Cranked Torsion Bars?

[Grumbum]

I've been looking into doing a small lift on my T4R. I don't want anything major and want to be able to keep the IFS. I seen a lot of talk about cranked torsion bars and I don't know what this means. I'm still pretty new to the 4x4 scene so any help or advice would be great. I've been looking at doing BJ spacers fro the front but I'm not sure how I would raise the rear other than larger springs? Please throw me some suggestions and explain what "cranked torsion bars" means.

Thanks!!

 

[KidVermicious]

Oh boy, lots of generic questions there.

The front of your truck has a torsion beam suspension instead of leaf spring or coil spring. Adjusting the preload on your torsion bars is equivalent to putting a stiffer coil or leaf spring in - it raises the truck, but the ride will be stiffer.

You can raise the rear with longer shackles, by adding a leaf to the spring pack, by putting a block between the leaf and the axle, or by replacing the spring pack with something that will achieve more lift (OME, Ironman, Trailgear, AllPro, Chevy springs, etc).

Hope that gives you a little more direction in your searching!

 

[jgilk1]

I've been looking into doing a small lift on my T4R. I don't want anything major and want to be able to keep the IFS.


are you looking to just get height or are you looking to increase the size of your tires and get extra clerance to eliminate rubbing...

if you are doing it for looks i recommend against it... lifting the truck "just" high enough that you don't get "tire rub or scrub is all you really need" being ifs jacking up the front really isn't going to give you any more advantage on the trail but do the opposite as it raises the center of gravity higher off the ground increasing the chances of rolling the vehicle


I seen a lot of talk about cranked torsion bars and I don't know what this means.

a torsion bar is a solid steel rod that connects from the chassis of the vehicle on one end is a torsion cam basically an oblong "wedge" with a bolt through it as you crank this bolt it "rotates" this oblong cam applying more pressure to the "steel bar" lifting the front of the truck (there are many guides on this forum as well as others to adjusting the torsion bars)

I'm still pretty new to the 4x4 scene so any help or advice would be great.

go big or go home has more merit on a drag strip and a race track then it does off road untill you have the skills to manage the negatives that come with it (some one explain this better)

I've been looking at doing BJ spacers fro the front?

i personally do not have any experience with ball joint spacers and thus can not comment on them (though i am sure that with torsion bar adjustment and bj spacers you can see probably 3" of lift out of the front of the truck)

I'm not sure how I would raise the rear other than larger springs?

add-a-leaf,just as it sounds you pull off your leaf spring pack take it apart and add-a-leaf to it, reassemble, and reinstall

a completely new set of springs with more arch, self explains its self (this is probably the most expensive of the options i have listed) pull off your old set

some leaf spring manufacture i know of can and do also offer re arching services for cheaper then a whole new set but i would steer clear as they will droop out more (lose more lift after about a year or so then a new set of springs),

spacer blocks (personally i advise against them and in the very very fine print on some insurance forms they will deny you pay out if you have this form of lift installed) ,

last option is generally the easiest... longer shackles if you go with longer shackles and plan to wheel this truck do not buy the $30 leaf shackle kit they sell at auto zone, nape, or shucks they will last you a few trips out some time more before your twist them up and ruin your day on the trail..

last option and idk if it applies here is an axle under swap where you remove the rear axle cut off the hangers and shock mounts reposition the axle under the leaf pack and weld the shock mounts and hangers back on in reverse of how you took them off (i personally dont like having the axle under the leaf pack leads to a few other modifications needing to be done

Please throw me some suggestions and explain what "cranked torsion bars" means.

refer to my previous comments about what a torsion bar is and how it works... cranking the torsion bars is exactly as it sounds you are tightening the bolt through the cam stressing the steel bar more causing it to be stiffer... remember that doing this will again make the front end ride stiffer

Thanks!!

please refer to comments in red

if you are looking to increase the size of your tires remember these trucks are limited on power and going from 28" stock or 31" stock tires to 33 you will not have any imaginable power or fuel mileage unless you re gear both the front and rear axles

 

[RAD4Runner]

... cranked torsion bars...

I've been looking at doing BJ spacers fro the front...
... but I'm not sure how I would raise the rear other than larger springs?

