removal of torsion bars.
 

yall should be able to answer this. if i were to remove my torsion bars and put coil-overs in, do i need something in place of the torsion bars to stop "axle wrap" for lack of a better term or is our front suspension firm enough to not need lateral support?

the bar isnt so much there for support the a-arm mounts take care of that. its not the same concept as a rear axle that needs like latter bars or something to that extent...the tortion bar is your spring not a brace in theory

i knew it was a spring, just didnt know if it provided some rigidity to the system. what confused me in a way was the RCD system that uses those bars. they use them on every system though. so if i were to remove the bars and put a coilover in place of the shock (with some beefing of the mounts), i would be alright? much obliged.

your just going to home make this?

20 bucks if your putting this on a Ranger you wont find a coilover that will fit :wink:

(unless your lowering it, then I have no clue)

he owns a f-150...........loneFX4 this is why i sayed before put "for my f-150" 99% of people dont know you have one. and dont read signs....

I figured that, but when you asked he never responded so we can only assume its for a ranger since this is a ranger site... :dunce:

ya its not thats the funny thing....

anybody that knows anything about a torsion bar front end should be able to answer this. guess i thought wrong though.

and yes, i am going to home make this. when you search for stuff that is rarely seen, wut do you normally find? a fab shop that started in someones backyard and is hand welding most of these pieces. how do you think the first IFS to straight axle conversion came about? someone didnt just say, well make this a production piece off of an assembly line with the first product. ive got people that can weld great and ive got the no-how to make this happen.

dont go and turn your nose up on something because you disagree with it. i asked a simple question and expected a simple answer. who cares if its for an f-150 or a ranger, they both have similar suspension setups with the year f-150 i drive. and if this fails, why should you care? it wont affect you in any way.

The RCD kit that converts to coil-overs gets rid of the torsion bars, but puts in some sort of radius arm to provide the lateral rigidity you speak of. $tone02 and RangerBoy03lvlII are both members who have the RCD coil-over lift. Shoot them a PM as they'll be able to answer your questions better than I can. I know Jared (Rangerboy) is in CA for the next few days, but he's always been more than happy to help me out, I'm sure he could do the same for you. He's a ford mech too, so maybe he'll know more about your F-150.

I dont think anybody cares what its for, but it MATTERS. STOCK RANGERS can NOT be made coilover. Period. They dont fit. I have done a ton of research and even the smallest 2.0 coilover is to large in diamater and will be hit by the upper control arm.

Zach answered your question and you still questioned it.

It was asked if it was for a Ranger (doesnt have to be yours) or your F1.. of which you never ansered.

So now that we are talking about F1's, it may just be possible to do this, but how is anybody to know that unless you say it. We are not ****ing mind readers.


Zach, I know this is not just a Ranger site, but to make my point it had to be said that way. You have to admit though that the "main" purpous of this place is Ranger related and with out stating the vehicle that we are talking about the defalt has to be Ranger.

check the time stamp on the posts, thats the space that i have between getting on here after 8 at night. im at work outside for the day so i usually dont get on past 8 or 9 (tonight is an exception) and dont get home from work until 4 or 5.

I noticed the radius arm but i also saw that RCD puts them on pretty much every one of their lifts. so, do i need a brace after removing my torsion bars?

No it is not necisary.

Its not a "radius" arm in the normal sense. A radius arm aids in the movement in a radius. Older I Beam suspension systems move in a radius where as A-Arms move verticle. But I'm sure you know this allready.

The bar that RCD puts on is basicly there for looks, you can remove it and never know it was there.

Aditionaly, that bar will limit your travel.

Dont get me wrong, I'm sure RCD has a reason they do it, but it is not necisary.

I know a bit about suspension systems so you can trust me on this.

I do wish you luck with this endevor, and now that I know its for your F1 if you have any questions feel free to ask.

one thing about that RCD "arm" ive noticed is it is on the lowering crossmember and not on the a-arm itself. since ive been doing research (been looking at RCD a lot) it looks to me like RCD's lowering crossmember may be weaker then other lifts, that may be why they think they need that extra brace. just my opinion.

I know am not harping on you, i feel the same...

Good point... are you going to be using drop brackets too or just adapting coilovers?

I beg to differ. 3/4ths of an inch on the lower control arms bracket and an xlt setup will bolt in.

The xlt and ' torsion ' rangers use the SAME EXACT upper control arm with a pressed in ball-joint.

I looked at this when I was doing my drop. ScottyG gave me his old front end parts and I actually TRIED it. I didn't calculate that he gave me a new set of drop springs ( 2 inch ones ). I also didnt weld in the top spring retainers too well either.

I let off the jack.. and laid frame on my driveway... and vailience, foglights, some of the front fender ( folks wondered how I riddened myself of those fender flare holes on the front fenders.. I replaced then because of this event ;) )

Its a geometry question with all sorts of spring rate calculations but it CAN be done.. nothing is impossible so long as we put a good effort and have determination behind it.

:)
D.

Like I said, I dont know lowering, but if you plan on bolting it into the stock shock bucket on an Edge/4wd when the arm droops you'll hit the spring/shock or if you use a short spring to try and avoid this, you will have coil bind.

I know this because with my 2.0 Bilstien 7100's, if I took the limit straps off I could hit the shock body with the UCA. Now add another inch or so of diamater and yea...

:)

i was planning on running an inverted coil-over with top mounts welded in and adding some metal to the bottom mounts. may not be able to do this though and i really want a coil-over that is put in right side up but upper arms are expensive.