01 2500hd Torsion Bars

You have to be carefull when adjusting them often because I have heard of the theard stripping out while adjusting them on bolts shooting out with a LOT of force. Jack up vechicle at very least when adjusting the Tbars and do keep them lubed too. As far as wear. At 100 K it is likely getting a bit loose and plows do add a lot of strain to front axle and if it has a Dmax in it, you are over your axles rated capacity by a good bit when plow in mounted and in carry position which willl accelerate its wear. I have been plowing with a old style

2000 K3500 SRW with a 5.7/350 in it since november 99 and I had a pitman arm replaced recently but it is still tight otherwise and it has a seen a LOT of plow usage during some winters and it carries a heavy 8 foot Fisher. I t came with optional F60 HD torsion bars up front and it does not sink but maybe 1 1/2 inches tops when plow in lifted so it has never been a issue for me.

. . ========== ========== Steve Joyce wrote: My truck has a 8' plow on it, the torsion bars were never adjusted to accomodate the extra weight.

Should the bars be adjusted and left alone or should they be readjusted during the warm season to bring the ruck to regular height?

I guess I wouldn't be too concerned with this at all, but when loaded the front end drops substantially and I am seeing premature tire wear. The truck has been aligned and new tires put on.

Also, I dont know if this has anything to do with improper adjustment. The truck has 100k on it. I just had to have the trancfer case rebuilt. The truck has only plowed driveways and never been off road.

Any info would be greatly appreciated.

Steve ============ ============ They should be adjusted.

They should be readjusted when the plow is removed.

Any info...???????? ok.... There are guys out there that take the torsion bars out in order to take a transfer case out.

"Ride height" directly affects tire alignment.

"Apllied load" directly affects ride height.

"Tire wear" is a diagnostic indicator of alignment concerns.

"Used" tires are fairly reasonably priced.

"Used" wheels are fairly resonably priced.

DIY'rs are usually able to change tires themselves.

An alignment costs money.....each time you have it adjusted.

~~In Closing~~

hopefully yer question/questions were answered.

hopefully the replies and info provided were clear enough to understand.

hopefully yer a bright enough feller to dig out what should be clear in the above post.

~~Random Thoughts~~

i like ranting

i like customers with a minimal amount of intellect

i like ranting

i hope he understood what i was saying

(marsh takes a sip of his crown royal)

i hope i don't git flamed over this

(marsh takes a toke off his homegrown)

i don't reeeeelly care if i do git flamed, i jest hope i don't

one good parking lot contract at a muffler shop would pay for those tires and wheels

hmmmm...... this is some good dope i got

~~end random thoughts~~

~:~ MarshMonster ~attempts to make the discussion...a discussion~

Not as much as you think. It takes a big change with a GM IFS to change tire wear and it is more sensitive to height increases over stock alignment was than below stock a bit. When they start eating tires when aligned it is because they are being over stressed or overloaded. Once you start to exceed rated capacity the front end starts to flew a bit under load and alignemnt changes from stress on control arm "flex" even though alignement may look good unloaded as there is more than height at play here. Also a truck with a straight front axle is not really effected by ride height tire wear wise and Ford trucks that use the swing axle traction beam from drive axle are VERY sensitive to ride height on tire wear and handling because of geometery limitations of the design.

========= ========= Sno, I did not say how much I thought it would affect it. So....in the spirit of discussion...........

Now that the topic has been brought forward, I will say that I believe that ride height greatly influences the parameters of alignment on the vehical under discussion. An alignment will, and can, be altered on his vehical by simply applying a nominal load on the front suspension of his vehical.

That is what I believe. I stand by the info I posted.

Glue a carpenders level onto the front tire of your truck, running perpendiculer to the ride plane....then have 5 or

6 of your buddies stand on the front bumper while you observe the bubble......then you make your own decision as to whether or not the alignment is affected directly by the amount of load put on the suspension. You could have them go around back and stand on the rear bumper afterward. Then...you may get a better understanding of why rear suspensions are beefed up on vehicals that tote a load. It's not jest so's the wheel well don't scrub all the rubber off yer Michelins.

any whoooo...... i agree to disagree.

respectfully submitted to correct any misassumptions as to what 'I' think.

cuz.... i thunk i'm right. maybe i ain't. but i thunk i am. i'm willing to listen and learn.... but untill then... i stand by my experiences

