Ford Keys & Torsion Bar Cranking/Replacing **TECH**

[K1500 Cheyenne]

Originally Posted by LPG PWRD

That is on the first page and should explain it...
You can crank w/o the ford keys, but they will give you more if you did use them

Yeah, I saw that, but I mean will I have to crank the torsion bar less to get to a set height with the Ford keys than with the stock keys, and therefore would have a softer ride at that height with the Ford keys than with the stock keys? Sorry I can't explain it well.

[Atomic]

No. It will ride exactly the same at the same height.

[bowtieboss]

Originally Posted by Atomic

What did your leveling kit consist of?

My kit was just torsion keys from Maxx Suspension Systems. The MAXX CAM2 to be exact.

[K1500 Cheyenne]

Originally Posted by Atomic

No. It will ride exactly the same at the same height.

Okay, that's exactly what I wanted to know, thanks! I'll just level it out with the stock keys, then.

[clusinger]

i've read all 57 pages. i have a 2007 2500HD NBS with appears to be a blue key on the driver's side and an orange key on the passenger side. i have not removed them yet. Will the green keys get me to level or do i need to use white? Here's some information that came from an earlier thread:

GM Part # Angle Color Code
15045171 4 DEGREES PURPLE
15657374 9 DEGREES BLUE
15603963 12 DEGREES ORANGE
15592573 14 DEGREES GREEN
15592574 18 DEGREES WHITE

i also just purchased a 2000 1/2 ton 4x4 for my daughter. If the green keys will work, i should be able to take the keys out of the 2000 and put in the 2007? And buy new Ford keys for the 2000.

[cvillalo]

Thanks A Bunch For The Info And I Will Probably Use This On My '07 3500hd. I Have Purchased A Lift Kit From Pro-comp And Was Wondering How To Do This. I Really Want To Purchase The Specific Puller From Gm Parts Direct.com But The Part Number J36202 Listed In The Instructions Doesn't Pull Up Anything. Are Tools Listed In A Different Part Of That Website Or Listed Differently? Also I Believe The Same Tool Can Be Gotten From Kent Moore Tool Group In Roseville, Mi 800-345-2233 Part #j22517-c. Just Looking For The Best Price On A Safe Tool.

[chriskg]

Hi, so i've read through 50 pages of this thread, and i didn't see anything about this, i probably missed it.

I cranked the keys on 1991 Chevy K1500, you can really tell that it's making a huge wear problem on the tires, the outside is nearly bald but the inseide is just fine. And the bars aren't even cranked enough for 1" of lift

My question is will the ford keys do the same thing, since putting those in is basically the same as cranking your t-bars?

Thanks

[Atomic]

get an alignment...

[Bama2door]

Originally Posted by chriskg

My question is will the ford keys do the same thing, since putting those in is basically the same as cranking your t-bars?

Yes after you put the Ford keys in, GO GET AN ALIGNMENT....or your tires will wear like they did before.

[chriskg]

Originally Posted by Bama2door

Yes after you put the Ford keys in, GO GET AN ALIGNMENT....or your tires will wear like they did before.

Now I feel retarted haha, thanks, I thought that the increased angle was the reason why the tires were wearing like that. I've needed an alignment for a while now anyway. Thanks

[Built240]

New to the forum and chevy trucks. I just bought a 03 silverado 1500 ext cab 4x4. I went under it to check out the whole torsion bar situation bc the suspension seemed to be real soft. (First truck ive had with them) Anyways, I noticed that the end of the torsion bar going into the LCA has ALOT of play in it.(picture a socket on a nut thats too small) Is this normal? It looks as though It could almost strip inside the LCA.

The truck came with the original window sticker (which I cant find anymore)and I remember it said that it had the Heavy Duty suspension upgrade for a few hundred bucks. (but no z85 code) The catch is that its got 56k and the thing rides like a cadillac hence the reason I went under it in the first place.

I dont know if they are all the same size or not but could the guy before me have swapped in the wrong torsion bars in search of a softer ride? The stickers on the bars say RYH and LYH both green in color and there is three leafs in the back with a red marking on them.

WHATS UPPP?!

(My next question is about torsion bar cranking once I get this figured out)

[Atomic]

yea its normal

[Built240]

wow weird design.. Thanks man.

Anyway, my real question is this:

I'm after a stiffer but stock handling ride at level height. What exactly is the effects from leveling by cranking torsion bars?

Stiffer?
Bump stop problems?
***Bump Steer?***
***Unbalance rates front/back?***
***Horrible towing/tracking?***

I need to tow 6-7k loads pretty often so I dont want to be thinking about hitting a stray pot hole n bump steering into a ditch or something. (Or even just cruising highspeed on winding highway roads)

I have ES9000 shocks on their way. I was told the stockers limit down travel when leveling? Is there anything else I should be upgrading/swapping or even a better way of doing this to ensure the truck handles correctly?

[02redchevyz71]

Got my keys and blocks in. I will post some pics tomm. It came with shocks also.

[Joeker.HD]

Originally Posted by clusinger

i've read all 57 pages. i have a 2007 2500HD NBS with appears to be a blue key on the driver's side and an orange key on the passenger side. i have not removed them yet.

The "blue" and "orange" paint marks you see are not related to the key itself. What you are looking at is the south end of the torsion bar. You can't see the color of the keys when they're installed. I put 1500 keys on my 2500 yesterday and saw no 'color' coding, because they were rusted like crazy - both new and old ones. I went to a junk yard and paid $10 for two of the 1500 keys. I have a 2004 2500 HD 2WD. After doing the job I recommend the free loaner tool from Advance, would have cut two hours from the job.

[bowtieboy42]

So i'm trying to get my lower control arm off, and I need to get the torsion bar out of the lower control arm. My haynes manual says to loosen the bolt but dont take it out. Then the tortion bar should slide out. I loosened the bolt a lot, but its not budging. ANy ideas?

[Atomic]

Jack up the front of your truck on the crossmember so the front wheels are allowed to flex. That should release tension on the bar so you can slide it out.

[bowtieboy42]

I tried jacking from the cross member and the lower control arm. I got everything else of the control arm, I just need to get the torsion bar out. Help!

[Atomic]

...So you jacked the truck up off the ground by the middle crossmember so the wheel is hanging there at full extension and there was still too much tension on the bar to move it?

[chriskg]

I've got the same problem as this last guy, I can't get my torsion bars out.

I've gotr a 91, k1500, i'm in the process of putting the ford keys in, and i ran into a little problem, the tosrsion bars aren't budging, i took all the tension off that i could, the key bolts are out and the fron end of the truck is sitting on jackstands. I can wobble the bars up and down but they're not sliding out.

I'm guess that i all i can really do is beat the crap out of them with a hammer till they slit out, should i hit them a few times from the front (so they slit towards the rear) so the get a little lose then try to pound them out from the back?

or can i unbolt the crossmember and use that to pull the key's off the ends of the bars?

or is there some obvious completly simple way to take them out that'll make me feel like an idoit? (please be this one hahaha)

thanks for the help