Torsion bar adjustments - in or out?

Raven · February 18, 2002

Well, it's been much longer coming than I hoped, but I'm going to crank my torsion bars up this afternoon to raise the nose a little. If I remember, you turn the adjusting bolt (18mm) clockwise to raise the height, correct? And it is the bolt on the crossmember at the rear of Torsion Bar, correct?

I just don't want to screw anything up, so I apologize if this is a dumb or redundant question. I just want to gain about an inch or so of height over factory (the measurement at the fender lip is about 37 and 3/4 inches).

Help?

chevy4x4trucks · February 18, 2002

Raven, You are right one w/ all of it. I'm not sure on the bolt size being 18mm, but I don't recall off hand what it was so that sounds about right.

Here's a pic of the bolts, hope it helps:

CMNTMXR81 · February 18, 2002

18mm is correct. I'd also suggest jacking up the side you're working on as it makes it easier to crank. Although for small adjustments I've done it with weight on all 4's.

Raven · February 18, 2002

Thanks guys! And Jon - the pic was a great idea! Thanks again.

g6t6o · February 18, 2002

You really don't need to jack it up, I have loosened them all the way and tightened them all the way without doing that. Just gotta use a little arm muscle!;) If your only doing about an 1" you should be fine, any more and you might need to get the alignment checked! Good luck!

CMNTMXR81 · February 19, 2002

You really don't need to jack it up, I have loosened them all the way and tightened them all the way without doing that. Just gotta use a little arm muscle!;) If your only doing about an 1" you should be fine, any more and you might need to get the alignment checked! Good luck!

Of course. Just giving him a hint to make it easier. Especially if he doesn't have a larger breaker bar to do it.

MountaineerTom · February 19, 2002

Personaly, I would lift it up just to keep from putting any extra, unneeded stress on the bolts/keys/bars or what everelse.

Elwood · February 19, 2002

Personally, I would lift it up just to keep from putting any extra, unneeded stress on the bolts/keys/bars or what everelse.

No, you'd probably just use that as an excuse. You would really do it because you're a big wimp and couldn't do it without doing that.

MountaineerTom · February 19, 2002

Personally, I would lift it up just to keep from putting any extra, unneeded stress on the bolts/keys/bars or what everelse.

No, you'd probably just use that as an excuse. You would really do it because you're a big wimp and couldn't do it without doing that.

Yeah, riiiight!

sonjaab · February 19, 2002

clockwise to raise

counterclockwise to lower

And yes jack the truck up a little. Much easier

to raise or lower..............Geo

g6t6o · February 19, 2002

You really don't need to jack it up, I have loosened them all the way and tightened them all the way without doing that. Just gotta use a little arm muscle!;) If your only doing about an 1" you should be fine, any more and you might need to get the alignment checked! Good luck!

Of course. Just giving him a hint to make it easier. Especially if he doesn't have a larger breaker bar to do it.

Yeah, I didn't have a floorjack at the time so I didn't have that option I used a 7" ratchet and got each side done in about 2 min, and that was from all the way down. Just stating my experience

CMNTMXR81 · February 19, 2002

I did my final adjustments on it with the weight on all 4's. The damn suspension just wouldn't settle evenly. I didn't have much of a problem, but it was MUCH easier without the weight on them.

Of course, I guess I got the same workout when I first cranked them up cause I had to keep jacking it up after I checked the height.

Raven · February 21, 2002

Ok... I raised the truck on the floor jack and turned each side in 2 and 1/2 turns. The measurement to the fender lip prior to the adjustments were: driver side = 37 and 1/4"; passenger side = 38". After the adjustments, both sides went up ~3/4" (measured after driving the truck around the block a few times). So, two questions...

One - should I level the truck by adjusting the driver's side up more? Or, by lowering the passenger side? My preference is to raise the driver's side more but if I need another 3/4", then it looks like I need to take that side up another 2.5 turns! This seems pretty extreme - your thoughts?

Two - since I've only effectively raised the front end of the truck 3/4" at this point, how many more turns would I need to get another 1/4" - 1/2"? Maybe another round or so? Or, does the effect of a half turn have a more pronouced lift once you've turned in the adjustment bolts than when you first start lifting?

I did a search and couldn't find anything that was precise as to how much effect a given amount of a turn on the adjustment bolt has on lifting the truck.

Shaners · February 21, 2002

Raven

I raised the driverside of my truck 4-5 turns and didn't adjust the passanger side at all. This made my truck level at the frame rails. The fender lips are still off 1/4" from side to side.