Soccerstudd5 Posted June 4, 2009 Share Posted June 4, 2009 Ok, so here's the deal.... I bought an 87 2 door with a TM 4" SL on it, but as most of you know, the TM lift does nothing more than allow for bigger tires, basically. I'm wanting a lift that can give me some more clearance, even if it means losing an inch on lift..... So my question is... is there anyway of doing this without completely switching out lift kits? Could I simply move the torsion bars back to stock location and crank them and possibly get some Rough Country UCA's, then just make the remove the rest of the front lift components and call it good? Or do you think that is more trouble than it's worth and I should keep my current set-up as is, letting my 33's give me clearance? I like how the TM lift keeps the IFS at basically stock position, but I wish I had a bit more clearance up front. Thanks for the input! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nige Posted June 4, 2009 Share Posted June 4, 2009 the only way to really gain more chassis ground clearance is to run bigger tires. If you are dragging the bottom anywhere, it's easier to put some skid plates on the bottom and live with scraping over stuff. If you want to put bigger tires on for more clearance, you should add a body lift and start trimming some sheet metal. Going bigger than 33" tires will expose lots of other problems Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrimGreg Posted June 4, 2009 Share Posted June 4, 2009 Yeah, removing the TM will still give you the same clearance as having it on there with the same size tire on the wheels. You can still crank the t-bars with the TM lift to get more height, like you would in a standard 3" suspension lift and effectively get up to 7" lift in the front, but that is about all you can do. Be advised though cranking the T-bars will cause the same issues with or without the TM lift, mainly; tie rods and cv axels at bad angles. The only real way to gain clearance is to up the tire diameter, as none of the lifts move any of the suspension components up out of the way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fleurys Posted June 4, 2009 Share Posted June 4, 2009 I guess also a kind of in the middle modification would also do... I'm looking at doing a diff drop (not a sub frame drop), to alleviate the extreme angle of the cv axles... So Dropping the diff 1.5 inch and putting 2" spacers on the shocks/struts, would allow for bigger tires, and only adding .5" on the angle for the cvs.... if your diff is still higher than the sub frame, then you did not lose any clearance So in theory, if you go from 33 to let's say 35. then with this setup you actually add 1" to the clearance and add .5" of angle to the cv's. you can extrapolate for even bigger tires...if 36 fits, then it's the same .5" of extra angle for the cv, but 1.5" of extra clearance...etc... Does it make any sens ?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nismothunder Posted June 4, 2009 Share Posted June 4, 2009 Yeah, removing the TM will still give you the same clearance as having it on there with the same size tire on the wheels. You can still crank the t-bars with the TM lift to get more height, like you would in a standard 3" suspension lift and effectively get up to 7" lift in the front, but that is about all you can do. Be advised though cranking the T-bars will cause the same issues with or without the TM lift, mainly; tie rods and cv axels at bad angles. The only real way to gain clearance is to up the tire diameter, as none of the lifts move any of the suspension components up out of the way. Thank god somebody finally brought up the IFS lift issue...To much angle is a bad thing... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldSlowReliable Posted June 5, 2009 Share Posted June 5, 2009 Thank god somebody finally brought up the IFS lift issue...To much angle is a bad thing... But if he uses aftermarket UCA's with the TM drop-kit, wouldn't that be the same as if he used them w/o the drop kit? which would give him more clearance from bigger tires, and a higher body? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrimGreg Posted June 5, 2009 Share Posted June 5, 2009 But if he uses aftermarket UCA's with the TM drop-kit, wouldn't that be the same as if he used them w/o the drop kit? which would give him more clearance from bigger tires, and a higher body? UCAs don't give any lift. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldSlowReliable Posted June 5, 2009 Share Posted June 5, 2009 UCAs don't give any lift. But, i mean if he has the drop bracket kit on now...couldn't he put aftermarket UCA's on, then crank the torsion bars? or am i misunderstanding how the TM lift works Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
88pathoffroad Posted June 7, 2009 Share Posted June 7, 2009 You can get aftermarket UCA's and crank up the torsion bars, then put bigger tires on for more clearance. That's about it. I would leave the TM lift on and see how well it actually performs before just deciding you don't like the way it looks and taking it all apart. Max suspension lift in front is 7" with the TM lift and a UCA lift. After that there's only an SAS, which still doesn't help front end clearance... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldSlowReliable Posted June 8, 2009 Share Posted June 8, 2009 You can get aftermarket UCA's and crank up the torsion bars, then put bigger tires on for more clearance. That's about it. I would leave the TM lift on and see how well it actually performs before just deciding you don't like the way it looks and taking it all apart. Max suspension lift in front is 7" with the TM lift and a UCA lift. After that there's only an SAS, which still doesn't help front end clearance... So he could do TM, UCA, and BL, and get a total of 10" of lift, and if its a trail-only rig, with some beefing up of a few parts, i think he could run atleast 34's or 35's, without REALLY putting anything at risk... 35's would guarantee about 18" from center of wheel, and idk distance from center to bottom of pumpkin.......ill go with a safe bet, and say 5 inches..... so that gives you a minimum of being able to cross a 13" tall rock in the middle of the trail, without hitting anything, or rubbing anything :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kingman Posted June 8, 2009 Share Posted June 8, 2009 Turning 35s at that extreme of a CV angle? Sounds like a recipe for disaster. