OK, I understand how to do this with the shackles and cranking the adjustment. I just picked up a new to me X and I suspect that the torsion bars have never been adjusted. The front sags a lot more than one should expect. It has 100k on it. I went through the receipts and found no alignment has ever been done.

The manual gives a ride height adjustment. Prior to beginning the PML should I adjust the torsion bars to midpoint of the spec then adjust up 1.5 inch from there? I am not confusing distance from the ground and the method of measuring the points on the A arms.

I have read references to the PML making the truck steer oddly even after alignment. My plan is to set the adjustment to midpoint and only add 1 inch of ride height and use blocks under the rear springs to get the correct ride height for the rear. This may net a PML of only 1 inch.

Any problems with drivability when cranked up 1.5 from spec? The shackles supposedly net 1.5 in the rear but if it going to make it steer or drive odd I would rather go up 1 inch and add blocks at the back.

When I take it to the alignment shop do I need to inform them not to mess with the torsion bars to accomplish the alignment? I suspect it would be easier for them to drop the ride height rather than adjust something else to get the wheel angle right.

What exactly does the shop tweak to compensate for the torsion bar mod?

Lots of question but I am a little in the dark.

Tim T.

Just did my PML on saturday, got it aligned on sunday. Talk with the actual tech that is going to be working on your truck, explain the reason you did what you did. If it is uneven you can have him level it out, then he will ajust around the tbars. Does seem to be a very slight bit twitchy on different grades, but nothing that gets the blood pumping.

The shackle PML is tried and true, I would stick to what works. Any changes you make will effect the way the truck drives, you will just have to get used to it.

As far as adjusting the height to what it was supposed to be then adding more height, I will let some more informed members comment on that.

If you ar pretty sure your front has sagged I think your best bet is to adjust your T-bars based on the distance to the bump stop. I think if you leave about 3/4" between the arm and the stop you should have about the 1" lift you are lookng for.

Forget blocks, they can pop out...big mess.



The X comes stock with a slightly nose down attitude...its designed that way...so you might not have even sagged.

You can do the normal PML with shackles, and if an inch and a half just seems a bit wild and crazy to you, and you want to do just an ich...SLR makes a 1" lift shackle just for you.



Don't go nuts trying to get an exact amount of lift over stock....they all came from the factory within a few tenths of each other...but different, as individual springs, etc...have some normal variability....

So you could do 1" of lift on one X, and end up the exact same height as someone else's 1.5" lifted X, etc....and visa-versa.



In case you decide in the future to do a 3" lift (It happens....) I'd recommend just getting the 1.5" lift shackle (Saves about $25 -vs- the 1" shackle too...), and cranking the T's so you have about 1" - 3/4" of bumpstop clearance...that's a nice conservative setting that you will have no trouble getting an alignment for.

The 3" lift uses the same 1.5" shackle...so it doesn't go to waste...that way...its part of a methodical, yet reversable, build-up plan.

I also recommend doing it yourself, so you know what's going on under there...which also saves scads of dough in labor charges....and, at a minimum, watch the shop do it for a vicarious thrill, etc.

As for what is tweaked...its just a wheel alignment.

On an independant front suspension (IFS), when the truck goes up, the tires swing inwards and downwards : from this I-I... to this \-/....way exagerated by the little schematic of course, but a few degrees worth.

This happens as you drive, lift or no lift....its the way the two half axles move as the tires droop...and a lift is just pre-drooping them a bit.

This is called camber, and its the main part of the alignment that changes.

If you have 100K w/o an alignment...its a good idea either way to get one...I think its about due.



BTW - The t-bars are made to be adjusted, that's why an adjuster is built in....all you are doing when cranking them is twisting the bar to restore enough tension to hold the X up at the height you want...all within normal function for them.

The handling changes when you lift, or even add cargo and passengers, etc....anything that raises the center of gravity hurts the handling.

That said, I have a 3" suspension lift....it costs me about 2 mph on an off ramp, and that's with about 500 lb of armor, etc.

I have a 2" Body lift as well, but that didn't raise enough weight to be measureable....almost all of the weight is on the frame/engine/transmission, etc.....the body is a few hundred lb, compared to the total truck's weight of about 5,000 lb.

A PML raises the center of gravity a bit, and you might be able to feel the difference during hard cornering because it will lean a little bit more.

I added stiffer t-bars and shocks, and now it doesn't lean more, it leans less than stock.

Link for the 1 inch shackle raise? I may consider the 1 inch and perhaps level the vehcile out. Sort of like a 1.5 in front and a 1 in back. Is the nose down a requirement to make it handle or just a way to compensate for load. Some of the SUV's in the X size range are really azz high and look a little silly.

The Haynes manual has a procedure for ride height measured as delta between lower control arm and rearmost tension rod to lower control arm bolt. Spec is 1.791 to 1.949 Obviously the differance between 1.791 and 1.949 will rasie the vehicle more due to the meausuring points.

So the PML will allow you to add 1.5 of FRAME height as measured from the ground to frame in front and still have adequate adjustment for camber? In other words set it to spec by the book, measure frame height and crank until frame raises and additional 1.5? I would hate to put the 1.5 in back and crank up the front only to find that the shop does not have enough adjustment left for camber.

Yes - the PML is an honest to god suspension lift, and it raises the frame 1.5"...which is about as high as you can go, and still get a regular alignment (The 1.5" ride height adjustment is within the normal range of alignment correction....going OVER 1.5" lift is where the factory parts run out of adjustment, although some people have tweaked 1 3/4" -2" cranks and still gotten alignment...but the std 1.5" PML crank is fine for everyone.

The primary purpose of getting new upper control arms (UCA) on the 3" lifts is to allow alignment at the higher angles, as it brings the range of adjustment up to the new lift heights....

...and why you can't just get 3" lift shackle and crank the t-bars to 3" to match w/o getting new UCA's.