Installed lifted torsion keys..are they in right??

[odie301]

Ok, a guy i work with bought a set of keys off ebay to lift a 99 up chevy truck. he thinks they were for a 3/4 ton truck?? Anyway...he bought an older style truck (97) so he gave me the keys. We installed them and i can get the front cranked up to almost level with the rear... problem is the drivers side is cranked up max and i only have 35 3/4" from ground to fender lip. Passenger side matches only passenger side screw is not maxed out. Will longer bolts help out?

SO while the keys were out i looked at the difference and the new keys were different by maybe 1/2 inch... Are these the right keys?? Did i just get my drivers side torsion bar turned wrong? I installed the keys thinking that i wouldn't need to have them cranked all the way up like my stock ones, meaning i could continue to level it out as the front settles.


I did put air lift 1000 bags into the rear coil springs...not sure if that changes the front in any way. The rear sits right at 37" inches from ground to fender lip. (measured at center of the wheel)

[Yuke2K]

I don't think that 3/4 ton keys are the ones you need to level the front out - I dont think that the index on them is different enough to make a huge difference. Most of us use Ford F150 keys because they index quite a bit differently and give you greater lift potential.

I know very little about the 3/4 ton keys, so I might be talking out my ass...

[odie301]

If i get the ford keys...will it lift it enough in order to justify a 2 in rear coil spacer?? Looking to make it look like a small lift on my truck with out having to spend big bucks on a 4 in lift... or a body lift.

Been a couple weeks of riding around with the different keys and it stayed pretty close to the same height, but my rear still sits higher by an inch or so.

[Yuke2K]

Thats the setup I'm running and I love it. Ford keys up front, 1.5" spacers in the rear. The whole thing cost me less than $120 shipped.

[odie301]

where can i get the f150 keys and what do they cost? will a dealer give me a good deal or can i get them cheaper else where?

[Yuke2K]

Eh, the prices have shot up a little lately, just like with everything else. I got them for about $24 each, so a little less than $60 shipped. But, I've seen them priced anywhere from $43 to nearly $60 lately. I'd call you local ford dealership first and see what they would cost you to get. You'll be looking for part number XL3Z5B328CA.

If they can score you some for less than $50/ea, thats a good deal right now, especially since you wouldn't have to pay shipping. If not, google Ford Parts Online and see what websites you come up with, then start punching that part number in to check prices. A good price right now is in the $43-$45 range, but check shipping too. Some places charge alot less than others.

[SloZ71Hoe]

yeah the 3/4 ton keys wont help you out much. Yuke2k was right, the difference in the keys isnt enough to make that big of a difference. Hell i just bought a set of keys and shocks for just under 200 for the front of my tahoe. I sit about 1.5 to 2 inchs higher in the front, with the bolts barly turned up. Now all i need is the spacer for the back.

[odie301]

So i priced out the ford keys...HOLY CRAP-O-LA they must have went sky high!!! ford wants $58 for 1 key!!! Gotta imagine i can find em cheaper somehwere else?? Anyone know if a junk yard would sell them to ya?

Anyone know what would happen if you max out a set of Ford keys? Ride like crap? Break stuff??

I know the keys i put in gained me a little more lift than my stock ones..but only like an inch.... My front fender lip is at 35.75" while my rear sits a 37". (driver side key is maxxed out, passenger has about 3/4" to go) Anyone have a truck sitting higher with ford keys and coil spacers in the rear? i was thinking if i could get it to 39" it would look like it had a lift kit, but not sure if this would wreck the front cv axles or not? Could one space out the cv axles like they do on a 4" lift kit...by using a machined spacer block or would that not work?

[SloZ71Hoe]

shit just puttin the ford keys in there everything will be lifted already. My buddy put some in his and we didnt even turn his up at all. I got a 2" level kit from ready lift and my front fenders sat at a hair over 40 inches, and i only had them about half way up. I let them all the way down and i sit at 37-38 or so(havent measured it).

