Hey guys, I'm going to need to lift my front end by 2 inches, is there a safe and right way to do this? I want it to be reliable and not have any detrimental effects on other front end components. I've had a number of people tell me to just crank up the torsion bars and it'll be fine and give me the lift I need. However other people are telling me that if I do that then I'll trash my ball joints and bearings. Does anybody have any ideas? I can't even find any kits or anything for 2 inch lift in the front besides torsion keys. What do you guys think? Any advice or ideas? It's a 2005 Ford Ranger XLT 4x4 with the Torsion bar front suspension and custom built leafs in the rear.

 

Keys/kits are a waste of money. It'll get you the same result as cranking your bars which you can do for free. As long as you only crank them enough to level your front end, you'll be fine. Otherwise, you'll definitely cause premature wearing of the wheel bearings and ball joints. Make sure to get your alignment checked/adjusted afterwards also.

 

2" crank should be perfectly fine. I did about that on mine and I've had zero added wear. You ain't have issues unless you max them out.

 

x2
Mine are maxed and I replace ball joints every two years but I don't care since they're lifetime warranty lol

 

2 years?! How much do you drive lol, that's a long time.

 

apparently not much lol

 

Thank you very much guys!!!

 

So I take it you got it figured out? Post some pics!

 

Just to add, keys/crank will not effect unit bearings, just some added stress on cv joints if you are wheeling it hard

 

Generally, you want to steer clear of keys.. Keys have been known to max out cv axles as well as ball joints. I cranked my torsion bars to gain about an inch of lift in the front and I haven't had any excessive wear on anything. I seem to go through outer tie rod ends rather quickly though for some reason.. haha

 

The issue isn't n with keys themselves, its when people put keys on, then crank them. Which goes beyond what simply an cranking stock keys will.

This puts the CV axles at such an incredible angle they don't last because they are at their limit. And any down travel causes them to bind.

 

mine are changed, and cranked 2.5'' Only excessive wear I have are upper and lower ball-joints. Inspected my CV's not long ago and there still #1. When you lift, look into a pair of Rancho RS5374 they're 2'' longer:

On top, the stock Rancho, on the bottom the RS5374. Both are fully extended

 

You don't want longer front shocks. Stock length bilsteins are the way to go.
Blk02 will chime in and say the same thing in terms of length

 

Longer shocks are not what you want

When you lift the front with a torsion crank you are not increasing the travel. You are simply changing where within that travel it sits.