I was thinking about it and alot of us crank our tbars. I cranked mine I think about 2", and not to long after my suspension has been very week in the front, very bouncy. I ordered 4 new shocks, and I ordered the front ones 2" longer than stock to match the tbar crank. Shouldn;t all of us with the tbar crank have longer shocks? Otherwise aren't they being stretched? I also ordered a 2" AAL for the rear, so I also got the rear shocks 2" longer.

Was this the right thing to do? I hope they fit and bolt up properly...

 

You don't have to, but it doesn't hurt. Between my spindles and t-bars I have about 5.5" of lift and I just changed the rear ones. You don't have to change the shocks, but it does help once you do.

 

i thought spindles were on 2wd vehicles? you can do a spindle lift on 4wd?

 

You are correct. Spindles are for 2wd.

 

Spindles also don't require lift shocks

 

so trigger how do you have spindles and tbars? Im confused

 

He's 2wd, t-bars and spindles have nothing to do one another. Any Edge has torsion bars, wether it be 4x2 or 4x4.

 

oh wierd. I still just don't understand torsion bars then lol. I didnt know they made 4.0 2wd rangers

 

They have 4.0 2wd Rangers that are coil sprung too. Just because it has a 4.0 doesn't mean it is 4x4 or has torsion bars

 

They have for as long as I can remember.

 

If you cranked your tbars to get 2" lift, wouldn't you need shocks that are only like 1" longer, due to the geometry of our a-arms? Ie: the shock only attaches mid-way from the pivot to where your ball joint is?

 

oh. well i learned somethin new today

 

**** I hope their not too long

 

I would imagine you would be fine. Take some measurements and see before you mount them

 

so if we went with longer shocks in the front would it smooth out the ride?

 

Longer shocks up front mean the upper control arm will hit the frame, the upper ball joint and the CV joints will bind.
Unless you are only gaining about 1" of droop at the most. This is what the camburg 4x4 upgrade years ago did. A slightly longer shock with limit straps so you don't pull the front end apart.

 

Lowering the torsion bars would. The reason for the rough ride is because his shocks are topping out at the end of their travel every time he hits a bump.

 

Are you sure of this? So should I send them back and get stock height?
What about the rear? I ordered the 2" longer since Im throwing in a 2" AAL

I ordered from jackit.com and they suggested getting longer suspension because of the tbar crank

 

When I ordered my KYB monotubes, I called the tech line @ KYB. For THEIR shocks, they say they perform to specs if they are within 1" of the spec static ride height. I asked cause I want to put 1" lift coils on down the road, so my shock is only 1/2" off the spec height, so I am good (geometry of the arms). I think if you want to know for sure, to call the manufacturer.

 

bump just since there's new people on now, anyone know about this? should I send them back and get shorter ones?

 

Okay, here is my opinion on this. It's your truck so do what you want, this is just what I think..

I think if you plan to do this, you should measure. That means unloading the torsion bar, removing the tire and measuring the length (eye-to-eye), and figure out where ball joints and CV joints bind. I have talked to people who have bought longer shocks and they said they gained maybe an inch (of down travel) before anything started to bind, and they put limit straps on.
Being that the shock body is so short, I think a shock that is 2" longer is not going to allow the suspension to compress to the place where it use to. This means when you bottom out, the shock is going to be fully compressed before the lower control arm hits the bump stop. Which is going to reduce the overall amount of suspension travel you have.
The stock ranger suspension (when I have measured) only has about 3" of down travel up front, from ride height. By cranking the torsion bars 2", you only have 1" of down travel in the front end. I wouldn't want to have any less than 2" for a daily driver, and even that can get rough sometimes. Good (firmer) shocks will help keep the suspension from extending quickly but it isn't going to completely solve your problem.
Every time I played with the torsion bars on any ranger based vehicle I had, I put them back to within 1" of stock to get a decent ride again.

My F150 with the leveling kit only has a hair over 2" of down travel up front and it is fine for daily driving, but I find myself thinking more about a real suspension lift any time I take it off pavement to get a little better ride.

Oh and 2" of travel at the shock probably means +3" of travel at the wheel. If I were to randomly guess at how much longer of a shock you could safely run up front, I would say an extra 1/2" at the most..?

 

i have the 2" longer ones in the rear with just my body lift and i have stock shocks on my front with maxed torsion bars and a body lift lol....that bouncy feeling is because your torsion bars are cranked. drive mine...it bounces a ton but im used to it lol its cuz you are making your ride stiffer putting more tension on the tbars.

 

Longer front shocks will not gain any appreciable amount of travel on a stock Ranger SLA 4x4. My reservoir shocks would allow a lot more travel but the CVs bind while turning at only about 1/4" more travel than stock. And, as Brian said, the upper A-arms hit the frame shortly after that anyway. To control the rebound travel, I have limit straps installed.

Add-a-leafs alone do not need longer shocks either and you would run the risk of them bottoming out internally at full compression.

You should be using good quality shocks with stock dimensions front and rear.

 

well wtf the jackit.com guys told me to get the longer shocks, I thought they knew their ****. I am trying hard to understand but it doesn't make sense to me Im sorry...
so I should send them back and get stock size?

 

The ride is very bouncy in the front, more so now than when I cranked them months ago. When I pull up my driveway and stop, I watch the reflection of the truck in the garage door windows, bouncing side to side a few times before it levels out and stops. Im pretty sure the front shocks are shot, and someone told me that it was because of the tbar crank, they were being stretched further than they should be, which makes sense to me.