1997 Suburban Torsion Bars

[bobfray]

All,

I have a 1997 Suburban that sets low to the ground compared to other suburbans. I was under the rig last week hooking up the exhaust after swaping out the engine and saw the adjusters for the torsion bars. I have talked to some people that say you can get up to 3" lift on the front by adjusting the torsion bars up if there is available adjustment travel on the adjusting bolt. Well, I went to my trusty but vague Chilton manual and it talks about removing and installing the torsion bars, and specifically talks about a tool you need to do this.

First question - am I all wet and the above not true?

Second question - what would you do if it was your low setting suburban (be nice here)?

Third question - Depending on the above answers.........Do I need the tool to lift the front up or is the tool only needed for remove/install of the torsion bars?

Any help / clarification is appreciated.

Thanks, Bob

[BigChevMan]

Yes..you can crank on the torsion bars...but it will make the ride a bit rougher. My suggestion would be to see what is actually causing your suburban to ride lower than other suburbans before going and messing with other stuff. Why create more problems before solving the original one?

[bobfray]

BigChevMan,

I appreciate the input. However, I don't think that there is a root cause or an original problem to this Suburban being lower than the others. I have had this rig since new and it has always set like a two wheel drive low slung to the ground unit. It rides like a dream, but sets too low. I would sacrafice a bit of the smooth ride for some height. I can gain some with tires, I can gain some with torsion bar adjustment, I can gain some.... that's not the problem. The problem is I didn't know if I needed any special tooling to jack the torsion bars tighter to get some lift on the front.

Thanks again,

Bob F.

[SWEET7T]

There is a bolt for each torsion bar that sets the 'preload'. It will be toward the rear of your 'burb. Just crawl under there with a wrench and tighten it. Just make sure you count how many truns you put in the bolt so that you can do the equal amount to the other bar so they will be even. You can get a couple of inches out of it just fine, just remember to get it re-aligned after you do this.

[CEDJUNIOR]

DO NOT CRANK THEM ALL THE WAY! If you hit a good bump you'll snap one. Jack the front of your truck up and put it on stands, both front wheels off the ground. Then tighten the adjuster bolts. When you're done, measure the distance from the top of the tire to the wheel well on both sides, making adjustments until both are even. When you lower your truck back down, if the new height is satisfactory, then look at your CV's. Make sure the angle isn't too steep, or you'll be replacing your 1/2 shafts once a year. Realistically, you should get 1 1/2 - 2 inches of lift, and do not go past that or you'll be maxing out the adjustment. Then go in for an alignment, and make sure you tell them not to adjust the torsion bars, otherwise they might loosen them up inorder to do the alignment. This is one of those "try at your own risk" modifications.

[SWEET7T]

CEDJUNIOR...
If the front wheels are off the ground, the suspension will droop all of the way, and there will not be any difference when the torsion rate is increased. This WILL make it easier to turn the bolt, but it isn't very hard to turn when it is on the ground.
Don't get me wrong on your idea of measuring from tire to wheelwell/fender to equal out the front suspension, but you need to be careful doing this because of a load on the vehicle, or the ground being uneven. They come from the factory being equal... Assuming that the Burb is still 'factory', an equal amount of turns will be sufficient to keep the torsions equal.

BOBFRAY...
I forgot to add, Turn the bolts like once or twice, then move your burb up and down the driveway a few feet. This will allow the suspension to 'settle'. Settle being the only word I can think of... But your tires will want to move inward slightly due to the fact of them going down. Don't worry, you wont be able to notice it, but on IFS, the tires move inward and outward and the suspension cycles up and down.
Also, good point made by CEDJUNIOR on your half-shaft angle. A little steeper angle wont be a problem, but some bogous steep shaft will wear out quickly.