so I did the PML and was trying to crank the tbars...I unboltes the lock nut on top and started to tighten the bolt liek the directions said...it was fairly easy after much WD40 use but stil a little bit resistance (first of all is that right?) and then tightened the nut back down....repeated for the other side then dropped the truck and moved it around...at first i did not record a change in height but there was a visible difference I thought...ok so I went back and did this again and recorded about an inch difference, and it looked about level to me, or where it should be...seems to be sagging again...this is normal too right? but is it supposed to be really easy to crank the tbars? i didnt see them move or anyhting and the bolt just turned like that? want to make sure I did it right.

The bolt was turning easy? Did you have the wheels jacked up off the ground? If not, you were probably turning the wrong way. The first time I cranked my t-bars I did it with the tires on the ground...great workout! You're lifting the front of your truck by turning a bolt.

The key is to measure the wheel arch heights at all 4 corners before you start...and, the amount of thread for each bolt sticking up over the adjuster nut (Not the lock nut, just over the top of the adjuster nut)....after you've taken off the lock nuts, but not cranked yet.

When cranking, you need to hold the top nut in place, so when you turn the adjuster bolt head from the bottom, the bolt goes up through the adjuster nut, leaving more thread protruding on top than before...

This cranking up of the adjuster bolt head up into the cross member pulls up the adjuster finger...which in turn twists the t-bar, and the t-bar's other end (in the LCA), downwards, lifting the truck.

If you hold the top nut and crank the bolt head from the bottom, so it draws up the bolt head into the cross member, leaving more thread on top than before...you are doing it right.



Threre is no relationship beween the change in the amount of threads on top, and the amount of lift though...so you have to get your final ride height by trail and error.



This is where the pre-measurements come in handy...to compare to.

ok well when i started i measured 37" on drivers and passanger side. after a bunch of cranking i got 38" drivers and 37" passangers still...but i wasn't holding the top not down...i wil ltry this again...and yes i had the front of the truck jacked up to the point where the tires were kissing the ground.

Dom

Removing the lock nut, and then holding the adjuster nut still, while you crank the bolt head from the botom, will keep the bolt from spinning in its hole, merely rotating the top adjuster nut, rather than threading that nut down the bolt, which you need to do to draw up the bolt head.

AHHH...That makes sense...In the directions I Read it said the bottom nut was welded to the frame so you didn't have to hold it...Then I saw it start to spin and I was getting a littel worried. Makes sense to me now. Thanks TJ.

Dom

I got like a dozen requests for this...so, I'm posting a general response I just PM'd, as a decent overview of the process:

I'm not sure what you don't get about it...so, forgive me if I tell you something you already know, or leave something out...I'm flying blind here. (Making a guess as to what you need)

Measure your height at all four corners before you start, I use the tops of the wheel arches unless the tires are changing too...but pick something useful to compare to...as this is how you will know exactly how high you are over stock.....or, if you need a new alignment because you changed the ride height, etc.

Also measure the length of the threads showing above the cross member on the adjuster nuts...this is more of a ballparking theme than the arch heights, as there is no solid ratio of threads to lift...it varies too much.

A thicker bar needs less twist to give the same lift...and, the more lift you are doing, the more twist you will be doing...

If you insert the t-bar with the finger drooped all the way down, its easier to get in...but, it almost always will not have room to tighten back up into the cross member...insert the bar into the adjuster with the finger drooped only a few inches or so, not all the way down.


The bars have two attachement points...front and back anchors.

1. The rear most end is in an adjustment finger anchor, essentialy a splined lever, which is located within the cross member.

The finger has a hole for the end of the bar to stick into...the hole is splined to match the splines on the bar, to keep the bar from slipping inside the anchor (Hole)...a lever arm is attached to this hole, and the end of that lever has another hole perpendicular to the anchor hole...that hole is the one that the adjuster bolt goes up through.

The adjuster bolt has its head on the downside, and its threads point upwards.

On the threads are two nuts...the top one is just a lock nut, it just holds the adjuster nut (The one under it) from turning.

To change bars, you need to remove the lock nut, and then take off the adjuster nut...this will drop the adjuster bolt/let you drop the adjuster bolt, and the funny shaped washer that is held by the bolt's head...and which holds the lever end of the finger.

The way the bar works is that the finger is used to exhert force to twist the bar....and the way to twist the bar is to draw the bolt head up more, this moves the lever arm upwards, which twists the anchor hole, which twists the bar in the hole...

(The other end of the bar is in the Lower Control Arm (LCA)....when you do a 3" lift...its the Upper (UCA) that you swap out....so this is the lower one...and there's a splined anchor in the LCA - but, its not movable, or even easlily removable....so we will mostly worry about the adjuster end)

Anyway...when the bar is twisted by drawing up the adjuster bolt, is forces the LCA downwards, lifting the truck. (This process leaves more threads showing above the crossmember on the adjuster bolt)

To get the old bar out, and the new bar in...you drop the adjuster all the way down....and pull the bar out, and put in the new one, and put it all back together....Do mark the ends "Front and Back" for old and new bars....they are directional AFTER THEY HAVE BEEN USED.

PS - A week before, hit both of the anchors and all bolts/nuts/threads with penetrating oil...it needs a lot of time to penetrate...the parts seem to rust weld in place...I like Nut Blaster myself...seems to disolve it best.

So - you do the following:

1. Measure length/heights
2. Spray all
3. Remove lock nut
4. Remove adjuster nut
5. Drop finger down

6. Pull out old bar...(hitting drooped finger backwards with BFH)...and note which is front/back on it before you forget.

7. Lube holes with anti-sieze compound (to make life easier the next time...)

8. Mark f/b on old bars before storing.

9. Insert new bar into anchors...the new bars are typically stiffer, so, start the finger's position drooped down under the cross member a bit higher, as it won't have to twist as much for the same amount of lift....if you need a lot more lift (3" lift....etc...), try inserting the bar at the same point as prior...and cranking up from there.

10. You want the bottom of the adjuster bolt head to end up tucked into the cross member when at the desired ride height...or it gets ripped off on rocks, etc. when it sticks down below the cross member. (Which strands you on the trail...)

11. If the bolt head ends up too low, take the bar out, and put it back in with the finger positioned a bit higher/less drooped, to give it more room to tuck in further (This is called re-indexing the bar...)

12. When the bars are in, and the measurements of arches heights look right...bounce the truck a few times, drive around the block, some curbs, whatever, to settle everything in...it can shift a bit as the bar takes a set, etc.

13. Remeasure...rinse, repeat as needed until the heights are where you want them.

14. Install the lock nuts to keep the heights where you want them.

15. If you changed the ride height, get an alignment.

I think that's the meat of it.

(I consolidated several que together and made the one post above for those of you with parts...)

I'm pretty sure that my lower nut was welded to the crossmember. I know for sure that i didnt use a wrench to hold it after i put on my lift and i was able to adjust height as needed. strange

May have been rust welded in place.

there is alot of friction on the bottom nut. If you havn't removed the adjuster bolt complketely, there is usually enough friction to hold it in place while you are cranking.. After reindexing I had to hold it with a wrench for a month or two, after the rust was holding it pretty well by itself. You don't have to remove the top nut to crank the tbars, jsut to reindex them. you can loosen the top nut a turn or three, and crank till they are bottomed out, the nut will "move" up by itself (as you crank) and you will have to tighten it back down afterwards. Why tighten it 3 inches, when you can tighten it 1/4 inch?