RMA

Whats Up Guys , I have a small problem and thought I would run it by you guys before I go replacing things up front on my 1988 4runner .
Well about 2 months ago I tightened the bolts on the torsion bars to lift the front a bit, I tightened both sides about the same amount . I then drove the truck a few blocks , went up and down the curb in front of my house and through some of our famous pot holes. I then came home and measured from the top of the rims to the bottom of the fenders, The measurments were off about an inch passenger side was lower than drivers side.
Measured how much thread was left after the nuts on the bolts to the torsion bars and they were the same. So I thought maybe the passenger torsion bar was a little worn.

This weekend I installed a 1" body lift ,BallJoint spacers and a set of used torsion bars from a 1991 4runner.
Everything was good until the torsion bars , the exact same thing happens with this bars. 1 Inch diffrence from drivers side to passenger side.
Now I dont know where to start trying to figure this thing out , or if I should even worry about it , If I crank the torsion bar on the passanger side about 1 and a 1/2 inches more, then they measure the same up front .
what should I look at ?
Everywhere I look about torsion bars you are suppose to turn both side equally.

THanks, Robert

Matt16

I'd adjust them so the the rim-fender distance is the same and not sorry about it. You need to adjust the camber angle or you're going to wear out those new KM2s in short order.

https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f116...ite-up-163432/

Oh yeah, ditch the explorer, its a horrible vehicle.

StangBanger

Yeah man youve got some serious positive camber going on there.. Get that taken care of those tires look nice, we wanna keep it that way. How much were they and what size are they?

Matt16

His signature line says 33x10.5. www.tirerack.com lists 33x10.5r15 BFG KM2s as $164ea.

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/Sizes....rain+T%2FA+KM2

RMA

Explorer I dont have one its an Expedition.I like it its very confortable driving long distances not as cramped as my 4runners.

I will take the truck in for alignment as soon as I am done messing with these torsion bars.
I dont use this truck for a DD so its parked most of the time .

I cant be the only one having problems with the torsion bars not adjusting equally on both sides .
I jacked the front of the truck up off the ground and took a quick look at the truck yesturday and noticed that the upper a arm on the passanger side does not fully compress down on the lower stop , the drivers side does. what the hell.
disconnected the shocks and still the same , locked the hubs spinned the tires and no problems with the axles , they are not binding or anything .
I cannot see what is stoping this a arm from going down any farther.
I really would like to get the torsion bars adjusted equally on both sides in stead of one side stiffer than the other.

HELP!!!!!

[N8]

Are you taking the load off the front suspension to adjust the torsion bars?

Are ya sure you didn't strip part of that side's bolt?

RMA

Yes I am lifting the front of the truck up off the ground using the center support between the lower arms.
The bolts are not stripped , they will tighten and loosen , The passanger side has about 1 1/2 inches of thread past the nut and the drivers side only has about 3/4 of thread past the nut, and they still wont measure the same at the fender to rim measurment.
the drivers side suspension will move nicely up and down with the torsion bar adjusting bolts adjusted , but the passanger side will not.

Matt16

If you can adjust the ride height to be equal on both sides, and it drives alright, then there isn't anything to worry about. Its possible the truck was in an accident and the frame bent a tad, but if it will align, nothing to worry about. That's why there are pretty big adjustments for alignment that would bring the truck waaay out of spec on a factory straight frame- TOyota was expecting the truck to survive a couple good hits.

RMA

Thanks Matt , Yes I can adjust them to the same ride height its just that the passanger side will be alot stiffer than the drivers side . I cannot keep it this way I will have to keep looking to see what is going on , i dont think the truck was in any accident , aleast not one that will throw all the front end off . The passenger a arm will not go all the way down to the lower bump stop either .

Matt16

So when you lift the passenger tire, the upper control arm doesn't meet the upper bump stop???? I'm pretty sure I'm understanding wrong as that just doesn't make sense. Short of an incredibly stiff swaybar, I can't imagine a reason for that.

ampMX

dont tighten your torsion bars too much. you will mess up your truck big time. your suspension will get stiffer. my friend on his 85 runner tightened em all the way and he rolled it because he had no suspension travel.lol. fix your camber as well. and your fenders have no dents in them correct? because that could throw off your measurements.

RMA

Matt forget about the a arms not touching, when I shimmed the shocks i tightened the drivers side a little more than the passengers side fixed that now that is not a problem .
Ampmx I am not trying to tighten then much I want too get them to around 14 1/2 inches on both sides its just that I have to tighten the passenger side alot more than the drivers side to get them to that point.
I do have a few small dents and maybe it is an issue but I really feel something else is wrong.
Everthing I read about torsion bar adjustments says to tighten them equally , and that is just not happening here.
Oh well I am going to go outside and mess with them a little .
Thanks Guys.
I will get an alignment as soon as I finish messing with these things.

RX729

Maybe one shock is shorter than the other...

RMA

man i dont know maybe , I ended up just turning one side more than the other to have them measure the same up front.

HAYSOPTHUNDER

i had the same problem on my 93 pickup and the whole truck only has 67000 original miles you really cant tell the only way you can is if you get a tape measure and measure the diffrence

greatskiiiier

its because the passanger side has the gas tank on it, when the gas tank it full that side will sag a good amount, measure when your tank is empty and see how it measures, if its not level then, then you have a problem...

James Dean

Even 100lbs of gas midway back shouldn't affect your ride hieght. That would mean when the driver was in the car it would tip the other way. 2% of the GVW should change anything.

RMA

yea I never did find out what the problem was . I just adjusted one side more than the other to get the front level. I even put a different set of torsion bars thinking the old ones were worn. But still had the same problem. But OHH well !!

greatskiiiier

the gas has an effect over the 15+ years that the truck has been around, a driver is in the car maybe a couple of hours a day if that, the gas is always there sagging down the one side

JonnyBoy

Never pulled torsion bars off a Yota, but I know my Nissan Pathy had an "R" or "L" on each bar, it was only designed to be twisted 1 way. Not sure if this is the problem, just sorta brainstorming cause I dunno what else it would be.