Suspension delima

[n8buddy]

I am at a bit of a crossroads right now. My stock suspention on by 91 is totally rotten, and I have finially got the money to replace. I decided to go with Old Man Emu, and i will be replacing all shock and coils, and maybe the steering stabilizer. The only problem is my location (middle of nowhere, canada), and i have figured out 2 options to get it done:

1) Drive to the nearest shop that sells/installs OME, which is 3 hours away. I talked to 2 shops and both said different things. 1 had cheaper parts but said 10+ hours to install. The other shop said about 1/2 the time but the parts were considerably more expensive. Also, they do not have any spacers like option 2, and would crank the torsion bar for additional lift up front.

2)Buy the parts online from http://www.trdparts4u.com/, which has the cheapest parts including the spacers, but i would pay about $140-$200 for shipping. I would then have the parts installed locally, but i do not know if the shop would do the modifications necessary to install the ball joint spacers (also not sure how i feel about cutting off part of the a-arm either)

so i guess my question is What is better: ball joint spacers or cranking the torsion bar? I know little about both.
anyway any info would help alot. I dont need alot of lift, just level it out any have a bit of extra room for larger tires in the future.Thanks!

 

[obex26]

I am going to suggest that if you have a sheltered workplace do it yourself... buy 2 yes I said 2 floor jacks the big ones. an electric impact gun either from lowes HD or harbor freight. 4 of the tall jackstands. Get a couple of buddies and go to town. Its not as hard as you think. Stage it in two sessions do the rear first in one weekend just as a confidence builder. and then do the front on another weekend but only take apart one side at a time this way you can use the other side for reference. Depending on how gung ho you are you can probably pre mock up all components to anticipate timing and also what nuts bolts clips etc might be prone to breaking and have those ready in advance this way you don't disable yourself.

 

[fourwd1]

...so i guess my question is What is better: ball joint spacers or cranking the torsion bar? ...

BJ spacers are the better choice. They increase height w/o affecting ride quality.

T-bar cranking results in a stiffer ride and what you gain in height you loose in travel in the opposite direction.