oohunter04oo
Like a Rock
Ok, there are many threads about cranking torsion bars and lift keys, so hopefully I can put as much info in this post as possible and questions can be answered in this thread. All of this information will be from my personal experience.
GMT400's do NOT need lift keys. You can crank the torsion bars till thee upper control arms hit the droopstops. (Then you have no suspension down travel). If you crank your torsion bars all the way and yours does not touch the droopstops then your torsion bars are worn and should be replaced. (2500 torsion bars will fit in a 1500). If you want to crank your torsion bars to 3" then you will need to flip you upper balljoints (unbolt them from the top of the upper control arm and bolt them to the bottom of the upper control arm). This will help with getting your alignment straight buy giving enough room to adjust your camber. (Flipping balljoints do not add lift) also remember if you crank this high your lower balljoints, tierod ends and CV shafts will be at a severe angle and will not last long. Also factory 16" wheels will not work with flipped balljoints. The control arm hits the rim.
So if you want to crank your torsion bars, my personal opinion is 1.5"-2" max. Another way to judge is the ribs on your CV shafts. If three ribs are touching your probably cranked to high.
Here's a pic of my truck when it was cranked 3" with lift keys and balljoint flip
You can see the horrible angle and the balljoint flip.
It may look good but it rode horrible. That was with brand new Rancho shocks and all new frontend parts. Frontend was wore out in a year like this. I replaced upper balljoints (and some other parts) 3 times in about 15,000 miles.
3" lift kits -- Most guys say they suck and it a "glorified crank" well they're pretty much right. Most of these kits come with a 1" diff drop, upper control arms, lift keys a shock extenders. So if you buy this kit it's actually better than just cranking to 3". The control arms correct the upper ball joint angle and the diff drop corrects the cv shaft angles. But nothing corrects the lower balljoint angle or tie rod angle. And have heard bad things about the shock extender brackets braking. So run these kits at your own risk.
If you have anymore questions on cranking ask them here and ill answer them and try to keep this post updated if I need to. Thanks for reading, I hope this helps some of you guys.
Hunter
GMT400's do NOT need lift keys. You can crank the torsion bars till thee upper control arms hit the droopstops. (Then you have no suspension down travel). If you crank your torsion bars all the way and yours does not touch the droopstops then your torsion bars are worn and should be replaced. (2500 torsion bars will fit in a 1500). If you want to crank your torsion bars to 3" then you will need to flip you upper balljoints (unbolt them from the top of the upper control arm and bolt them to the bottom of the upper control arm). This will help with getting your alignment straight buy giving enough room to adjust your camber. (Flipping balljoints do not add lift) also remember if you crank this high your lower balljoints, tierod ends and CV shafts will be at a severe angle and will not last long. Also factory 16" wheels will not work with flipped balljoints. The control arm hits the rim.
So if you want to crank your torsion bars, my personal opinion is 1.5"-2" max. Another way to judge is the ribs on your CV shafts. If three ribs are touching your probably cranked to high.
Here's a pic of my truck when it was cranked 3" with lift keys and balljoint flip
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You can see the horrible angle and the balljoint flip.
It may look good but it rode horrible. That was with brand new Rancho shocks and all new frontend parts. Frontend was wore out in a year like this. I replaced upper balljoints (and some other parts) 3 times in about 15,000 miles.
3" lift kits -- Most guys say they suck and it a "glorified crank" well they're pretty much right. Most of these kits come with a 1" diff drop, upper control arms, lift keys a shock extenders. So if you buy this kit it's actually better than just cranking to 3". The control arms correct the upper ball joint angle and the diff drop corrects the cv shaft angles. But nothing corrects the lower balljoint angle or tie rod angle. And have heard bad things about the shock extender brackets braking. So run these kits at your own risk.
If you have anymore questions on cranking ask them here and ill answer them and try to keep this post updated if I need to. Thanks for reading, I hope this helps some of you guys.
Hunter
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