How to adjust ride height?

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Kenflo

Kenflo

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Have a question about ride height. What is the proper procedure? I have the FSM however kind of confusing to me. Just noticed today my lower control arm bump stops are touching the frame and did some measurements to find the ride height is way too low. Just don’t want to mess anything up (Like messing up the adjuster bolts). From what I have read in FSM and here this is what I am thinking:
Jack up the car to release load on suspension, turn adjuster clockwise to increase ride height, lower vehicle and bounce several times front and rear, check ride height and adjust again if necessary by raising car up again and turning adjuster.
Does this method sound ok?
 
That sounds about right, although each time you let the car back down, you will need to back it up and pull it forward a few feet to allow the tires to settle the suspension properly.
 
You will need slip plates for the jounce and rebound method. Otherwise, do as RRR says.
 
Is it necessary to loosen the pivot bolt on control arm while adjusting the adjuster studs?
 
Kenflo said:
Is it necessary to loosen the pivot bolt on control arm while adjusting the adjuster studs?
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sccachallenger said:
Yes! you want the shaft to pivot freely while you adjust the height. Torque the shaft nuts only after you're happy with your height adjustment.
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Depends. If the pivots nuts were torqued at your current ride height, then yes, loosen and tighten at your new height.

If the pivot nuts were torqued at the factory ride height and then the suspension sagged over time resulting in your current ride height, no, because you’d be returning the suspension to where they were torqued.

Since you probably don’t know what height they were torqued at, the best solution is to loosen them and re-torque at the new ride height.
 
RustyRatRod said:
Negative.
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There’s a reason the FSM says they need to be tightened at ride height. It’s not just on install, it’s any time the height is substantially changed. Otherwise you run the risk of tearing the rubber LCA bushings. All the LCA motion is flex in the factory rubber LCA bushings. If they’re not torqued middle of range, they run out of flex.
 
72bluNblu said:
There’s a reason the FSM says they need to be tightened at ride height. It’s not just on install, it’s any time the height is substantially changed. Otherwise you run the risk of tearing the rubber LCA bushings. All the LCA motion is flex in the factory rubber LCA bushings. If they’re not torqued middle of range, they run out of flex.
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Yes, but if the car has been lowered, either through torsion bar adjustment, or especially wear, then that means no one loosened the pivot nuts to begin with and you're simply returning them to "about" their original position. I've always found it pretty much moot point anyway. Never had any problem with it. To each their own.
 
RustyRatRod said:
Yes, but if the car has been lowered, either through torsion bar adjustment, or especially wear, then that means no one loosened the pivot nuts to begin with and you're simply returning them to "about" their original position. I've always found it pretty much moot point anyway. Never had any problem with it. To each their own.
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Yeah I said exactly that in my first post.

Problem is that’s didactic. In the real world if you didn’t torque the pivot nuts, you probably don’t know what height they were torqued at last. Guessing is not a good idea.

I don’t worry about it at all, but I don’t have rubber LCA bushings either so it’s completely irrelevant for me.
 
Lots of good info here! Thanks!
I think I’ll go ahead and loosen the pivot nuts as suggested because the ride height is so far out, think I also may be looking at new torsion bars as well
 
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