Captain C

I have a 2001 F-150 4x4 Supercrew with the 5.4 Triton. I have added a Curt 31038 front receiver hitch so I can install a winch and move it from front to rear as needed. The weight of the hitch had added a lot of bounce to the front end. I already have Rancho 9000 shocks turned all the way up but it is still a little more bounce than I like, and that's without the winch mounted. I can only wonder how bad it will get with the winch installed!


My questions are:
1. Did Ford (or any body else for that matter) offer heavier torsion bars for snow plow usage for these vehicles????
2. Are the torsion bars on these vehicles the same length as the 1970's Dodge pickups that had torsion bars???? I used to swap big block pickup torsion bars onto my circle track cars back in the early 80's.....

raisin

I have '99 F250 light duty (stronger torsion bars) with front hitch. When I installed hitch I couldn't tell the difference. Surprised you can feel extra 30 lbs or so. I beleive mine was a Curt also.

Captain C

Wow, didn't realize the F-250 was torsion bar, thought they were coil spring for some reason... I will have to call up/visit the local Ford dealer to find out if they will fit.

I believe the stronger torsion bars are why you didn't notice the extra weight. My front end only dropped about an inch, but the Rancho XL9000 shocks went from absolutely perfect to less than stock performance with the extra weight. Instead of one bounce and done. It now bounces three or four times..... I also replaced the "P" rated tires with heavier "LT" rated tires at about the same time. I figure the heavier torsion bars would take a lot of the bounce out, especially when I get around to wiring in and mounting the hundred pound winch/receiver hitch mount.

raisin

This is the F250 light duty, looks just like F150 but has larger front torsion rod, extra leaf in rear spring, stronger lower front a-frame, 4R100 trans and 10.25 rear axle. Was also called F150 7700 GVWR package in some years.

Captain C

I went to the Ford Dealership yesterday to check on prices. they told me there are three different Torsion bars and I needed to know which one to order. The kid behind the counter didn't know if one was rated higher or if the lengths were the same or what. The prices ranged from $106 to $142 each.


So now, I need to find out:
1. If the lengths are different, which I doubt...
2. Are the load ratings different between the three, which is very possible.
3. Does anybody with this upgrade know the part numbers they used?


I'm thinking I need to ask one of the Ford shop mechanics or stop in at a front end repair shop... Not a place that does alignments, but more like a frame repair shop.

ibd2328

iTrader: (2)

The code 7 which are the heavy duty bars are no longer avaibale through ford. They are discontinued. The bars are also longer than your stock ones which makes you move back the cross-member. The part number for them is in several of my threads.

Captain C

Ouch!!! Thanks for the info! Really was hoping they were the same length.