The front of your truck has a torsion beam suspension instead of leaf spring or coil spring. Adjusting the preload on your torsion bars is equivalent to putting a stiffer coil or leaf spring in - it raises the truck, but the ride will be stiffer.

Common choices for raising fronts are:

1. Cranking stock torsion bar,
2. Replacing torsion bar with Old Man EMU torsion bars,
3. Or installing BJ Spapers

Before you decide on BJ spacers, do your research. See Blazen8's (Blazeland) post on ball-joint failures, on Yotatch.

If I were to do front lift, I would use OME torsion bars. No matter what method you use, U need to take into consideration potential strain to CV joints from sharper angle.

You can raise the rear with longer shackles, by adding a leaf to the spring pack, by putting a block between the leaf and the axle, or by replacing the spring pack with something that will achieve more lift (OME, Ironman, Trailgear, AllPro, Chevy springs, etc).

O.P.,
I suggest you see Ruined Adventure's, and Defrag's posts on OME upgrade. They have put their 4Runners through the paces, from the U.S. to Patagonia- more than most of us t4R owners could only dream of.

 

[jgilk1]

Common choices for raising fronts are:

1. Cranking stock torsion bar,
2. Replacing torsion bar with Old Man EMU torsion bars,
3. Or installing BJ Spapers

Before you decide on BJ spacers, do your research. See Blazen8's (Blazeland) post on ball-joint failures, on Yotatch.

If I were to do front lift, I would use OME torsion bars. No matter what method you use, U need to take into consideration potential strain to CV joints from sharper angle.



O.P.,
I suggest you see Ruined Adventure's, and Defrag's posts on OME upgrade. They have put their 4Runners through the paces, from the U.S. to Patagonia- more that most of us t4R owners could only dream of.

aside from the ome torsion bars being thicker and stronger (and new) what advantage do they give you over the stock torsion bars? ie other then being stiffer and thus requiring less stress on the torsion cam?

 

[KidVermicious]

aside from the ome torsion bars being thicker and stronger (and new) what advantage do they give you over the stock torsion bars? ie other then being stiffer and thus requiring less stress on the torsion cam?

If you're going to lift the torsion bar IFS via the spring, the only way is to increase the spring rate. Armor and winches and bigger motors can be too heavy for the stock torsion bars to support (especially if the stock torsion bars are being used to provide lift), so that's where the OME and other aftermarket bars come in. The OME torsion bar does not in itself provide any lift - the spring rate/preload provides the lift. The stress on the torsion cam is the same, and the ride quality will be the same.

 

[Grumbum]

Thanks to everyone that has replied. But my question is still unanswered. I know what a torsion bar is and how it works. Maybe I asked the wrong question. Instead of asking what cranking a torsion bar means please explain how you would crank a torsion bar. I have had to remove torsion bars in the past in order to replace control arms and I know that you need to play close attention to how you reinstall them in order to keep proper tension on them. This is why i don't understand what cranking one means. Also, I have a second generation (1992) runner. I probably should have put that in the OP. I don't have leaf springs in the back, just coils, so I can't add a leaf. The reason for wanting yo raise the vehicle a little is so that I can run slightly larger tires and not rub.

BTW Kid, love your runner. WICKED!!

 

[KidVermicious]

Cranking the torsion bar means increasing the preload. Here's a how-to:

http://www.off-road.com/trucks-4x4/torsion-bar-adjustment-19258.html

 

[jgilk1]

crank the torsion bars = tightening the cam nut to add more pre load...

well a gen 2 has a 4 link with a pan hardbar so massive lift isnt possible with out replacement of the "4link" and pan hard bar... new coils, or a coil spacer coil spacer is again a lift block most insurance companies will not pay out if you have them installed


i guess we should have asked what sized tires do you plan to run?

 

[fourwd1]

If to just want a couple of inches for bigger tires, a 2" body lift may be all you need.
And regarding "cranking" your t-bars, no one has mentioned that for whatever amount of lift you get, you loose in travel in the opposite direction (you can't get something for nothing).

 

[fo' runnin']

Man, I got bored the other night and decided to crank up my torsions a bit just to see what it was like... I cranked them up 2.5 turns, which only lifted it maybe 1/2" or so, and it rides like pooo compared to before! I'll be cranking them back down to stock tonight! lol