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldSlowReliable Posted June 8, 2009 Share Posted June 8, 2009 Turning 35s at that extreme of a CV angle? Sounds like a recipe for disaster. Does the TM lift drop the diff and cv's and everything? i thought it did...which would make the cv's at no worse angle than just UCA's with torsion bars Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soccerstudd5 Posted June 8, 2009 Author Share Posted June 8, 2009 Does the TM lift drop the diff and cv's and everything? i thought it did...which would make the cv's at no worse angle than just UCA's with torsion bars Yes, the TM lift essentially moves everything down to maintain stock angles on everything but the drive shaft, IIRC. So I should still be able to crank the torsion bars.... The thing I don't like the most is the fact that the TM lift drops down the torsion bars so they are the lowest point from the front tires back to the center of the vehicle. Would I be able to remove the torsion bar drop down bracket and get some heavier duty torsion bars and just crank them more so that I have better center clearance? I haven't looked yet to see if there is even a straight line for that to work, and now that I think about it, that's probably why they drop them in that kit. Thanks for all the help, I will be putting a starter on it tonight and seeing what else it needs to run right, and hopefully be hitting the trails this weekend to see how the TM lift really performs..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Posted June 8, 2009 Share Posted June 8, 2009 You can't do that with the T-bars unless you find a way to angle the mounts on the lower control arms. Then you could theretically put them back in the stock location on the crossmember. Though, you'd have to modify it as well to accept the t-bars coming up on an angle. I'd say it'd be easier to just get a skid plate made that covers the t-bars. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soccerstudd5 Posted June 8, 2009 Author Share Posted June 8, 2009 I'd say it'd be easier to just get a skid plate made that covers the t-bars. Probably what I'm going to end up doing... probably the easiest anyhow. Thanks everyone for the input and the help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrimGreg Posted June 8, 2009 Share Posted June 8, 2009 You "can" put the adjuster crossmember in the stock location and angle the T-bars....the original TM kits were made to work like that. I would think they changed it due to added strain on the bars. It would probably also do a number on your caster. Another option, is to do away with the T-bars and make a custom coil-over setup. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soccerstudd5 Posted June 9, 2009 Author Share Posted June 9, 2009 Another option, is to do away with the T-bars and make a custom coil-over setup. That's not too bad of an idea... may consider that later on. Just got her running last night and did some testing for the 4wd. With the BL, it won't go in 4Lo right now (need to notch out the floor), but in 4 Hi, I did everything my friends CJ-5 could do in 4-Lo, my friend was VERY impressed. Not too bad for putting a starter on a pathy that's sat for 6 years and cranking it right up and taking it for a couple test climbs.... Thanks for the help all and I'll let you know how my weekend wheeling goes with the TM lift! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nige Posted June 9, 2009 Share Posted June 9, 2009 (edited) consider bending the t-case lever to make it clear the floor rather than cutting a notch out. It may take a little time get it bent right, but it less work and cleaner than cutting the floor and console to get the clearance. Bender and I ended up removing, bending and installing my lever about 5 times before we got it to fit. When we were finished, the shifter looked a bit like a lightning bolt: / | / Edited June 9, 2009 by nige Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MY1PATH Posted June 9, 2009 Share Posted June 9, 2009 nissan pickup 4x4 lever may help your clearance. Its taller becacues the pickup came with a 1.5" taller body. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soccerstudd5 Posted June 10, 2009 Author Share Posted June 10, 2009 Ok thanks for the input. Started bending the shifter tonight with it in, but couldn't get it to bend far enough, so tomorrow I'm going to take it out and get it bent. After looking at it for a while, I figured that would be my first option over cutting the floor as I like having a boot there and not having to mod anything else. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nige Posted June 10, 2009 Share Posted June 10, 2009 slide a longer pipe over the end of the shifter to get more leverage on it. try not to damage the threads and just bend a bit @ a time. you will figure out where you need to bend when you re install it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrimGreg Posted June 11, 2009 Share Posted June 11, 2009 Make sure the pipe isn't too long. Someone used a pipe that was a bit too long once and ended up putting it into the windshield. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nige Posted June 16, 2009 Share Posted June 16, 2009 lol, we took my shifter off the truck while doing the bending. i first tried with it still installed, but the pipe kept touching the dash before i could really bend it. the dash on the 93 and older trucks must give you a lot more room to work with Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soccerstudd5 Posted July 9, 2009 Author Share Posted July 9, 2009 lol, we took my shifter off the truck while doing the bending. i first tried with it still installed, but the pipe kept touching the dash before i could really bend it. the dash on the 93 and older trucks must give you a lot more room to work with That was my problem as well. Finally just took a hack saw to the floor a week ago and it worked just fine, lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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