Wheel hitting bumper - will new torsion key fix it?

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TommyJ1980

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Hi folks, I wanted to ask a question for the collective wisdom - I have this weird situation where the tire on my truck hits the bumper when I make a hard R turn, but only on the driver side. They are slightly larger tires than stock I believe, and the truck is not lifted. I turned the torsion key bolt to lift it some, back when I was doing some work to the front suspension, replacing the LCAs on both sides, but I don't really know what I'm doing with that. My question is whether I can buy a larger torsion key that will simply fix the problem? I'm not interested in lifting the truck at all, and honestly, I've had to do a s*** ton of work to it in the past little while, and right now I'd just like to drive it for a little while without something else breaking, so I was hoping I could just replace that component with a larger one and have it lifted an inch or two and fix the problem? Appreciate any thoughts you might have on this, thanks, Tommy.
 

Supercharged111

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Hi folks, I wanted to ask a question for the collective wisdom - I have this weird situation where the tire on my truck hits the bumper when I make a hard R turn, but only on the driver side. They are slightly larger tires than stock I believe, and the truck is not lifted. I turned the torsion key bolt to lift it some, back when I was doing some work to the front suspension, replacing the LCAs on both sides, but I don't really know what I'm doing with that. My question is whether I can buy a larger torsion key that will simply fix the problem? I'm not interested in lifting the truck at all, and honestly, I've had to do a s*** ton of work to it in the past little while, and right now I'd just like to drive it for a little while without something else breaking, so I was hoping I could just replace that component with a larger one and have it lifted an inch or two and fix the problem? Appreciate any thoughts you might have on this, thanks, Tommy.

You don't need different keys, you can crank the stock keys clear to the down stops and ruin your ball joints.
 

GoToGuy

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How large diameter over stock, what the truck was built with, did you go? It's on the door tag and RPO option code. One condition you could have caused by using larger diameter tires.
But to complicate the problem, making it , an" either or both " , you replaced parts and touched the torsion bar adjustment.
First thought, after all this did you have an alignment check since this maintenance? Without checking to ensure adjustable parts are in correct positions, it's just guessing.
You don't want it lifted yet your playing with torsion bars.
Did this condition occur after new tires or after your maintenance?
 

TommyJ1980

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Thanks for the info! The specs on the door call for 245/75/16 and the tires are 265/75/16. I bought it with these tires, and this issue wasn’t present at that time, then replaced most of the front suspension components due to wear and age, then had it professionally aligned AFTER all that was completed, and that’s when this showed up. The only thing I can think of that would’ve caused it is using a LCA off of same year Astro because it showed interchangeable, and that part was no longer available anywhere for my truck. 1998 k2500 250,000miles.
 

Supercharged111

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That's still a stock size. Typically 285/75/16 will clear with a small crank. Could be your wheels, are they aftermarket? I personally have 285/70/17 on my 1500 with a mild crank and just kiss the frame on full lock.
 

termite

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The only thing I can think of that would’ve caused it is using a LCA off of same year Astro because it showed interchangeable, and that part was no longer available anywhere for my truck. 1998 k2500 250,000miles.
I remember seeing the thread on that but don't recall details. Possible the arm geometry is slightly different setting the wheel forward or back?

:superhack:Could do like a PO did to my suburban and trim the bumper a touch on each side if you don't want to touch the t-bars.
 

TommyJ1980

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Update - I took the advice of a shop manager at a local garage and cranked the torsion screws on both sides, and measured all around, the distance from top of wheel well to top of wheel, and tried to make them correlate. The front indeed was lower, and now the rear is about 7in, and the front 6.5in. I did notice some difference in cornering, but I need to explore that more. This did solve the problem of rubbing the front wheels, but it almost feels like the torsion screw on the driver side might be toast. It sounds and feels like its about to strip, and I can tell there's a lot of pressure riding on it, especially when tightened like it is. Thinking about replacing that, and doing an overall evaluation of the ride of this thing.
 

termite

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Update - I took the advice of a shop manager at a local garage and cranked the torsion screws on both sides, and measured all around, the distance from top of wheel well to top of wheel, and tried to make them correlate. The front indeed was lower, and now the rear is about 7in, and the front 6.5in. I did notice some difference in cornering, but I need to explore that more. This did solve the problem of rubbing the front wheels, but it almost feels like the torsion screw on the driver side might be toast. It sounds and feels like its about to strip, and I can tell there's a lot of pressure riding on it, especially when tightened like it is. Thinking about replacing that, and doing an overall evaluation of the ride of this thing.
I'd want to get that thing back on the alignment rack before putting many miles on it after cranking the bars and changing the geometry.

On changing the adjuster bolt, my suburban had what appeared to be locktite on both t-bar adjuster bolts. If the threads look fine, I'd leave it be.
 
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