[odie301]

Ok so i called the junk yard today... over the phone he quoted me $5.00 a key. SO i will definetly be picking up a pair there. Guy didn't really know what i wanted exactly so maybe they will charge me more..but it shouldn't be anywhere close to $50!!

anyone know where to get a heavy duty c-clamp that will let me install the keys?? Last time i rented a ball joint press which i could do again, but it doesnt have an end that fits in the dimple..and so far no one around here rents a torsion bar tool

[Yuke2K]

Thats a good price, but be careful pulling them out dude. Those things have a lot of power tied up in them.

Tearing your hand up in your driveway is bad juju in and of itself, but who knows what you'd get exposed to at a junkyard lol. Make sure your tetnus shot is up to date!

[odie301]

yeah it should be ok.. they will lift the truck up on blocks for me... and i will use a gear puller...looks a lot safer than the c clamp... i happen to have a 2 ton puller.

[6Gears]

OK, I am a new guy here and I will try not to step on any toes. I have lifted probably 20 GM IFS trucks over the years and have seen all kinds of crap. The thing to look for on the front suspension is droop or down travel. When you crank bars or change cams the upper control arm gets closer to the drop stop. If you don't have at least a 1/2" of clearance between them it will ride like CRAP! You also change the alignment and it sometimes can't be set back within spec. I realize you are trying to save money, but Cognito can't be beat. You need some upper control arms, torsion keys and front shock extenders. That is the "best" way to go. Also, I have used lots of stuff to relieve torsion tension, and had some ideas fail with bad results. Either rent or buy a torsion bar tool, it is worth the money.

[J-Will]

as far as one side being diff than the other did you make sure you put the torsion bar back in the EXACT same way it was when you took it out? makes a diff. mine sits cock-eyed because i put it in diff than stock

[Yuke2K]

6Gears, most of us can get away with 2 - 2 1/2 inches of lift via ford keys without any suspension geometry issues, and the ride quality doesn't suffer that much. I'm running 2" of lift on the front via keys and 1.5" in the rear via spacers, on the stock shocks, and my Yukon still rides light years better than my father in law's 08 Silverado. When I drop in the Bilstien 5100s, ride quality will be the last thing I need to worry about.

I know you mean well, but there are probably hundreds of us on here that are running ford keys with no issues. There is the cost effective way of doing it, and theres the "right" way to do it...but when you can use the cost effective method with very little in the way of negative impact, thats what most of us choose to do. :Handshake:

[6Gears]

Hey....no sweat. I really have not messed with the 99-06 1/2 ton stuff that much. Mostly all 3/4 ton, and you can't gain 2 1/2" on them without really messing up the front geometry. Mainly droop. This is the reason for the cognito UCA's, they have a different bend and are a little longer to help with the alignment. I have a buddy with an 05 1500, I might tell him about the ford keys. That seems to be a pretty cheap route to go. About how big of tire can you run with 2 1/2" of front lift?

[odie301]

with the keys i have now (not the ford keys, oned that were suppose to lift a 3/4 ton). My front fender sits at 36" (measured from ground to fender well at the center of the front wheel). I was goofing around the other day with rims and tires..... I had a 33x12.5R15 on the front. It was on a 15x10 rim..was a bit wide but if you got the right offset or trimmed the little lip below the bumper it would probably work. Gotta admit it looked pretty sweet on there.

Anyone know what offset 15" rims will work on our trucks???..looking at getting a set w/ off road tires for hunting season/winter...and then back to my stock 17's w/ summer tires. I like the interco trxus m/t...but thinking it will wear out quick if ran all year long.

