Did the opposite on my Mountaineer last summer. The rear springs were sagging so I lowered the fronts to match. Big improvement in looks and ride. Thanks Terry.
Great video. Front passenger side was sitting too low causing tire to rub when I turned right. Was able to level passenger side to same height as driver side. No more rubbing. Wish I had know this before trimming bumper and banging on the rocker panel.
This is good to know how to do but I really regret doing it. Wore out my ball joints and control arm bushings SUPER fast. Now my blazer wonders on the freeway like crazy! Not worth it, if you do it make sure youre willing to spend nearly $1k in the future. Also make sure you get an alignment right after you do it to save youre control arm bushings from tearing, very very important!
Also tears up the idler arm and pitman arm super fast. Every Blazer I've done this to (95, 98, 04) goes through idler arms afterwards every 15K - pitman arm 20-30K.
AWESOME VIDEO! I couldn't figure out why my cv axle on pass. side was binding.. I bought the truck off of someone and thought they put some sort of lift kit on the front end and squatted the rear. turned out they had the torsion key all the was high in the front and after reversing the bolts the loosened up the tension in the lower control arms like you said and gave me all the clearance and normal play needed in the control arms to ride again. I'll go back today and adjust for the correct height now. Thanks!
No matter where you go it’ll be hard to tell if the ground is level. You’re better off just adjusting the bolts to the same on each side and adjust both bolts tell they are at the ride height you want
My driver front tire on my '98 Blazer was wearing badly on the inside tread. I tightened up the torsion one full turn to compensate because I couldn't find anything wrong with the ball joints. (Being able to wiggle the tire.) Probably ought to change them anyway since out where I live the suspension takes a beating from blacktops and gravel roads.
Have to mention. Raising your torsion bars especially to the max will throw off your caster angles and not only will it ride harder, your handling characteristics will change significantly (for the worse) especially noticeable on highway speeds.
If torsion bar suspension . Turning the bolt does not make it go up , Try with weight off of vehicle , if not working then is it slipping on the bar , something rusted , or is torsion bar worn out . Hard to say with out seeing
I HOPE THAT THIS CHEVROLET BLAZER IS GOING TO GET FIX AND WHATEVER NEEDS FIXING AND GET THAT FIX DONE SO IT CAN START OUT GREAT AND GET THAT ALL DONE SO IT CAN START OUT FANTASTIC AND DRIVE SWELL ON THE ROAD AND GO GOOD ON THE ROAD
the shackles in the back on the leaf spring should be adjustable. if you took the spring to the lower notch it might reduce the load going to the front. just a thought
A lot of people commenting on this video, haven't seen the other one... with the incorrect leaf springs and smashed shackles. Correct leaf springs and shackles from the junkyard and/or new parts would have been the better solution...
No . Because if in 4x4 on the hard pavement it would hurt the transfer case . 4x4`s need the same size tires , unless gear ratios have been altered to make up for tire size
Torsion Bar . where would you put the spacer . can adjust the tension on the bar or change the key . There is no coil spring . Thank you for watching and asking .
Good video, I just bought a '99 Jimmy, loaded, nice truck but I hear & feel the torsion key's click against the adjusting bolt when turning left or right on an inclined bump. Should I tighten them?
+Gary E Duchemin normally the bolts are about half way turned in . if they are about half way and are making a noise then i would think there has to be something worn someplace . But hard to really say with out seeing the vehicle
Thanks for your response. Everything is tight and right .I just put 4 Cooper Discoverer RTX all around, no clicking from the torsion key's any more, interesting. Thanks again!
My front end looks kinda low. Does the tension loosen up over time causing the front end to lower? Is that the purpose of adjusting the torsion bars to return the ride height to normal?
You explained everything clearly, thank you, but if i have a 2" body lift on mines will i still be able to get one more inch in the front using this method? I was just wondering if it mattered if i already had 2 inches of body lift already, or if it would hurt to add 1 more inch using the torsion bar
I am replacing my lower passenger side control arm on a 95 gmc jimmy.As I install new arm , I noticed my adjusting bolt to my torsion bar come off. Can I go ahead and install my control arm and then adjust the torsion , or do do the torsion first? also looking from rear to front , as I crank on the adjustment bolt , the bar is going to turn clockwise forcing the control arm down correct ?