~:~ marsh ~sips his crownroyal and wonders.............do folks jest let other folks yank out their hearts and stick in new ones...or do they ask how much experience they've got first.........hmmm..... now there's a thunk~

Being that I have plowed snow for over 20 years and for over 6 years with a GM IFS truck, I have a little first had knowledge here on this subject. How the geometery of the control arm is layed out has a effect on how much camber/caster/toein change there is on the front axle with a IFS front end. When you hang a plow on a truck, you add about 1000lbs or more of weight to front axle when it is lifted becuase of the leverage it excerts because a CG shift and it increases the weight on front axle well beyond just the weight of the plow itself. If it has a diesel in it, your front end ground weight is likely well over 5000lbs which is beyond axle capacity in a GM IFS truck. At this level the front end starts to flex a bit from strain and alignment changes regardless of ride height and togetther with the added weight being carried by the front axles tires, you can have increased tire wear. The front tires are also doing more of the work plowing too because they have more weight on them so front control arms also flex a bit more from tractive effort that they apply and all of this effects alignment and tire wear. I always carry a lot of ballst and/or salt in rear of trucks so that the rear axle is heavier plowing and does more of the work and it reduces the strain of front axle and the effect on alignment. Plus I always use gas powered trucks so that the front end is not carring extra weight before you add a plow. My std cab 2000 K3500 has about 3280 lb of front axle weight without plow on it and with basic ballast in truck and about 4300 lbs on it with a plow in carry and load with salt and fuel. (I have weighed it) When you hang a plow on a truck you have to consider all of the dynamics involved and not just look for a simple alignment to cure your problem because if you are overloaded, tire wear will suffer regardless because of reasons above.

=========== =========== Sno, I do not negate your first hand experience or the FACT that you're the most likely candidate to provide the OP with the best suggestions as to how to make his truck perform as well as possible. now...... as it pertains to what's the most likely remedy for this dudes problems, I bow to a greater mind with far more field experience in the circumstances involved in this situation.

but..... having been an accomplished front end technician for many years in a past life........ I stand firm by my statement that ride height directly influences the alignment of the truck. My original reply was with intent to provide info.....it was asked for......i gave it. I have NEVER...hung a thousand pound snowplow on the frontend of anything. I have however, inspected, repaired, and aligned at least a thousand vehicals. Sagging suspensions greatly affect the alignment of a vehical. With the alignment heads attached to a vehical, the alignment haveing been already performed, if someone hangs their body weight off the front of the bumper.......well....i've done it, watched the scope, and I AM telling you that the applied weight influenced the alignment to the point that the numbers vary greatly on the alignment machine Keep in mind, that's with my buddy hanging like an ape of the front of a vehical.....not a thousand pound sno-plow.

However......... It has been my experience that the alignment deflection created was due, and directly a result of old, sagging, weak suspension systems. I have sold a number of customers new coil springs and shocks by simply using the above scenario to show them the camber differential caused by weak suspension components. And reinforced the sell by repeating the hang like an ape scenerio after the repairs were made, in order to satisfy the customer that what was being sold them was an improvement that was needed.

Again..... I bow to the Sno-man with the hands on experience, which imo, in the right hands can disproove "book" proceedures in a lot of situations.

I stand by my statement that hang'n a thousand pounds of anything on the frontend of a pickup truck is going to sag the frontend and throw the camber out greatly.......but now that the thread has turned to an actual discussion, I would like to add that if the suspension is beefed up, well that's a whole different set of cucumbers in the pickle barrel.

i agree...to disagree

i live down south..... the greater mind lives in the snow.

~:~ marsh ~sips his coffee, chunks his alignment proceedure book in the trash~

Lets kepp in mind here I'm not pushing snow down I93 nor am I Sanding a 50k sq ft parking lot. Driveways only here.

Another reason I was asking was due to the fact that GM installed an inferior Fan clutch in these trucks. If I were able to raise the truck a mere inch with out throwing the whole thing completely out of wack I would be able to increase the air flow through my radiator. Therefore solving my over heat potential. I have over heated before and If I were able to raise the truvk one inch I could lower the plow to allow more air flow.

This said, that was just a hope. I now know I am biting the bullet and purchasing a new fan clutch even tho chevy acknowledges the fact of the incorrect part supplied on a truck which was sold with a plow package. My thing is that checvy should pay for this and not myself.

Steve