>I have a 95 Dakota 4X4 and need more ground clearance in the front. Does
>anyone know where I can get information on aftermarket suspension kits?
Can
>I get a few inches just by tweaking the torsion bars and resetting the
>alignment?
The only suspention lift is a 4" from Trail Master and runs $1000+. It
also has a few design quirks that make it less optimal than you might
think. 1) even with the lift, the wheelwell only fits a 31 or a short 32"
tire. 2) You have to cut a frame crossmember off the truck to install it,
making removal of the kit impossible. 3) Front lower A-arm mounts are
exposed to the same rocks you were hitting with the frame cross piece. 4)
The design pushes the wheels and tires far outside the fenders requiring
wider flares to stay legal in many states. 5) The extended wheels place
added leverage on the front wheel bearings which won't make their life any
easier. 6) you loose the front skid plate.
As for tweeking the torsion bars, I won't recommend it as it voids both
warrenty and design specs. However, many people have had success with
raises in the 1" range with no trouble. I don't think that the front end
will align properly even with a 1" tweek. The adjustments simply don't
have that kind of play in them.
Personally, I am running 31" tires with about a 1/2" t-bar tweek. This
places the mesurements on the suspention at exactly at the limit of the
factory specs. (1.5" difference between the two reference points) However,
there is no way to know if your truck is higher or lower in that range to
begin with until you measure it. Get a Haynes manual at a minimum (about
$15) which shows the proper procedure.
If you are only bumping the front end off-road, and not getting hung up on
it, I'd settle with just a minor tweek. The forward frame section is so
incredibly strong that banging it around isn't going to hurt anything. (at
low speed of course) I have so many little dents and nicks on that lower
frame piece I generally take a can of black Rustolium and spray it twice a
year to keep it looking good. The only thing you really have to watch is
shearing off the front bolts on the skid plate. Even smashing these bolts
can make removal very difficult. I smeer the threads with an Anti-Sieze
compound to aid in remove as I generally bash one or both every month or
so.
The reason the front hits so much is that the suspension compresses farily
easily. Most of the impacts I get are made as the front bounces into the
rocks. Then, as the bounce is over, the truck clears the same rock it hit.
Very careful driving avoids most problems.
Christopher Siano | A little Revolution
CSiano@Banyan.com | now and again
0- | is a good thing.
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