Opinions on cranking up T bar

[jajohnson22]

I am considering cranking up my t bar on 06 H3 instead of getting 2inch lift. Anyone had issues so far doing it? opinions needed!

 

[alrock]

Don't know of any 2" lift for the H3. Tons of thread on here about cranking up the torsion bars and the consensus is . . . do it.

 

[jajohnson22]

I was looking at more of shackles that rough country make. not nessicarily a lift kit. my bad. But ive had many friends tell me not to do it.

 

[scoreh3]

T-bar crank lifts the front , shackles lift the rear . Putting shackles in the rear without cranking your T-bars will give your H3 that 70's surf van look . I'm not saying that 70's surf vans aren't cool , but they don't off-road very well.

 

[TR1-H3X]

Just about to have some cranking done myself...want to level mine out a bit. You just have to be careful of how much you crank them...you can only go so far as it will jack the angle on rods/cv too much and will cause hit during suspension travel. Esp if you're wheeling. Every ride is different but you really can't get a lot without causing issue just by cranking the bars. If you need a bit more crank you can look into new keys and bump stops.

There is a ton of info/threads on this subject that will give you the info, measurements, tips, and results both good and bad from many that have done it and know first hand..definitely search it out first.

Good luck


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[scoreh3]

Your max T-bar crank should be no more than 23.5 inches from center of hub to the bottom of the fender. Any more than that you will start running in to issues .

 

[Renagade132]

And if you crank them all the way, every pebble you hit, will feel like pothole!

 

[cgalpha08]

What others have said, I wouldn't go above 23.5 that's where mine are, and have been there for 30k plus miles. Other have had them cranked for longer durations with no issues as well. Going any higher will cause parts to wear significantly faster and the ride quality will be crap

 

[woodwardsh3]

23.5'' 2 YEARS NO PROBLEM
I added the extended bump stops an the ride is good.

 

[TR1-H3X]

Do the bump stops affect the ride? I thought they just kept it from traveling too far with the new angles and hitting-doing damage?

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[08H3]

No issues so far. If I was going to, I think they would have surfaced by now (161K cranked to 23.5").

 

[alrock]

The trail duty extended bump stops affect the ride in two ways. 1) they reduce nose dive as they reduce the gap that appears when you crank the torsion bars 2) they provide a stiffer ride as they do not compress like the OEM bump stops.

For me, 1 was good and 2 was bad. I've been back to OEM for 2 or 3 years and I'm keeping it that way

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[USMC_315]

I also got the trail duty package that included the extended bump stops which I have come to like. I also installed the Bilsteins that came with and they also provide a nice ride. Truck sits a lot high now and feels more aggressive to me? Kinda weird but it does

I only have one negative for the crank and that would be that the rear suspension seems to squeak/creak when I brake, it's especially noticeable in a parking lot. anyone have a fix for that?

 

[rascole]

Do the crank. Well worth it. Search the hundreds of threads here that have very well documented how-to with pics.

 

[rascole]

I also got the trail duty package that included the extended bump stops which I have come to like. I also installed the Bilsteins that came with and they also provide a nice ride. Truck sits a lot high now and feels more aggressive to me? Kinda weird but it does

I only have one negative for the crank and that would be that the rear suspension seems to squeak/creak when I brake, it's especially noticeable in a parking lot. anyone have a fix for that?

I have never heard of nor have encountered the rear suspension having issues due to the front bars being cranked.

 

[alrock]

Start with high pressure water on the bushings and Springs in case there's dirt trapped. Make sure the bushings and leaf spring pads are intact

 

[USMC_315]

awash was having a similar problem, I remember him posting something about this a few months ago. I'm sure if I find the time to go look for where the sound comes from I could correct it with just a bit of wd-40. just putting it out there for him that it's a possibility. overall I still highly recommend cranking

 

[TR1-H3X]

Ahh, to crank or not to crank, there seems to be no question jaj.! Let us know how you make out!

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[awalsh]

awash was having a similar problem, I remember him posting something about this a few months ago. I'm sure if I find the time to go look for where the sound comes from I could correct it with just a bit of wd-40. just putting it out there for him that it's a possibility. overall I still highly recommend cranking

yeah I had a problem with the front squeaking a lot right after I cranked the bars.. it seemed to go away after a while as well as multiple times getting soaked with wd-40 and I haven't had the problem since
but I also think that cranking the tbars was one of my smarter decisions with my truck
I cranked them to 24" from the center of the hub and it rode terrible for a few weeks and finally settled in (I do think it dropped height a little but haven't checked)
now it rides a million times better than stock height was and I couldn't be any happier with the look


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[The_Mountain]

Just remember, cranking your front suspension does other things besides increasing ground clearance under the front. You cut into your downtravel, your front shocks (if still stock) will not be operating in the position they were designed for, your effective front spring rate will be increased, you put increased stress on the front torsion bars, and you'll stress all the various joints in the front suspension and steering (tie rods, balljoints etc). A proper suspension lift maintains the correct angles for things like A-arm ball joints, steering linkage, shock piston position, suspension travel, and it won't put added stress on the springs.

 

[USMC_315]

but also remember if you keep it under 23.5" from hub to fender, then the stress added to those ^^ listed parts will be minimal. as in people have had theirs cranked to 23.5"s for years and they haven't ran into any issues

 

[scoreh3]

Mine has been cranked up for over 6 years and nothing has fail so far .

 

[Pappibri]

Mine too. Cranked mine over 3 1/2 yrs ago, 100,000 miles later still smiling. 23 1/2

 

[cory9oh4]

The kit you got from rough country comes with an insert that goes in with the t bars. I think its http://www.roughcountry.com/gm-suspension-lift-kit-920.html?gclid=COKX7_-Q58sCFZcdgQodA98BdQ

 

[High Five H2]

i got the rough country kit. it's has a spacer for the torsion bars and for the front shocks. I already have extended shocks and cranked T bars so I'm going to toss those and just use the shackles. They might not be long enough to match the front, though. I'll post up pictures if you want. If these ones aren't long enough then I may get the warrior shackles. They make 2, one that's 1.5 inches longer than stock and one that's shorter than that, I forget how much.