Tried a 97 chevy 16" factory rim and it was a no go..not the right back space. Tried another buddies 15" aftermarket rims (also were on a 97 chevy) They bolted right up no problems.... so i am looking for something like a 15x8 with the correct off set to fit up right, then i was going to run a 31x10.5 which should be pretty close to my stock 265/70/r17. plus by going to a 15 i can save a bit of cash on the tires

[6Gears]

I am gonna have to measure my Duramax, but it is probably over 50" to the fender lip on the front......7-9" cognito set at about 8.5" and 37x13.50x20 Toyo M/T's. I am going to buy some 35x12.50s on 16x10s for my winter wheels, thinking about going with the black teflon with some BFG AT's. Not sure yet.

[Yuke2K]

It's all good man. Like I said, I know you mean well, so good lookin out :). I'm running 285-75-16, which is about the biggest you can go. 33's will clear, but cause lots of rubbing problems. You'll need to trim a shit ton to get 33s to clear. My 285's are actually rubbing a bit now...I think that the front has settled just a bit since I did the keys 6 months ago. I'll be looking into that soon, might need to crank em up a little more or replace the stock torsion bars when I do the shocks later this year.

[odie301]

well went to the junk yard...and yeah that sucked they said they had "plenty" of trucks in the u-pull-it that i could get a set of keys from...NOPE so i wasted about 2 hours on a rusted to holy hannah 97 expedition, only to give up cause they were so froze in that i didn't have enough tools to get them out.. So i looked on ebay and there are not stock ford keys, but i came up on a thought.

If i buy a set of chevy lift keys that lift 2-3"....does that mean it will be 2-3" higher than my stock ones when fully cranked.... or how does it compare to a stock key. is it just 2-3" higher across the board compared to a stock key?

My thought was i have found the "lifted" ford keys fairly cheap..so if a ford key lifts our chevys 2-3"... then a lifted ford key would be like 4-6 correct? So my thinking was if i can get a set of ford lift keys.. and install them then i would get the same amount of lift as cranking a set of lifted keys, but i wouldn't have to crank them up hardly at all.


Does any of that make sense?? would it work?

[Yuke2K]

You'd be dabbling in an area that most of us don't see the need of delving into...and I think that you would be DANGEROUSLY close to putting the front suspension geometry over the edge. You would more than likely start tearing up your CV joints. You have to remember that just because you are using aftermarket keys, there are still limits to how much lift you an achieve without having problems. The keys don't change the limits of the suspension, they just increase or decrease the "starting point" of how high the truck sits, so to speak. More simply, the just change the range of adjustment - lift keys start the truck up higher than stock so you can lift it more, lowering keys start the truck off lower so you can lower it more. With aftermarket ford LIFT keys on your truck, I personally think that even with the bolts backed all the way off, your front suspension geometry would already be in the red zone before any cranking was done. However, if you wanna be a guinea pig for us, go right ahead and try it lol.

Ford keys are a cheap way of doing a lift for these things. Conversely, you can spend a little more money on a set of "brand X" lift keys on ebay...they are all essentially the same thing, just marketed differently.

[Yuke2K]

Also remember that you don't wanna go much higher than 2.5 or 3" in the front, since the biggest spacers you can run out back are 1.5". Maybe you can find some 2" spacers, but they can get dangerous..I've heard that 2"+ spacers can allow the spring to slip, not sure how accurate that is though. Unless you're into the front end being way higher than the rear, skip the ford lift keys.

[odie301]

got a set of used ford keys, and installed them today... i got it all leveled out at 37" all around. Yeah probably wont do coil spacers or else i will be back to having front rake. my driver side key still had to be cranked quite a bit..but at least this time i have about 1/2 inch of threads left.

[oreowizard98]

What year Ford Keys did you get? Curious to level my Hoe too.

[odie301]

i called a junk yard and asked about torsion keys from a 99-03...(they gave them out of a 99) but i think if you look at the part number given farther up in the posts... it is from something like a 97-03 F150, expedition and some other stuff.

was hoping mine would lift it a bit more, so that i could put spacers in the rear..but oh well. Now i just want to find a cheap 3" body lift so i can clear some bigger tires w/o trimming