You can do after but may need a torsion bar tool to get key and bolt back in . A lot of parts stores have it as a loaner tool . if you need it yes turning the bolt in rises the vehicle .
wtbm123 Thanks for the quick response . The video really helped out . I tried to install A-arm and noticed that the ball joint was up to high , [into the hub],that is when I noticed the adj. bolt had come off . Putting some torsion back will lower the ball joint to the point where I can bolt it up to the steering knuckle correct ?
ken rousey If the control arm is what you need to get lower you should be able to push it down with a pry bar or hooking a big adjustable wrench to it and push it down unless it is already at bottom of travel. did u try lifting the top up . Even after removing bolt from torsion key there could still be tension on the rod. You can move the torsion bolt , just count turns u move it or the threads so u can put back.. not sure if i following u exactly .
i have a question, my torsion bars are making creaking noise..been trying to narrow it down and today i was pushing up from the torsion bars and it creates the noise, is this from too much pre-load? i have both sides at 32"
I adjusted the passenger side up 1/2" along with the driver side.. only problem is there's no more adjustment on the drivers side? it's all the way tight. passenger side has about 7 threads exposed. but the front is up 32.5" rear is 32.75" any recommendations?
If one needs to be adjusted a lot tighter it may be weak or something bent. If needing to turn them all the way in you may want to get aftermarket keys. they are timed differently . It was prob not exactly level front to back from factory. For proper ride height measurement it would be taken off the frame and not sure what the specs are.
If moving very far yes . If taken to a good shop for alignment , they should check ride of vehicle and adjust if necessary before doing any alignment .
How you measure curb height is wrong. You must use the factory specs and frame locator holes to accurately do the job. And as a precaution you should use a puller to unload the torsion bar for adjustments. The adjusting screw isn't made to adjust, but to hold the position after the curb height is obtained. Too much stress on the bolt may cause it to strip the threads while turning it under load.
Yes it will affect alignment. It will make all the angles different. I use this most to restore height . They also make replacement torsion keys witch is better if trying to lift much. But will need a tool to change them. A few turns should not hurt anything
Torsion bars are not meant for adjusting body height. The purpose of the adjustment is to maintain correct front chassis ride height. The suspension and steering linkage must be within factory specs. if it's not, you WILL encounter premature wear on all 4 ball joints, all 4 CV joints, and both of the outer tie rod ends, guaranteed. All of these parts are designed with a certain range of motion. If chassis ride height is out of spec, these parts will be operating beyond their designed limit, and could fail without warning. When you adjust front chassis ride height, the body height naturally changes as a "side effect". Any adjustment to the torsion bars directly affects wheel alignment settings substantially. After front chassis ride height is correctly adjusted, the front end needs to be aligned. If the body is not level afterward, there's a body problem, not a suspension problem.
No issues yet , I explained in the video this was not a proper lift or should be used as a lift .But sometimes you need to pick the best of two evils .
as we all do, we like to learn how to service and save money fixing things ourselves but I absolutely do not recommend using torsion bars for anything other than what they were designed for, some things like levelling or lifting a car should be done properly so the rest of your components don't wear out or fail dangerously costing you big repairs in the near future.
How many turns did you do to get that much lift and what did you do to lift up your back end? I have a 01 Blazer LS 4x4 and would like to put at least 30s on it.
Errado. Tem que levantar o carro pelo menos 5 cm para aliviar a suspensão para depois torcer o parafuso. Com o carro no chão é possivel a quebra ou o espanamento do mesmo, daí o prejuízo será maior,
No i just wanna level my fromt vs rear im going for a squat jist because everyone has theyre preferred look and i like the layed back idea.. so if i wanted to level the fromt is there any way to lower the rear? And i do understand these are not lifting and lowering moves i just wanna do the free way to tax return comes
Did the opposite on my Mountaineer last summer. The rear springs were sagging so I lowered the fronts to match. Big improvement in looks and ride. Thanks Terry.
Great video. Front passenger side was sitting too low causing tire to rub when I turned right. Was able to level passenger side to same height as driver side. No more rubbing. Wish I had know this before trimming bumper and banging on the rocker panel.
Glad it helped .
This was precisely the information I was searching for. Thanks so MUCH! Very clear and specific instructions
Thanks
Me too. Thanks for the very clear explination. Dandahermit.
Best video for this. I’ve got an s10 I need to do this on and I couldn’t find a better video until now.
Thanks
@@wtbm123
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I like the way you explain the process for proper adjustment of the torsion bars good video
This is good to know how to do but I really regret doing it. Wore out my ball joints and control arm bushings SUPER fast. Now my blazer wonders on the freeway like crazy! Not worth it, if you do it make sure youre willing to spend nearly $1k in the future. Also make sure you get an alignment right after you do it to save youre control arm bushings from tearing, very very important!
