Torsion Bars: Do they wear out and need to be replaced?

[chucky2]

I'm the original owner of an '03 FX4 Level II, which basically is stock...it's got 190k mi on it. I've got persistent inner tire wear, which after this last alignment seems to be doing a little better but still is not correct. It's not the brand of tires, it happened with the last set which was a different brand altogether. It's also not something inherent with my truck, as the original BFG AT KO's didn't have this uneven tire wear issue. I believe I did new Ford Bilstein OEM (to FX4's) shocks at 100k.

What I've noticed that is making me wonder if the torsion bars need to be replaced is two things:

1. For a long while now, when going say slow over a dip (so, going from high to low), the truck seems to really bottom out in the front. I never remember it being like this, it always soaked up even minor things well (such as going from a yard with a curb back into the street.

2. When my truck was much newer I thought I could fit it into my parents job for an oil change - our Aerostars had always fit so I had it in my mind the Ranger would fit. Well, it didn't. The top of the cab would end up hitting the trim for the garage door. This past weekend I had to check the front brakes so I pulled it as far into the garage as I knew I could get, got out...and was shocked that not only could I squeek into the garage, I now had inches of clearance I did not have before. There is no way the garage has settled that much, nor are my tires that worn (they're fairly new actually).

I had always thought for some reason that torsion bars were like leaf springs, that they just lasted forever...but now I'm not so sure. Can it be I need new torsion bars?

Thanks for any insight on this!

Chuck

 

[Earl43P]

They are adjustable.
Might try cranking them up some to get your ride height back.
Don't top them out or your ride will suffer from having no up travel.

Mine are still original and fine, although I did adjust them when I replaced the ball joints.

 

[gw33gp]

I think torsion bars do settle some over time just like leaf springs will. I adjusted mine up about 1.5" shortly after I bought it new and then again about 5 years later. I have not checked it lately but does not appear to have settled much more.

Ford has specifications on ride height. If you PM me your email address I can send the diagram and specifications. I always set mine to the maximum to get the highest ride height.

I was getting some inner front tire wear a couple years ago and took it to a good alignment shop. They had to install a camber kit to get the camber within spec. The tires wear very uniform now. I have just over 150K miles on mine now.

 

[adsm08]

Generally speaking they are not considered a wear item like brakes or tires. But they are just like any other spring, they will settle and can wear over time. I have even seen them break a few times.

It may be that yours are worn out and need replaced, but I would try adjusting them up first. They aren't cheap or fun to replace.

 

[chucky2]

They are adjustable.
Might try cranking them up some to get your ride height back.
Don't top them out or your ride will suffer from having no up travel.

Mine are still original and fine, although I did adjust them when I replaced the ball joints.

That's a good idea, I'll try adjusting them and see what I can get back. I have had ball joints done, I think on each side, but I highly doubt when whoever did them they adjusted the torsion bars, unless that's some mandatory thing to do when doing ball joints.

I think torsion bars do settle some over time just like leaf springs will. I adjusted mine up about 1.5" shortly after I bought it new and then again about 5 years later. I have not checked it lately but does not appear to have settled much more.

Ford has specifications on ride height. If you PM me your email address I can send the diagram and specifications. I always set mine to the maximum to get the highest ride height.

I was getting some inner front tire wear a couple years ago and took it to a good alignment shop. They had to install a camber kit to get the camber within spec. The tires wear very uniform now. I have just over 150K miles on mine now.

PM sent. What's crazy is that the truck looks like it did stock, it doesn't appear to have any massive front end sag. To me fitting into the garage so easily was the shocker. I know for a fact there was no way I could get into that garage before, and now, I can drive in without problem. Something is definitely up...or in my case, down. I think when I bought my shocks, I paid for them to put a camber kit in so they could align it properly. Now, whether they actually did that, did it right, and it remains right are all unanswered questions. I'll check when I do my front brakes in a week or two.

Generally speaking they are not considered a wear item like brakes or tires. But they are just like any other spring, they will settle and can wear over time. I have even seen them break a few times.

