Hey guys, I just cranked my torsion bars today and it looks quite nice. I cranked them about 1.25". Im actually pretty scared right now, do you think with the amount i did that my ball joins will wair out sooner? Also do you think my tires will wair uneven where it will be a big downfall? Thanks alot in advance.
Kendall

 

Be afraid, be very afraid...

Yes, they wear quicker. But then, our ball joints are pretty bad to begin with, lol.

You're not going to die or anything just because you cranked the bars. That's a mild crank, and if you're smaller (like the 31's you're contemplating) tires, you should get 50K or so out of a set of ball joints -- or they could go in 12K -- who knows?

Anything we do to our trucks to take them out of design spec can cause premature wear or breakage. I'm on 35" tires, 3" spindles, high blocks, cranked heavier duty bars, etc. I figure I'll be replacing my ball joints every year until I get a SAS in front.

 

you shouldn't have any problems. Mine have been cranked 1.5" for almost a year, and i have no complaint. Once you get the alignment your truck is good as new, although higher. If ford didn't want us to crank them, they wouldn't be there.

 

Yeah so how many miles less do you think my t-bars will last now that they're cranked. How often do u changed them without a crank? Oh yeh man, did u get ur truck cleaned up? How are the damages? Thanks guys.
Kendall

 

And if GOD had meant for us to crank them, He'd have given us 1/2" or 13mm wrenches instead of fingers!

 

I got mine cranked..been good for 2K miles..lil stiff but gots go be good

 

Im still scurred. Maybe I should lower it back down to stock? I really dont want to spend more money to fix ball joints that could have been prevented.
Kendall

 

guys????

 

you will be fine with the t-bar crank... yes the ball joints wont last long but they suck anyway so it wont really shorten the life of them too much

 

also when you get it aligned...what are you getting aligned? the tires?

 

how will i know when they are gonna go out, if im riding down the road and the break, will i crash?

 

nah, they'll pop and junk when you turn before they go out. I have seen them fail and put the tire in the fender and the frame on the ground though. So don't abuse it too much, but they'll work for awhile after they're goin downhill..

 

cool thanks....so once i get my tires aligned....will it wair them unevenly??

 

unless you rotate them religiously..

 

i need to crank them back down then, i aint tryin to ruin tires u know.

 

Your ball joints won't be affected if you don't crank them more than 1.5". I've got a good 20,000 miles on mine and they are still tight...even with the crank and off roading.

 

Yeah i've had my cranked for atleast 10k miles and I put new tires on 11k ago and i'm guily I haven't rotated them once lol, but no uneven wear at all!! Also my ride got a little stiffer, but MUCH smoother over speedbumps and stuff. It felt like I would always bottom out before so the every 1.25 that I cranked helped a LOT.

 

ummm 1.5" hah.. dont be worried man.. i got like 2.5(almost 3!) outa mine full crank.. yea ima badass what!.. haha.. it rode like a fawkn flintstones car but ehh its cool

and dont let them scare you about the ware , mine have been cranked for about 20k, and ive had no unusual ware at all

 

Yeah well, my truck is better than yours!

That is pretty cool though! 2.5"...nice!

 

I cranked mine 2". You think I will mess up my t-bars or anything.

 

No.

 

sorry to seem so pessesmistic about all of this, just dont wanna mess nothing up and have to pay u know. thanks.
Kendall.

 

lol..just stay on top of roations, and alighments..and you should be good...

 

man..this guys almost sounds like me on exhaust questions!
haha! its all good..i understand where your coming from..just get it aligned and keep up on balancing and youll be fine.

 

been there done that..you got an 04 like me..your feeling like i just got this brand new truck..and the last thing is i dont wanna mess it up by the ball joints or anything....but crankin the T-bars isnt bad...just puts a lil strain on the *****....which there gunna go out anywayz it will just be a tad bit sooner..PLUS your an 04..there new mine are new ive had mine cranked for a while and no problems had the tires off last night didnt see anything wrong...

thats just my 2 Cents