Also tears up the idler arm and pitman arm super fast. Every Blazer I've done this to (95, 98, 04) goes through idler arms afterwards every 15K - pitman arm 20-30K.
That's what alignments are for
AWESOME VIDEO! I couldn't figure out why my cv axle on pass. side was binding.. I bought the truck off of someone and thought they put some sort of lift kit on the front end and squatted the rear. turned out they had the torsion key all the was high in the front and after reversing the bolts the loosened up the tension in the lower control arms like you said and gave me all the clearance and normal play needed in the control arms to ride again. I'll go back today and adjust for the correct height now.
Thanks!
Glad it was just an adjustment needed , Thanks for stopping in
No matter where you go it’ll be hard to tell if the ground is level. You’re better off just adjusting the bolts to the same on each side and adjust both bolts tell they are at the ride height you want
I've done that on a Chevy luv (isuzu) Nissan, Isuzu Trooper, s10 my son's Toyota and that process worked on all of them.
Hey I love that road you took it looks like a great place to drive. Never knew about this adjustment so good instructional vid guy
Same here. Reminds me of those Motorweek videos with Mr. John Davis.
By the looks of that bolt it was all the way down anyways, struggle is real with us that actually do work.. keep it up!
Yes , Thanks for watching and commenting
My driver front tire on my '98 Blazer was wearing badly on the inside tread. I tightened up the torsion one full turn to compensate because I couldn't find anything wrong with the ball joints. (Being able to wiggle the tire.) Probably ought to change them anyway since out where I live the suspension takes a beating from blacktops and gravel roads.
Could be ball joints , but i would also look at the control arm bushings , especially the upper control arm ones
Have to mention. Raising your torsion bars especially to the max will throw off your caster angles and not only will it ride harder, your handling characteristics will change significantly (for the worse) especially noticeable on highway speeds.
Raising back to stock will not hurt , If one tries to use as a lift kit and raise to the max , the worst part is ball joints seem to wear fast .
Yes, in your case raising it to correct ride height is perfectly fine. I'm suggesting when you raising it higher than ride height specifications.
Thanks for watching
Yep Thanks for watching
Thank you for the know-how, now my ol K2500 rides a lot better, holds the alignment much better as well.
Thank you for stopping by and commenting
wtbm123, No thank you for taking the time to comment, most you-tubers I comment I never get a reply.
Sometimes it takes me a while , but i try to respond to all comments .
the stiffness is not a result of a tighter spring, the spring does not get tighter at all. what it does is pre set your suspension closer to maxed out
Good video. Cranking the torsion bars up definitely stiffens the ride!
2003 Cadillac Escalade. The left side does not move up when turning the torsion bar bolt. What's the problem? Thanks in advance.
If torsion bar suspension . Turning the bolt does not make it go up , Try with weight off of vehicle , if not working then is it slipping on the bar , something rusted , or is torsion bar worn out . Hard to say with out seeing
@@wtbm123 Thank you for your attention
I HOPE THAT THIS CHEVROLET BLAZER IS GOING TO GET FIX AND WHATEVER NEEDS FIXING AND GET THAT FIX DONE SO IT CAN START OUT GREAT AND GET THAT ALL DONE SO IT CAN START OUT FANTASTIC AND DRIVE SWELL ON THE ROAD AND GO GOOD ON THE ROAD
What ?
@@gaknskkmy thoughts exactly 😅
the shackles in the back on the leaf spring should be adjustable. if you took the spring to the lower notch it might reduce the load going to the front. just a thought
Non adjustable . Only two holes
i never had a ride with torsion bars , good video
A lot of people commenting on this video, haven't seen the other one... with the incorrect leaf springs and smashed shackles. Correct leaf springs and shackles from the junkyard and/or new parts would have been the better solution...
C00L, and thanks for watching.
Don't you have to loosen and re-tighten the upper control arms since your changing the ride height settings??
No , not moving it that much , but if lifting with a lift kit or making a big change yes
Can you just put smaller tires on the back?
No . Because if in 4x4 on the hard pavement it would hurt the transfer case . 4x4`s need the same size tires , unless gear ratios have been altered to make up for tire size
What about a spacer in the spring for lift, better?
Torsion Bar . where would you put the spacer . can adjust the tension on the bar or change the key . There is no coil spring . Thank you for watching and asking .
