post on how they do when I get them.

Don

[drmiles]

Thanks, let me know if this is a do it yourselfer project. 2 hours or less.