So I want to get more height out of the stock suspension. Is it possible? Reliable? I've heard about cranking up the tortion bars, but I don't know anything about it. How much lift can one achive if this an option? The truck spends most of it's time on the pavement, I'm ashamed to say. The truck has some 31x10.50 BFG Muds on it but I really want to fit 33's under it. I've also thought about a 3" or so body lift. What are my options, aside from a full blown suspention lift kit?

 

You can crank the torsion bars, add some Downey coils in the back, get a 2" (it may take more than that) body lift, do some fender trimming, and then you should be able to run 33". I would definitely plan on regearing if you are going up two tire sizes. Also, if you are going to crank the torsion bars, I highly recommend a set of manual hubs for the front.

 

I do have manual hubs now. So how much do you crank the t-bars? Also how much are the Downey coils? Last, as far as the fender trimming goes, is that inside or what...I'm new at this, please forgive my ignorance! Details and/or photos please for this newbie. Thanks by the way!

 

Well if you're just going for looks, I would throw a 2 in body lift in it and bend the front valence under so the tires clear in the front. Then pound the back of the wheel-well with a sledgehammer to make a little room for clearing in the back of the wheel-well. This is what I did on my 92 pickup ext. cab. and it cleared fine and only rubbed a little off-road under articulation. I never cranked my torsion bars, but you might want to just a little to get a little more clearance for the tires. I'm assuming that you have a 93PU like your name says, and if that is the case you have rear leaf springs not coils, so downey coils are out of the picture for you(sorry Cody I had to set him straight though ) A 2 in body lift with a little pounding and bending is your best bet if you don't plan on wheelin this thing that hard. It's also fairly cheap. Keep the questions coming.

P.S. Next time include what kind of vehicle you are talking about in the post, just makes things a little easier.

 

I wondered about the whole coil spring issue thanks for that info! Now, the rear is sagging some. Do I just need to add a leaf? Will this make it ride incredably rough? I think I'm gunna go with a 3" body lift. I just ran into a guy I know with an 88' runner that he did the same to with 33x12.50's and it looks great. Good idea...bad idea?

 

If you have a manual a 3" might suck, because your gears and evrything drop dowm because they are connected to the frame and your lifting the body off of the frame so therefore the body height increases leaving your gears at regular height. This makes it a pain in the ass to get your shifter to go in reverse because it will hit your 4wd stick and makes it really tuff to get in. My friend had a 93 with a 3" and it was like an act of congress to get that thing in reverse. Now if you can find someone to extend your shifters back to the right postion then a 3" would be fine. Also i know with my 2" I didn't have to extend the steering linkage, but with a 3" you will probably have to. If I were you I would hold out until you have the money and just do a suspension lift. It's a lot cleaner and much less of a hassle, plus it will increase your off-road capabilities. just my .02

 

Thanks for making me look like the a** Jonathan!

 

personally,i wouldnt lift it more then 2 inches because then you have to extend your shifter(or cut the hole in the floor bigger) get longer lines for your radiator and brake lines,and your bumpers will look way off if you dont re-mount them,plus you have that big gap between frame and body. but this is just my 2 cents.

 

If you can trim fender seams and use a hammer, you can run a 1" bodylift and fit 33x12.5 This is not speculation or arm chair lifting, it is what I run on my 95 runner. With 1" there is nothing to monkey around with, slip in the pucks, adjust the front bumper and that thing is done.

Add a couple of inches in the rear and you are done.

Keep torsion bar cranking to a bear minimum. It does no real good and a bit of bad.

 

Originally posted by: FygtensteinI agree with Flygtenstein. I've never been a real fan of the whole torsion bar cranking. It's not very safe for your truck, it creates a lot of positive camber half of the time, and just doesn't really add enough height to have to weigh these chances. If you you're gonna start cranking torsion bars i would at least get some Sway-A-Way torsion bars first.

 

So, whats the best way to eliminate my rear end sagging issue, add-a-leaf? Will this make it ride rougher? Also if I do the body lift and want to extend the shifters how is that done? Thanks for all of the input guys! It shure brings new light to the somewhat dim ideas in my head.

 

Adding thicker torsion bars will do nothing when cranking except make the ride rougher.

I have 25mm bars and an ARB without a winch, it makes my belly jiggle when I hit bumps. Perhaps a HS9500 will change that.

Add a leaf or OME rear springs should do the trick.

 

I'm currently working on something that will help get an additional 1-1.5" up front on IFS 86-95 trucks. Stay tuned, I'll post more info when it's been fully tested.


Oh, and cranking the T-bars will only get you so much lift, but your travel is still limited. My 86 has the T-bars cranked way up (not my choice) and ride is very harsh and it sometimes hops-Not good!!!!
If you do crank them, make sure you dont' over do it and that you still have downward travel.

 

i remember reading on 4x4wire if you crank the torsion bars, dont go over 15inches from rim to fender. (stock of course), if you have a body lift, you have to incorporate that into the math part. cheers!

 

For the rear the cheap solution is an add-a-leaf. I have one in my truck that I used to cure the sagging. IMO not the best way to do it, it rides ruff and you will feel every crack in the road. If you have deeper pockets I'd spring (not pun intended ) for a new leaf pack.

After installing the add-a-leaf I did turn up the torsion bars a bit, nothing drastic though, just enough to get it close to level. I run 32's but I could easily clear a 33.

If you go with a body lift I'd stay @ 2" or less...my truck also has a two inch body lift and reverse is hard to find about half the time. I couldn't imagine how hard it would be with a three inch BL.

If I was keeping the truck or had it to do over again I would definately do things diferently.

 

you could always through a block in the rear to give you a little more height and keep your stock ride comfort. my $.02

 

If I were to go the blocks in the rear route, is that safe when I go wheeling? It'd only be 2" or so. If so, where can I find just the blocks? I haven't run across them in my searching. Thanks for the input!

 

I would strongly recommend add-a-leaf, especially to fix a sagging rear end ... It is cheap and has no real disadvantages. Rougher ride has been mentioned, but I have not noticed any significant differences after adding 2 leafs to each side of a 1988. I guess it depends on how soft your ass is.


It is a great way to add height to your truck with no negative effects on performance and safety, a true lift. I did it mainly to fix the sagging truck rear, but would do it again just for lift.

 

Hey Adrian,

Where did you get your LC rear coils from, and what year of rig did they come off of? Any other special modifications you had to make when you installed them? Thanks a lot for the info-

CTB