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Hey guys after working 12 hrs last night I decided to come home and put my new bj spacers on this morning. after about 3hrs of trying to get my upper control arm to move I gave up. I can't get my bj spacers in. the upper will not move at all. and I can't get the torsion bars to release any pressure.
The damned thing is stuck... right there.....I'm ready to cut this its up into little pieces
The torsion bar is pushing the upper control arm down with an equivalent force to the full weight of the vehicle on that wheel, roughly 1200 lbs or so at the ball joint. So, you won't be able to get it to move without releasing the tension on the torsion bar, or by jacking up the UCA.
But, I don't think you want to do either. Instead, I think you need to push the lower control arm down enough to get your ball joint spacer in between the two control arms. If you can't do that you need to figure out why.
Be very careful if you're trying to move the UCA or release pressure on the torsion bar. There is a lot of stored energy there that can cost you fingers or a hand if it gets out of control.
I would recommend spending an evening researching online as to how to do this safely, before proceeding further. And then don't do this without someone else around.
Others have done this - wait for them to chime in before going further.
Ok good input! The lower arm will drop low enough. but...the lower ball joint does not have the range of movement to get the angle to mount the ball joint and spacer while the upper is in its current condition
Well, I think that's a problem, because, even if you could raise the UCA to get it assembled, you'd immediately wreck the lower ball joint the first time the suspension ever went back to full down-travel (which is where it is right now.) You need to figure out why your angles don't work out. If things won't fit together with the UCA at full down-travel, something isn't right.
I want to take the tension off the upper. as if right now I have "0" front suspension movement. and "0". travel. the only movement is whatever deflection I get from the tires sidewall this is unacceptable to me. this truck rides like a dump truck haha. thanks for your good information. I'm New here and not sure how to get support on things like this
Are you saying that even before you started the BJ lift installation, the front suspension had no movement? Do you have aftermarket heavier torsion bars installed? Has someone cranked up the tension on them dramatically?
Here's a link to the service manual pages concerning the torsion bar and how to release it. Be aware that the adjusting bolts are often frozen with rust and twist off when you attempt to loosen them. Soak them with PB Blaster for a day before trying to loosen them. Make sure there is no weight on the front suspension when you are working with this, or else the truck will fall on your head when the torsion bar lets go.
Just to be clear on this. With the suspension disassembled as shown in your pictures, you will not be able to budge the UCA without a jack or a very long lever. The torsion bar is pushing it against the bump stop with about 1200 lbs of force.
With the vehicle assembled and wheels on the ground, the UCA should be off the bump stops and you should be able to bounce the suspension a couple of inches each way. If you can't you definitely have issues.
I do believe the t-bars are maxed. would there be travel with that in effect? I ve lubed the tbar bolts several Times today and I will try adjusting them tomorrow. even with your illustrations I'm not sure I completely understand the way these things are setup.
I don't know the effective range of the t-bar adjustment, but it wouldn't surprise me if maxing them out would pretty much force the UCA against the lower stop under normal street conditions. Not ideal at all.
Also.. after i placed the stands under the frame I tried to jack it up from under the lower bj it may have moved a half inch before it started to lift the truck off the jack stands. So i dont know where to begin to try and get that upper to travel more. With or without load
Question: if the torsion bars have been cranked up wouldn't it be important to get them adjusted properly first with the stock suspension setup, then once that is done install the ball joint spacers??? IE: the measuring points (per FSM, from ground to front camber bolt) are based off stock suspension and tire size. BJ spacers would increase the distance between those measuring points.
If you're going to do that, put a thick slab of steel above the bolt first. That will help keep it from launching itself up through the floor of the cab when the head lets go. The rest is pretty self-explanatory.
03-11-2016, 09:40 AM
