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How well do ball joint spacers work

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Old Aug 6, 2012 | 09:26 PM
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From: paradise CA
How well do ball joint spacers work

I want just 2 more inches of lift so are there any bads to using these

http://www.ebay.com/itm/BILLET-S-FRO...1f44dd&vxp=mtr
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Old Aug 6, 2012 | 09:55 PM
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your not gonna get 2in of lift with 2in spacers, but they work well depending on what size tire you wanna clear, alot of ppl run these and 33s
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Old Aug 6, 2012 | 09:57 PM
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alright should i get the 3 inchers then, and yep im running 33s now
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Old Aug 6, 2012 | 10:00 PM
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From: pensacola FL
33s with those 2in spacers will work fine , just crank your t bars a little more, stiffen your ride a bit but not much, hell if you want crank your 2 bars all the way and you can easily clear 33s but youll ride like a damn bobcat.... stiff
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Old Aug 6, 2012 | 10:10 PM
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yeah im barley clearing my 33s i just wanted alittle more lift with out stiffening up my ride cus i like haven a smooth ride on the trails
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Old Aug 6, 2012 | 11:38 PM
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then the 2in ones will work fine, just replace your ball joints while your in there so you dont have to worry about it, im assumeing your have manaual lock in hubs?
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Old Aug 7, 2012 | 08:12 AM
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Moved to the Newbie Tech Section. The section this was originally posted in is intended strictly for build-ups.

Fink
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Old Aug 7, 2012 | 09:56 AM
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From: Sacramento, CA
1.5" spacers offer 1.5" of travel. They work as theyre intended to.
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Old Aug 7, 2012 | 11:48 AM
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alright cool so i give them a try thanks
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Old Aug 7, 2012 | 05:20 PM
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There's no such thing as a 2" or 3" BJ spacer...that I know of...

If it claims to be 2" or 2.5" of lift or whatever, it really means it's a 1.5" spacer and the remaining lift is achieved by torsion bar cranking. This is the kit I installed on my truck: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Toyota-IFS-P...941f55&vxp=mtr

It's a better deal IMO because for $80, you get the spacers, diff drop and sway bar drop. It comes with Grade 12.9 and Grade 8 hardware. In the kit that you posted, you only get the spacers for $60.

You shouldn't need to crank your bars with this kit. I could easily clear 33s if my rims had the proper backspacing. Other than the change in suspension and steering geometry, there are no downsides to BJ spacers.

Last edited by 93Xtra-Cab; Aug 7, 2012 at 05:25 PM.
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Old Aug 7, 2012 | 05:51 PM
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alright, but what advantage do i get with droping my diff vs just droping the hub
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Old Aug 8, 2012 | 05:23 AM
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If you only do BJ spacers, you put the CV shafts at greater angles. If you do BJ spacers and crank the torsion bars, the CVs will start to bind and/or break. A differential drop makes it where the CVs are at a close to stock angle when you have BJ spacers installed.

So they're not absolutely necessary when only installing BJ spacers, however they are recommended.
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Old Aug 8, 2012 | 10:00 AM
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From: paradise CA
oh alright yeah that makes sence,, and iv herd that there hard on ur idlers
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Old Aug 8, 2012 | 10:06 AM
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Yeah, but even the stock suspension is hard on the idler arm
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Old Aug 8, 2012 | 10:12 AM
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From: paradise CA
hah oh really, alright so ether way i got replace them
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Old Aug 8, 2012 | 03:24 PM
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It wouldn't hurt, since the truck is so old
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Old Aug 8, 2012 | 04:03 PM
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alrightty, now idk i think my torsion bars have been tightened because on big bumps this thing rides like my 73 chevy, i can take some pics if thatll help
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Old Aug 20, 2012 | 12:22 PM
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Just wondering, if you were to install BJ spacers for additional flex instead of lift, is the diff drop necessary?

By that I mean putting in the spacers and then uncranking the torsion bars to stock height.
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Old Aug 20, 2012 | 01:15 PM
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From: Monkton, MD
Originally Posted by Dude Man
Just wondering, if you were to install BJ spacers for additional flex instead of lift, is the diff drop necessary?

By that I mean putting in the spacers and then uncranking the torsion bars to stock height.
You wouldn't need the diff drop because if you uncrank the bars to stock height, the CVs will be at stock angles.
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Old Aug 20, 2012 | 01:53 PM
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Makes sense.

If you install them like I described, do they allow more articulation or just up travel?

Planning to do a SAS eventually but I've been debating for a while if BJ spacers are worth it for the mean titime.
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