I am about to do a PML on my 02 X. I understand there should be about a 1/2" distance left above the bump stop left when finished, to allow for an alignment. I looked, and there is about 3/4" before I have done anything. It would seem I have a 1/4 " to play with. Does that equal the lift I can get? I'm looking to get an inch or so by turning the torsion bars.

You're at 3/4 inch clearance now, without the crank? If so, crank it as far as you can, drive it around, let it settle and then see where you stand. It's possible that you are extended at the first measure and need a little tweaking to get it to get the front up and reset the stance.

Yeah- I haven't cranked yet, just was looking at the stop to see how much room there was to start with, and wondered if 1" lift equals a 1" change at the bump stop.

Hmmm, that's a good question indeed... Does a 1" raise = a 1" change relating to the UCA and bump stop? Does anybody know? I would take an educated guess and say yes, it does.

No, one inch raise does not equal one in travel from the bump stop of the UCA.

The the distance from the pivot point to the bumpstop makes a difference. The distance the wheel travels is definitely much greater than the distance the UCA trales from and to the bumpstop.

Since the tire is further away from the pivot point than the bumpstop, it has to travel a great distance as the UCA rotates.

Turns out I was looking at the bump stop on the LCA, not the UCA! The bummer is, there looks like a little less room on the upper stop, maybe 3/4", more like 5/8". I don't believe the T-bars have been turned, the X looks to be stock height and rake.

In my favor, I ordered 1" shackles from SLR, and if I understand other posts correctly, SLR's only lift HALF of what they state ( 1/2" in my case), as they are 1" longer than stock shackles, not 1" in lift! 1/2" seems kind of pointless....

That's why I mixed and matched my lift, although not the cheap way to do things.... I think I got the most lift. Calmini shackles, the Bilsteins that come with the AC Revolvers, and SLR UCA's T-bars and 3 pack.

I decided to tackle this today- can't even get past step one! I've been spraying the nuts for a week with blaster, and I can't budge that locknut on the torsion bar adjuster. Tried tapping the wrench with a hammer, it isn't budging. Any suggestions? My tool resources are limited

See if you can heat up the nut a little and then loosen it. Propane torches work really well usually.

thanks- I'll give it a try when all the blaster is evaporated, guessing that is flammable!

What's the verdict? Did you ever get your PML done? I figured I'd voice my concerns here instead of starting a new thread.

I just ordered Calmini shackles and am going to do my PML when they get here. I looked at my UCA bumpstops and I don't have a lot of room to work with either, so I'm a little worried. Is 3/4 inch normal to start?

I have a 2000 with only 53,xxx miles and am thinking the suspension has sagged a little. I really don't have much of a rake, and the passenger side measures 1/2 inch front and back lower than the driver side. Could this be due to the full gas tank on the passenger side? I bought the car from an older couple and otherwise the guts underneath are in great condition with no rust or damage.

Your suggestions (anyone) and advice would be greatly appreciated by this PML noob.

Thanks

No, I haven't gotten it done yet. I am having a b*^$$ of a time getting the lock nut loosened. My Hella lights came in and I got them fitted and working, so my next plan is to try to tackle those torsion bars again.

What I am planning on doing is raising the front end until I'm at the bump stop limit and then seeing how it looks, and determining whether I can add shackles based on how much lift I get in the front.

I'm guessing someone out there knows from experience the approximate ratio, like taking away a X" between bumpstop and UCA equals roughly Y" amount of lift on the front end?

I wonder what the stock height of first generations is? That might tell if there is sag or previous owner leveling.

I just got my shackles this morning. I'm headed to see if I can't get my PML done today. I'll let you know if I have better luck than you!

I got my PML on. It was way easier than I was expecting thanks to all the great info on this site. I was worried about doing the torsion bars, but adjusting those was actually easier than doing the shackles. None of my bolts were rusty, thankfully, so all I had to do was loosen the lock nuts and tighten the torsion bar nuts. It took me a bit of time and a lot of tightening to get my 1.5 inches of lift out of the front, but it was easy to do. I was also worried about only having 3/4 inch to start with the UCA bumpstops, but this wasn't a problem at all. I still have 1/2 inch clearance after getting 1.5 inches of lift.

I did the PML by myself, so the shackles were a little tricky, but I found a good way to do those. Here are some tips that I haven't seen elsewhere.

1. Lower your spare, I needed the extra room to get the stock shackles off. Just push the tailpipe upward if it is in the way.

2. Don't take off your shocks or sway bar unless you are replacing/removing them completely. I saw this recommended elsewhere, but wasn't needed.

3. After you take off the stock shackles and put on the top bolt for your new shackles, put your stock scissor jack on top of your leaf springs toward the rear where the spring clip is. Jack it between the spring clip and the frame and you will be able to align the new, longer shackle holes perfectly. Once I figured this out on one side, the other side took 5 minutes to do. No tugging involved, just a natural, stress-free way to align the holes.

I took 2 hours and 20 minutes from set up to clean up without ever doing one of these before. Here is a list of the tools I used:

-Stock scissor jack
-2.5 ton jack
-Two jack stands
-Hammer (stock shackle remover)
-18mm wrench (stock shackle bolts, torsion bolts)
-Two 19mm wrenches (Calmini bolts)
-Tape measure

Like I said, this was way easier than I was expecting, especially the torsion bars. The appearance isn't real noticable, but the measuring tape says so, so I believe it. I am glad I went with the 1.5" Calmini shackles instead of the 1" SLR.

I did my front end today- finally got those lock-nuts loose. I could only get about 3/4" lift before I ran out of room between bumpstop-UCA (1/2" remains). They must have been sagging, cause there is now the normal 1" difference between front and back of the truck.

So, I didn't put my shackles on. Not sure what to do next. I'm guessing re-indexing them may allow me a little more lift? Or maybe not?