torsion bars, adjustment

[kjoel]

jsut a quick question for all here, I am curious what the range of adjustability is for the torsion bars on the front, how much loser can I drop the vehicle with them...and how much will it effect alignment(will I need to have the front end realigned after lowering it with the torsion bars). also does anyone make shorter springs for the rear(coil over) as I have a 2002 MOntero sport 2 wheel drive. or would it be possible to get new rear shocks and rework the spring mounts(cut and reweld them lower) so it would drop the rear without adjusting travel alot. thanks all in advance.

Kevin

[Dean]

I will be lowering my MS temporarily for an upcoming show in Bakersfield. I don't think you can get more than about 3 1/2 inches of travel up or down from stock. I mounted 20s with 275/55-20 tires and cranked up on the torsion bars only gaining about 3" before I had to cut the bump stops down. I still had to take it in for an alignment even though the adjustments were minor. I will be doing just the opposite for the drop. For the rear, I added spring spacers. When I lower the rear I will be using adjustable spring clamps and also cutting down the bump stops. due to the springs sagging in the first place, 2 1/2 inches of drop should sit it about right. As far as rewelding your coil spring mounts, you may run into spacing problems. My MS is a 2000 (should be the same as the 02) and the springs are located directly above the axle with not a lot of room for relocation. I will be installing a air bag set up next summer to get the best of both worlds. I don't believe you will be able to lower your MS more than about 4" in the rear and still have some travel without C-notching your frame. you would end up having to cut into your rear floor to accomplish this. I will measure the drop this weekend and let you know how low you can go and still have some travel.

[Dean]

I lowered my MS this weekend. The spring clamps were a pain in my rear to install, but after many muscle cramps from twisting myself for a better angle, I got it done. I had to take the bump stops completely out of the rear (now I have to slow down for big bumps). It really isn't bad though. the ride is about the same as with the spacers installed. I only lowered the rear 2 5/8" which left me with about 2" of downward travel. The front was as simple as cranking down on the torsion bars. I also had to take the bump stops out and only dropped it 3 1/4" to allow for some travel. You can check the updated pics out on the website below. The pics on the left are with the lift and spacers and the pics on the right are from the drop.

www.cardomain.com/ride/822379

[fiyahfibun]

can we do a diy on torsion bar adjustment? i would love that
chris

[Dean]

I would like to do a DYI on this subject. I have some trouble posting pics, so with some help from our moderators, we should be able to do this. I will be raising my MS back up sometime in Dec. I will take pics of all the steps. I will also take pics and document the air bag installation next summer unless someone beats me to it.

[CerOf]

Does teh track bar in the rear change the offset of the rear axle when you drop it that much?

It should move the rear axle to the driver side a little.

I know when I first installed the OME lift it was about 2.5" but has settled to 2" of lift and the axle still sits about perfectly centered.

I wonder how much more lift before the axle becomes off-center. I wonder how long to make the u-joint fail operating off-center?

[sirlordoz]

wow, i have ta say that i have seen more posts on this and it seams that everyone over complicates it. so let me throw in my 2 cents.
first off i have a 2000 4 wheel drive and dropped it by cranking the torsions down up front and kutt the rear springs ta match the front.
the front is easy and i dont know why u would need a DYI on it. its simple but the car in the air, get a wrench and turn down the torsions. there is a nut at the end of the torsions u may need ta but some penitrating oil on it to make it easyer. but then one way will lift it the other will lower it there is a small metal arm on bar watch that cuz u want them in the same spot when put it on the ground or it will not sit strait! this is very easy! if u know what a wrench is u can do this!
as for alianment, i recomend every car getting aligned after a drop. on the montero it is so lil of adjustment that i wouldnt bother! i have had mine dropped for a year and have not had any wierd wear.
I have yet to see anyone make anyone fro springs for the rear. cutting them is the only way i know of.
Ok now about the baggs, if u have been on here for a while u know i have been talking about it for a while. and as for now i have wussed out on doing it! but i have done alot of homewerx on this so i want ta set dean strait on alot of it. u have it right for the most part but the c notch isnt nessasary. the main problem whit the tero is that the rear swingarm is way to long and will bottom out on the frame way before u need the notch, so if u have an older tero with leafs out back u have an advantage. anyway i have planed to have my arm shortened and then i should be able to lay the wheel wells on the wheels. but if u are running 20's u shouldnt need ta notch the frame still. if u do it will be a small one and dont need ta go into the cab.
now i will say that there is other things that will offect this ,tire size, back spacing, and others that will alow u to get lower or may not let it get as low it all depends on your set up. but this is what i do for a living and i have done alot of looking at my tero and that is what i have come up with!
got any questions just ask!
lata all
Oz

[Dean]

Thanks for the enlightenment. I don't plan on laying frame with the bags. Due to the width and offset of the rims, I will only be able to rest the fender flares on the tires by using slow bags. Is that what you meant by laying the wheel wells on the wheels? I wouldn't think you would be able to go any lower even by cutting your control arms. If you are going through all the trouble of cutting your arms, take a look at a three-link set up for the S-10. I did some measuring and this type of kit would work pretty good with some medium level fabrication. Anyway, what I meant in my other post was you will still need to cut a C-notch if you want any type of TRAVEL when dropping more than 4". If you want to drop it hardtail, then you can probably go about 6". if you ever do C-notch your frame, I would hope you would do a full C. A partial C would make for a weak spot in that part of the frame which would not hold up under a towed load or an accident. A full c-notch would require you to cut into your rear floor as I had stated.

