Someone tell me I'm stupid or that this will never work, or its a terrible idea, but I just thought it up.

What if I replaced the rear leaf's with a new leaf spring pack from say, tough country, then got extended shackles, and replaced the rear shocks.

Then in the front I got the torsion keys, new shocks, and then cranked the torsion bars up to level with the back.

The only reason I mention the keys is because I'm not sure how far the bars can be cranked, and the keys are supposed to give you 2", and then you can crank the bars up to whatever additional height you may need to level with the back.

Could I feasibly get like 3" with this idea?

Is this a completely stupid idea or what?

 

Torsion keys are a waste of money.
You can crank the stock setup to as high as you want to but the MAX should be 24". Torsion keys add NOTHING to change that MAX.
Any higher and you risk component failure of the other front end parts because of excessive drive angles.

 

Ah ok, I assumed the keys moved the torsion bars.

For example if I was at 22 in the front, and added keys, I would be at 24 in the front, with the bars at their original 22 position so then I would able to crank them up to 26 with the bars being at the position as if they were at 24.

Guess it doesn't work that way, doh.

 

re indexing kit or no re indexing kit... you are still changing the angles on the front end components which is what causes problems. So as Bunger said, you don't want to go higher than 24" in the front either way or you will increase the likelyhood of component failure.

 

when I cranked the torsian keys I could see how the angle of the cv shafts changed, I went up to 23 and after the alignment and a month later both sides are around 23.5, strange huh. What I did notice is the front end is a little firmer on some roads and a little more bouncier on other roads, but it may just be me.

 

Be careful how high you crank the front up. I went to almost 24" and have had both the drivers side and passenger CVC boots tear and had to replace them. I've now lowered the drivers side 1 and 1/2 turns and the passenger side 1 full turn and hope that will kept from having the same problem.

 

What about moving the rear axle from above the leaf springs to below it for a little more lift? What would be the drawback to this? I guess the drive angles might be a little tight and hard on the CV joints and maybe needing longer brake lines and shocks or some sort of shackles for the shock mounts? This wouldn't do much for the front, but the back and middle of the Hummer would be a little higher.

 

That's a spring over axle lift...or SOA. That would lift the rear end roughly 6"...turning a hideous stock rake into absolutely ridiculous rake.

 

The SOA has been done, but the front spring mount was modified (closer to the frame) and it did gain height and also put the shock out of harms way. PM me and I'll send you a link!

 

I guess my question would be why you need or want so much list to do a spring over? This limits the trails you can run and hinders the stability of your rig. I am running 35's and have tons of clearance and outside of getting ready to add motorized running boards (so wifey can get in truck) the only thing hindering performance are those damn nerf bars. I would watch your CV angle when cranking your TB's. I was able to level with 8 turns but mine was pretty low in front when I started. I ended up with 7" to 8" of fender/tire clearance and the angle is only impacting about 1 rib on the boot. My biggest recommendation is an alignment once you crank her up.....anyone suggesting Torsion Keys is a fool....it take hours to put them in and they virtually do the exact same thing thats already available by turning the 1 1/16 head bolt near the frame on by the rear door. Just my thoughts but its your junk not mine.