It may be that yours are worn out and need replaced, but I would try adjusting them up first. They aren't cheap or fun to replace.

Ok, message received. I'll try adjusting first then go from there.

Thanks for the info All!

Chuck

 

[Snoranger]

They aren't cheap or fun to replace.

The last set I bought were about $90 each... They took a little over an hour to change.

Thats not too bad.

 

[chucky2]

Could it be done by a complete novice in his driveway in a weekend without risking death and/or disfigurement? This complete novice is a completely out of shape 270 lb geek btw...he can fit under his truck but it's not a great one.

 

[adsm08]

The last set I bought were about $90 each... They took a little over an hour to change.

Thats not too bad.

Most of the ones I run into are rusted in pretty good.

 

[Earl43P]

The tech could very well have adjusted the ride height with the Tbar keys when he did the ball joints. I know I did.

For a home mechanic, using the Tbars adjustment allows you to position the LCA where you want it while doing the LBJ.

In your case, like ADSM08 said, you can expect lots of salt corrosion to make it difficult, being in Chicago. If you do adjust them, spray some penetrant on the adjuster bolts! I'd hate to see one of those snap on you. They took a lot of oomph and mine weren't even very rusty.

 

[MastuhWaffles]

I wouldn't be surprised if the springs wore out, cranking them will also allow you to fit bigger tires under them, if that's what you want. I maxed mine out, and the ride isn't that great, but it doesn't really bother me, there going back down for my new suspension kit anyways.

 

[chucky2]

Thanks for the tip on the penetrant. I've got a couple of cans of PB Blaster here, that will work OK you think?

As for cranking to get more lift for larger tires, that years ago was something I was considering when thinking about going to a 33x9.5 tire, but once I decided to just remain stock tire size I never thought about it again. Truth is, I got this truck way back when I lived down in St. Louis area, and my ex-g/f and I would go to Southern Illionis (we met at SIUC) and go on the trails down there. Since moving back to Chicago area, I have no real need for anything offroad. My next vehicle will likely be a car...

Chuck

 

[gw33gp]

Another thing that may be contributing to the cab top being lower is the rubber body mounts may have compressed some. You also mentioned you have a different brand of tires on it. If you are running the same size tire, a different brand could have a slightly lower profile or relax more under load. I suspect it is a combination of these items, including the relaxation of the torsion bars, that has resulted in more clearance to the top of your Ranger to the garage door.

 

[chucky2]

I can buy all that, and I'm sure it's all true. There is no way it all adds up to inches though of clearance. I've gone from hitting somewhere on the top of the cab where the window is or somewhere on the top of the roof to having what is probably a 12oz Pepsi can height worth of clearance or so. That's huge...

What's crazy is that the truck doesn't look to be squating low in the front, far as I can tell it looks OK.

 

[chucky2]

I was giving this more thought:

Lets say the bolts that adjust the torsion bars haven't backed themselves out (or been turned down to lower the truck intentionally), and I really do need to raise the truck up via torsion bars.

If the torsion bars really are worn and that is my problem, if I adjust the screws, while that would raise the front end, would that also be akin to cheating to properly lift the truck? Isn't there a tradeoff there because the torsion bar is being improperly set far past where it should be?

I'm wondering if I check and my truck is low, if I should not instead just buy new torsion bars and install them, rather than cranking them.

Am I overthinking this?

Chuck

 

[Snoranger]

I was giving this more thought:

Lets say the bolts that adjust the torsion bars haven't backed themselves out (or been turned down to lower the truck intentionally), and I really do need to raise the truck up via torsion bars.

If the torsion bars really are worn and that is my problem, if I adjust the screws, while that would raise the front end, would that also be akin to cheating to properly lift the truck? Isn't there a tradeoff there because the torsion bar is being improperly set far past where it should be?

I'm wondering if I check and my truck is low, if I should not instead just buy new torsion bars and install them, rather than cranking them.

Am I overthinking this?

Chuck

Try adjusting them. If it doesn't get you to the height you want... Replace them.