Torsion keys

[cp2295]

I have a 99 ranger 4wd. I wanted to know what effects would come by using tbar keys to get 3" of lift in the front end. I will be replacing my cv axles, lower ball joints, tie rod ends, and hub assemblies. I'm using moog, precision for the axle, and timken for the hub assy. I've got moog UCA already. I also have manual locking hubs so the only time the cv axles will spin is on the weekends in the woods. I'm also getting the lift rancho shocks. I'm okay with a rougher ride I got a 1.5" tbar crank as is

 

[James86]

Your CV's shouldn't spin now unless you're in 4WD. Mine don't - 98-01(?) have Pulse Vacuum Hubs. If you're going to crank harder on your T-Bars, the suspension geometry gets a little wacky. I had to change the camber bolts to get my alignment right and I only leveled my truck, which luckily didn't require keys but I did gain 2-3 inches over the sag I had. Aren't there binding issues with the joints when you get reeeeeaaally high? CV joints don't last forever at extreme angles, and even mine look a bit harsh.

 

[cp2295]

Yeah I got the camber bolts already. I'm just gonna be replacing the a arm bushings too so I gotta take the torsion bar out anyway, just figured I'd throw some keys in too while I was in there

 

[cp2295]

And I read that with our electronic shift (on the fly) the CVs are always spinning. With my old hubs they spun constantly, but now I can disengage them

 

[James86]

The hubs get a vacuum pulse so the CV's aren't engaged. There's a solenoid under the airbox that controls the hubs. I can reach under my truck while it's parked and turn the CV's by hand. They work kinda like a retractable pen, but they are finicky - I can feel the drag sometimes when one unlocks and the other doesn't - that's how I know I can turn them by hand, because I've tried when checking them. I haven't had issues with mine otherwise for the 7 years I've owned my truck.

 

[cp2295]

Okay but anyways have you had any real adverse effects?

 

[Sasquatch_Ryda]

Absolutely no down travel is the worst thing about it.

 

[adsm08]

Wasn't there a thread about a guy who kept blowing out his CV joints somewhere near 3 inches of t-bar crank?

 

[cp2295]

Well all I'm trying to do is get 33x10.5 under there think I can do that with stock keys? Just want it to look beefier, that's why I was going with aftermarket keys. It seems kinda dumb to buy the superlift kit, it drops the diff, I want bigger tires to clear the diff more why would I drop it back down you know?

 

[Sasquatch_Ryda]

I am going to run 35x12.50r15's on my Sport Trac with a torsion crank, rear shackles and body lift...

With just the torsion crank and shackles it cleared 33x12.50's just fine.

 

[James86]

I did the T-Bar crank last spring, but more so because the front of my truck sagged like hell and I wanted it level. The front is still a hair lower so it looks decent, but won't look stupid with a load in the box either (although to be fair, I did replace the rear springs with new ones that had an extra leaf.)

Basically my sag was so bad, the front sat about even with my friend's 2WD 1996 on stock 14" wheels:

If that doesn't show how bad my front was sagging.... lol. I did NOT need keys to raise the front up to how it sits now, I just needed the camber bolts. I am curious if there is any consensus to what an extreme CV angle would be. Mine looks like this, but you can kinda see the axles under there:

 

[cp2295]

Do the 33x12.5 rub at all? Do you run spacers? And I got 31s and your cv angle looks about the same as mine. I got no issues, they're starting to click but they're 180k miles old.

 

[James86]

Judging form your avatar cp2295, you're front doesn't look much lower than mine does now. After the shop cranked the T-bars and did an alignment, they said they picked up the front 4-5 inches. Yea, it sagged that bad in front lol.

 

[cp2295]

Wow that's a huge amount of lift available just by cranking the factory keys.. Your front end must of been scraping the ground! No but I bet it looked super raked?

 

[James86]

The difference from front to back was about 5" with the topper on and a toolbox in back. In summer with the bed empty it looked like the front tires were flat from a distance rofl