stock (for now) I need to do this


or just ditch that rear block :-D

 

You'll have a better ride ditching the block.

 

Your bolts wont be even to make the truck the same height.

There is a ranger lean they call it if you notice the passenger side bolts is out further.

This lean is to compensate for full fuel tank and driver weight.

It will settle a bit after driving around, and working the suspension. Just adjust drive around and readjust till it is where you want it.

I did mine and it settled a lot so I maxed them out and it settled into the spot I wanted them.

 

then those B*** are coming out over Thanksgiving, lol

 

Yeah one bolt is out further than the other, they come like that stock so don't worry about it. i have my tbars maxed out and it doesn't ride bad.....except past 65 for some reason prob unbalanced tires

 

When I bought mine new the front was much lower than the back with too much rake. I cranked up the t-bars about 3-1/2 turns apiece and the look was great but ride stiffened up a bunch. I hardly off-road and wanted the smoother ride so I relocated the rear spring spacer blocks above the spring effectively dropping the back 2-1/2" inches then backed off the t-bars to what it was. Rode great, looked like crap. I lowered the front another 4 turns each to achieve more rake. Rides like a dream . . . also improved driveline U-joint angles dramatically. Not as sexy or sporty looking (much less statement) but rides so much better I'm trying it for a while to see if it grows on me. Looks more like a 2WD now with oversize tires. Front lower A-arms are almost touching the bumper stops. Who knows? If it doesn't grow on me I'll raise it back up and just live with the stiffness.

 

Very good write up. I am going to do this to my truck this weekend.

As for that 2" factory block, I have some 3" blocks from lowering my old B2200, could I swap those in place of the stock blocks and get some longer U bolts and give myself an exta inch in the back?

Instead of a 2/3 drop,do a 2/3 lift lol.

 

Yeah you could.

 

but that's kinda more work than it's worth for an inch. Should just get some 4" blocks instead and do a 2" lift in the back and 1.75" in the front with the torsions. That would make me happy enough.

 

I wouldn't if I were you. Get a Chevy drop shackle, I think the code on summitracing.com is BEL-6400 or something like that.

 

Yeah I was thinking shackles. There isn't one specific for a Ranger?

 

their is on ebay, and i got torsion keys with mine for a hundred ten bucks. i could get pics if you like

 

Torsion keys suck, theres a reason that no one but you runs them. It will destroy your tie rods, ball joints and other things.

 

The one we actually use is a full size Chevy drop shackle, it actually raises our trucks.

 

So Mike, if you do decide to lower it this weekend I just wanted to give you a heads up on a few things: I had to enlarge the holes in the spacer blocks slightly (used a 3/4" drill) as it didn't want to fit over the spring **** (you'll have to "flip" the blocks upside-down) and some minor grinding may be needed on the sides of the spacers where the threads on the U-bolts pass by 'cause the threads on the U-bolts have slightly larger O.D. than where the smooth shanked. Other than that it's a super quick thing to do and totally reversible I you don't like it. Good luck.

 

nice write up

 

If this is aimed at me, I'm not planning on lowering my truck, I just want a very slight lift with a minimum of cost and work at the moment. I'm just going to be running 31x10.5x15 tires and I want the truck to lose the nosedive stance it has from the factory and sagging from high milage.

 

I've just come back in from cranking my torsions up a tad. I didn't need to lube the bolts and they moved quite easily using a 1/2" socket and about a 2 foot long breaker bar.

I only raised the front end by about 1.25" and took it for a 10 minute drive to settle it and came back and everything sits nice and even. It's funny what a difference just over an inch makes sitting in the cab.

 

Nice, did the same to my truck, i felt like a feild plow or something with my front end diving into the ground all the time, i put new torsion keys in though, tuff country, it let my get the height to match the back without having to crank my bolts as far..... kind cool

 

I also forgot to mention I did 12 quarter turns on each side,so I guess that would have been about 4 full rotations. My top of tire to bottom of fender gap front and rear is now an even 5".

 

Ok,so here's my beast cranked up a little bit...and washed for the first time in about a month.

Before:


After:

 

Looks good! Much better than a "dragging front chin" look. That's the beauty of torsion bars . . . if you don't like it, you can easily adjust it.

 

Yup. I had an '89 B2200 with a very low static drop. I installed 2" drop spindles and cranked the torsion bars down. Got it low enough that the top of a 205/40/17 tire just started to tuck without rubbing at full lock.

Also,if you notice in the before and after pics I posted,my truck didn't require very much adjustment, but it is noticable if you look at the pics together.

 

Thanks so much for the guide - I'll be putting it to use soon.

Stupid question:

What do you mean by "breaker bar"?

 

slide a tube or pipe over the handle of your ratchet to make it longer giving you more leverage to turn the bolt easier.