Good video, I just bought a '99 Jimmy, loaded, nice truck but I hear & feel the torsion key's click against the adjusting bolt when turning left or right on an inclined bump. Should I tighten them?
+Gary E Duchemin normally the bolts are about half way turned in . if they are about half way and are making a noise then i would think there has to be something worn someplace . But hard to really say with out seeing the vehicle
Thanks for your response. Everything is tight and right .I just put 4 Cooper Discoverer RTX all around, no clicking from the torsion key's any more, interesting. Thanks again!
This Torsion bar allows you to lift front and back or only the front?
Front and should not raise it over stock height
@@wtbm123 how can I know if the height of my car is stock or not?
My front end looks kinda low. Does the tension loosen up over time causing the front end to lower? Is that the purpose of adjusting the torsion bars to return the ride height to normal?
Yea seems the torsion bars may relax some over time
So, what's the original height of chevy blazer?
So i can compare
I could fill the back with rocks. lol. Thanks for watching
You explained everything clearly, thank you, but if i have a 2" body lift on mines will i still be able to get one more inch in the front using this method? I was just wondering if it mattered if i already had 2 inches of body lift already, or if it would hurt to add 1 more inch using the torsion bar
The body lift has nothing to do with the torsion bars.
So using the torsion bars I can do a 2 in lift with out doin a alinement
+Shelby Lowe get new spindels....i have 3 inch spindels and have 30 inch tires....basic left.
Is there anyway I can put 22'" on the same truck ...? I have an 98'
Yes I had 22 on my 02 lil rub tho I wasn't running spacers to
never tried so i do not know
@@michaelwilliams434 if you put spacers, it will avoid the wheel to rub??
My 2003 gmc sonoma is leaning on driver side,the back bed is uneven could it be springs or shocks?
Could be one of them could be both. Could be just shut control arm pushing rods or ball joints.
also check for rusted frame
Very cool video Terry. Looks much better
Thanks Stu. It should help in deep snow. LOL.
What size tires are on your blazer
Not mine , but stock size tires
Kelemahan dan kelebihan opel blazer apa biar kami yg py mobil opel selalu behati hati
I am replacing my lower passenger side control arm on a 95 gmc jimmy.As I install new arm , I noticed my adjusting bolt to my torsion bar come off. Can I go ahead and install my control arm and then adjust the torsion , or do do the torsion first? also looking from rear to front , as I crank on the adjustment bolt , the bar is going to turn clockwise forcing the control arm down correct ?
You can do after but may need a torsion bar tool to get key and bolt back in . A lot of parts stores have it as a loaner tool . if you need it yes turning the bolt in rises the vehicle .
wtbm123 Thanks for the quick response . The video really helped out . I tried to install A-arm and noticed that the ball joint was up to high , [into the hub],that is when I noticed the adj. bolt had come off . Putting some torsion back will lower the ball joint to the point where I can bolt it up to the steering knuckle correct ?
ken rousey If the control arm is what you need to get lower you should be able to push it down with a pry bar or hooking a big adjustable wrench to it and push it down unless it is already at bottom of travel. did u try lifting the top up . Even after removing bolt from torsion key there could still be tension on the rod. You can move the torsion bolt , just count turns u move it or the threads so u can put back.. not sure if i following u exactly .
Was looking at ways to fix my blazer now I’m finding free ways to lift it lmao
This is to reset the ride height
Is there an adjustment for the rear?
No , and front adjustment is only there to return ride height
What's the correct ride height?
So one full turn is 1 inch??
Do not remember now . but depending on the condition of torsion bars it could differ some. Take the weight off and easier to adjust .
i have a question, my torsion bars are making creaking noise..been trying to narrow it down and today i was pushing up from the torsion bars and it creates the noise, is this from too much pre-load? i have both sides at 32"
+jasonkgreen811 some could be from preload , but mostly wear
Try greasing the steering and suspension components
you probably need control arm bushings
squirt some lube on them
Thanks for watching and commenting.
How does this affect ride quality? It's only a small change, but just curious.
Makes it stiffer , but just slightly unless you really crank them up then real stiff
You can also lower it this way too correct?
Flat4_vdub_Garage yea, crank it the other way.
thank you, that was just the info I needed. thanks for the video
Thanks for watching
I adjusted the passenger side up 1/2" along with the driver side..
only problem is there's no more adjustment on the drivers side? it's all the way tight. passenger side has about 7 threads exposed. but the front is up 32.5" rear is 32.75"
any recommendations?
