suspension lift kit or torsion crank

[basspro350]

i just recently bought a 2004 ranger an upgrade from my 94 and i cranked my torsion bars all the way up up and put 285/75/16 bfg km2 mud terrains the truck seems to be fine besides the harsh ride but i was wondering how fast the ball joints, cvshafts, front suspension etc. will wear out now that my bars are cranked and i was wondering about suspension lifts if i should spend the money or just keep it the way it is.

 

[Viva*the*Ranger]

Go with a real lift dude. It's totally worth it! My t-bars are cranked, but it's temporary. It's not good to keep them cranked all the way for too long. It might not be too much better, but next month I'm getting a 3" body lift so I can d-crank my t-bars an inch and have 4" of total lift Until I can afford a suspention lift. It's not too bad if you only crank them an inch or so from stock height though.

 

[Chris.S.]

This thread should have most of the info you want:

http://www.therangerstation.com/forums/showthread.php?t=31402

You can put a spacer in at the top of your shock to soften the ride a little and as long as you only crank 2-2.5 inches and your cv's stay under about 11-12 degrees you should be okay.

Keeping in mind that this is all "guess-work" none of the info about torsion twists or anything associated with it has been proven to be absolutely correct....

 

[racinranger]

dont follow my lead or you may end up with a grenaded CV joint. my trucks had the Tbars cranked max since it had 11 miles on it. Im doing a test on the balljoints and tre's and seeing when they fail right now im at 7k miles without a hitch

 

[basspro350]

so u greneded a cv shaft that early because of the crank or off road abuse?

 

[JohnnyO]

Keep a t-bar crank to no more than 1.5". Just enough to level the truck. More than than that and it rides hard because you lose all the downtravel, it's hard to align, and yes you will shorten the life of the CV joints.
I did it on my '02 Ranger and my '05 Sport Trac, put about 45k on each (I lease) and never had any problems.

 

[basspro350]

so if u didnt have any problems how do u know if they wil wear out faster ?

 

[racinranger]

I grenaded my cv being kinda a fool. Its a rule atleast in my head not to lock the wheel over and lay the hammer down. I was on the beach and was in a possible get stuck situation and i got into it with the wheel cut hard. the cv bound up from the extreme crank and the turning angle. i had replaced my bolts with longer ones and my shocks were MAXED out on downtravel.

 

[JohnnyO]

so if u didnt have any problems how do u know if they wil wear out faster ?

That's what I'm saying. I don't think any parts will wear out faster. Just don't max out the torsion bars, only turn them enough to level it.