I have torsion bars on the front of my 08 XLT 4.0L V6 4x4 to hold up the front end of the truck...what the heck are these things. I have never owned a vehicle with these, and do these break or what. Thanks guys

 

They'll weaken and sag over time but it's not common that they'll break.

 

Torsion bars are in the place of leaf springs or coil springs. The bars twist (torsion) as a load is placed on them and untwist to recoil. Free lift :)

 

I've never seen one break if its never been messed with.

Let me google that for you

 

i have seen them break but it was always because of overloading the bars (jumping) and they have always been on fullsize trucks lol. specifically chevy

 

Torsion bars are the only drawback of the 98+ Rangers in my opinion. AKA Rides like A** lol.

As Adam said, they will sag over time, but that's nothing that can't be fixed with another set of torsion bars or a simple twist of the adjustment screw.

On your 08, if you want a pretty cheap "lift" you can find some torsion keys out of an 07 and lower truck and put them in place of your keys. It will pick up the front about ~1-2".

 

HAHA. I am sorry I just figured I would get a better explanation here. And that website is hilarious.

 

Yep, any keys from a ranger pre 2008 (2007 and older) will lift your truck, I did the "pre key mod" to mine. It's not hard to replace them at all.