[sirlordoz]

yeah bro i so understand where u are coming from! u do have valad points. 3 link or even a for would werx but doing it this way dont cost me anything. big plus in my book. as for your point on the hard tail well if im sittin on the wheels i dont want any more travil it would result in damage if i was to drive it that low. so i really dont see the point in the notch. but if it dont sit where i want it i may u never know till ya start cutting!
even so i wont go with a mini style bridge notch if u cut a small notch in the frame u can re support it so it isnt week, us minitruckers have done it for years! Not to mention if ya do some homewerx on s10 blazers u can learn ways to not have ta do a big notch. very few bagged blazers have to go there so i know i dont, well not till i go tfor the body drop! lol
anyway its great ta see someone else that is into cutting up a tero as much as me! most focks around here think im nuts for cutting up my sport. but i just need something to turn heads till i get the body drop on my 92 toy done.
Hit me back bro id like ta hear what else u got planed for your whip!
Lata
Oz

[TrIgGeR]

sirlordoz said:

yeah bro i so understand where u are coming from! u do have valad points. 3 link or even a for would werx but doing it this way dont cost me anything. big plus in my book. as for your point on the hard tail well if im sittin on the wheels i dont want any more travil it would result in damage if i was to drive it that low. so i really dont see the point in the notch. but if it dont sit where i want it i may u never know till ya start cutting!
even so i wont go with a mini style bridge notch if u cut a small notch in the frame u can re support it so it isnt week, us minitruckers have done it for years! Not to mention if ya do some homewerx on s10 blazers u can learn ways to not have ta do a big notch. very few bagged blazers have to go there so i know i dont, well not till i go tfor the body drop! lol
anyway its great ta see someone else that is into cutting up a tero as much as me! most focks around here think im nuts for cutting up my sport. but i just need something to turn heads till i get the body drop on my 92 toy done.
Hit me back bro id like ta hear what else u got planed for your whip!
Lata
Oz

LOL that was hard to read...

[Dean]

cerof said:

Does teh track bar in the rear change the offset of the rear axle when you drop it that much?

It should move the rear axle to the driver side a little.

I know when I first installed the OME lift it was about 2.5" but has settled to 2" of lift and the axle still sits about perfectly centered.

I wonder how much more lift before the axle becomes off-center. I wonder how long to make the u-joint fail operating off-center?

I would like to add I have not noticed any problems with the drive shaft angle with the lift. I did find when the MS was lowered, I could feel a vibration when taking off from a stop. I had the same problem in a mini truck and had to use tapered shims to angle the rear axle and align the drive shaft correctly to prevent the vibration. I have not noticed any difference with the center of the axle. 3" travel up or down is minor. I wouldn't think you would have to lengthen the control arm unless you are planning on doing a huge lift.

[TrIgGeR]

Hey Dean,

I gave the Spring-Lox a go and nothing. I clamped the spring all the way down on each end of the coil. It looked like 1 to 1 1/4 of the springs were clamped down. No change in the ride height. Did you clamp more than one coil? how many? Do I have to remove the bump stops to get any drop at all? Also where did you place the clamps? Side by side, or on each side of the coil.

If you still have the vehicle dropped can you maybe take some pics of the springs? I would appriciate it. 4 hours down the drain sucks.

Thanks a bunch.

Adam

[Dean]

Unfortunately, I have since raised the MS back up. I did have to clamp three coils with each clamp together to accomplish the drop. I removed the spare tire for better access without jacking up the truck. This left the coils compressed from the trucks weight. I stopped in to Home Depot and purchased a set of long nosed, curved jaw vise-grip pliers used to grip large pipes. This allowed me to compress the springs far enough to install the clamps. I guess you could use a spring compressor, but there is not much room to work with. The bolts on the clamps are too short to get the nut started unless you have some way of clamping the springs a little more. The pliers work great. I installed the clamps, one on either side of the spring and a full coil separated the two. You need to place them so they will not hit the frame when going over large bumps. The job will not take as long if you use vise-grips because you can spin the nuts down by hand and only have to use your wrench for the last torquing of the nut. Sorry you are having such a rough time with this project. It is a pain.

[TrIgGeR]

Thanks again Dean. I figured I would have to clamp at least 3 of them. I had my "BIG" friends hop in the back while I was clamping it down lol.

I'll run on over to home depot today.

You've been a big help.

[TrIgGeR]

Well I got the back dropped 2". Now I need to do the Torsion bar in the front. Anyone have pics of the torsion bar and bolt I need to adjust? Loving the look of the 2 " drop.