If one needs to be adjusted a lot tighter it may be weak or something bent. If needing to turn them all the way in you may want to get aftermarket keys. they are timed differently . It was prob not exactly level front to back from factory. For proper ride height measurement it would be taken off the frame and not sure what the specs are.
I have a 93 4runner where can I find my torsion bars and is it as easy to adjust it?
+Allan Dela fuente look on Partsgeek.com.....
Not all vehicles have torsion bars. Old post I know
1 question i need alignment after chat or no?
If moving very far yes . If taken to a good shop for alignment , they should check ride of vehicle and adjust if necessary before doing any alignment .
thank you
this can be done in 10 minutes with just turning the bolt am i right? i have a 2000 jimmy i'll be doing this to
Kinda
Great vid Terry you're the man.
Thank you
Thanks for Watching
How you measure curb height is wrong. You must use the factory specs and frame locator holes to accurately do the job. And as a precaution you should use a puller to unload the torsion bar for adjustments. The adjusting screw isn't made to adjust, but to hold the position after the curb height is obtained. Too much stress on the bolt may cause it to strip the threads while turning it under load.
Thanks for watching
Yea Prob not the best choice ,but under the circumstances It was an option.
Ok, and will effect my camber in any way, because they need to be adjusted as well, too much positive camber for 32" tires
Yes it will affect alignment. It will make all the angles different. I use this most to restore height . They also make replacement torsion keys witch is better if trying to lift much. But will need a tool to change them. A few turns should not hurt anything
Torsion bars are not meant for adjusting body height. The purpose of the adjustment is to maintain correct front chassis ride height. The suspension and steering linkage must be within factory specs. if it's not, you WILL encounter premature wear on all 4 ball joints, all 4 CV joints, and both of the outer tie rod ends, guaranteed. All of these parts are designed with a certain range of motion. If chassis ride height is out of spec, these parts will be operating beyond their designed limit, and could fail without warning. When you adjust front chassis ride height, the body height naturally changes as a "side effect". Any adjustment to the torsion bars directly affects wheel alignment settings substantially. After front chassis ride height is correctly adjusted, the front end needs to be aligned. If the body is not level afterward, there's a body problem, not a suspension problem.
No issues yet , I explained in the video this was not a proper lift or should be used as a lift .But sometimes you need to pick the best of two evils .
Nice video, I am going to try this today, thanks...
Thanks for watching and commenting
wtbm123 Finished my s10 yesterday, truck looks so much better and in my opinion rides better too. Thanks to your video it was a breeze, cheers...
as we all do, we like to learn how to service and save money fixing things ourselves but I absolutely do not recommend using torsion bars for anything other than what they were designed for, some things like levelling or lifting a car should be done properly so the rest of your components don't wear out or fail dangerously costing you big repairs in the near future.
Did this on my 94s10 went from 235s to 33s
How many turns did you do to get that much lift and what did you do to lift up your back end? I have a 01 Blazer LS 4x4 and would like to put at least 30s on it.
Crank 'er up!
GM went back to torsion bars after 40 years...hmm
Errado. Tem que levantar o carro pelo menos 5 cm para aliviar a suspensão para depois torcer o parafuso. Com o carro no chão é possivel a quebra ou o espanamento do mesmo, daí o prejuízo será maior,
Até quantos centímetros ou polegadas posso levantar o carro, sem comprometer muito o funcionamento da suspensão?
gotta 2001 zr2 stuck lift. can i lift mine also like this?
This is basically to restore ride height , not intended to replace a lift
No i just wanna level my fromt vs rear im going for a squat jist because everyone has theyre preferred look and i like the layed back idea.. so if i wanted to level the fromt is there any way to lower the rear? And i do understand these are not lifting and lowering moves i just wanna do the free way to tax return comes
you have to adjust your headlight too don't you ?
If just restoring height to original, then the lights should be ok . But yes changing suspension height will change head light aim
Thanks,
Thanks , It helped a little.
You just need to add a 60 gal spare fuel tank in the back.
Gary Biggs SpongeBob Christmas
lol!
Measure ..Ill do it from center of the rim .. and more that half tank of gas
this video was helpful
Thank you
cool put some weights in the back and she will level off lol
Get a 4x4 and be like the Mopar guys of yore with their torsion bar suspensions.
Thank for watching
Agregar ha españo
that was great vid did not know that...#53
How do you feel about illegal alliens?
good one
Make a tippy vehicle even more tippy
I
Thanks for watching.
Thanks
Thanks.