Anyone changed their torsion bars on a 4x4?

I have a 2000 Silverado Z71, and like many of the Gm 4x4's it sits low in the front. I have obtained some information from one of the lift companys that states, the problems with the soft factory torsion bars and their tendency to sag. I have the wy coded bars on mine, which is extremely light, and I have a listing of other bars available from GM. My question is, has anyone else out there changed their torsion bars to gain additional ride height, and if so what bar did you use, how was the ride, and how much height did you gain? I have adjusted my factory torsion all the way and it still sits lower than a stock 02 4x4. If anyone has any experience with this change the info would be much appreciated, and I will share any data I have.

mdrz71

I have a customer of mine who has been replacing the torsion bar
adjusting arms quite frequently. He tells me that the quality of the ride
does not change and it brings the ride height up so that the truck sets
even. The torsion bars are GM Part number 15592574 you need two
of them. The GM code on these torsion bars are "white" the other colors are Green, Orange,
and Purple. Hope this helps you.

would this give me any clearance for bigger tires? someone told me about torueing the torsion bars does that sound right?:confused:

Changing the tourqe arms on the front will give you more clearance on the front end as it raises the front only.:)

I am in the same situation. I really want to raise the front end of my 2001 Z71 but I do not want to lift the entire truck. Did you have any luck? If so what did you do? Do you know anything about adjusting the stock torsion bars?

Any information would be appreciated!

I ended up going up in stiffness by two bars on my 2000. I originally had a really soft bar. I'll find out what bar I used and post it again. I am really happy with the results. The bar didn't offer any more than .5" of lift, but it rides much better. Not as soft. The problem with adjusting the torsion bars is that the ride will firm up drastically if you are trying to get a lot of height out of it. Just adjusting 1/4" made a big difference in the ride. What I have since done on mine is I am now using the stiffer torsion bars, and a F150 key adjuster. The F150 adjuster is keyed differently and allows for more lift without having to load the torsion bar so much. I ended up ordering the adjuster from a 2002 F150 4x4. It works great. I lifted it just enough to clrear a 285/75/16 (33") and it rides great and looks great. The front is about 1/4" higher than the rear now. If you get into adjusting yiour torsion bars there will be a tool required. I found it at http://www.thetoolwarehouse.net/shop/OTC-7822A.html. It's expensive but this is the best price I have found. The tool is required so you don't do damaged to the adjusting bolts. The tool is also needed in replacing torsion bars, or changing the adjusters. Also there is a common problem with just adjusting the stock torsions. You will find that one side has a lot of adjustement and the other side is all the way maxed out and has no adjsutment left. Mine was like that at stock height. That is just great gm build tollerances. Most GM trucks lean up to 3/4" Mine was almost a full inch differnce from side to side. The F150 adjuster allowed for more adjustment and I was able to correct this. One word of advice though, don't go too high. Just level it out or get it a little higher in front. If you go too much you will have no downward travel, reducing droop and causing the suspension to ride extremely harsh. You always need some downward travel to handle the rebound on bumps. Good luck. I'll try to post a pick in a few days.

Thanks for the information!!

That sounds like what I am looking for. I am just a beginer in this type of an modification. I am going to do some research to help me better understand your information, but I am looking forward to working on this.

Can you tell me if your truck is as easy to drive /control on the highway after this adjustment was made? I pull a fairly heavy trailer on the some rough highways and have heard this type of adjustment might influence the steering.

Thanks again for the information and I am looking forward to any picts you might have.

Have a good one!

As you raise the front end, you will change the alignment of the vehicle. You will want to re align it. Have them set up the camber, toe, and caster. Caster offers high speed stability, and the toe will affect how it tracks. Right now I haven't aligned mine yet because I am waiting til I decide on a final height. Right now mine does track differently but I think it is the toe. I am also running the Hotchkis Sway bars (highly recommended ) but you must disconnenct them when doing heavy offroading.

I have different cams already installed and i currently run 285/75 16's, i dont want any more lift but i do need stiffer suspension, i am trying to put a plow on but it drops the front by inches, has anyone tried putting 3/4 ton bars in? are they even any stronger then the 1/2 tons? any information would be great, i really need a stiffer spring
thanks alot
Mike
([email protected])

If you need any torsion bar tools, Auto Body Toolmart sells a few that are a pretty good deal I think. Actually I only am now getting into restoration and am trying to teach myself as I go along. But I think these look pretty good.

http://www.autobodytoolmart.com/search/search.aspx?keywords=torsion+bar