body lift on a t4 ?

[DVR68U]

hey guys just went on another great camping trip down to tumut on the weekend. i was talking to a mate about wanting a 4wd and tdi t4. When i thought to myself when i changed my front subframe it looked as if i could do a simple body lift. the only problem i could see atm would be the torsion bars.
has any body seen a body lift on a t4 ? maybe the rear could just handle a spring lift . just some thoughts
cheers brenton

[Seano]

Brenton
Lifting a T4 to a height up to 40mm above stock Transporter ride height is childs play.

But this applies to Transporters only as the other versions may come with diferent torsion bars due to 'sportier' or lowered suspensions.

A body lift is difficult to nigh on impossible. Mainly because there's only the body as opposed to many 4x4s which are body on frame...

Putting spacers between the body and engine sub frame would only help you gain front wheel travel if there was that much travel available.....but there isn't. That's one of the pitfalls of a torsion bar front end.

Easiest thing to do is fit KVRR-15 rear springs from Kings Springs, rear diff spacers (to maintain CV and prop shaft down angles) and then wind up the torsion bars to maintain the 1 degree down angle. Shock replacement is not necessary. It may also be possible to fit taller rear spring pads instead of the rear springs.

Maximum lift is 40mm over Transporter standard. The limiting factor is the front wheel camber adjustment. Anything much over 40mm higher takes it to the limit of adjustment on the the camber.

Further height increases are available by increasing wheel and/or tyre sizes out to 215/65R16.......anything bigger than that requires alterations to gearing. And this is specialisr gear that is available from Seikel but the cost is.....spectacular.

[DVR68U]

yeah i have had my front wound up before but i didnt like the stiffness of the front due to the angle of the aarms, i currently have a 2lt petrol 2wd with 2.5l petrol front torision bars so its already stiffer than stock. i just thought maybe it would be possible to space out the subframe and engine mounts to drop the motor and subframe away from the body . then just run springs in the rear . ill just have to have a look and see if im remembering correctly. it would be nice to increase the front hight and still have only a slight angle on the aarms for a nice smooth ride.
cheers brenton

[DVR68U]

id have to also measure the track and midheight to see if the travel over height of the middle of the van could even allow for the better approach and departure angles anyway .

[Seano]

The approach angle is always going to be limited by the front sub-frame.....this is what kills the T4's off roading potential.

Sure they can climb surprisingly steep approaches (like eroded creek exits!) but they do so whilst lying on the belly pan and leaving the engine sump dreadfully exposed. Any additional protection to the sump lowers ground clearance further and makes servicing a hassle.

I didn't find the suspension any stiffer when I wound mine up but then my bars are stock for the ute. One thing they have probably done is worn out/settled faster that they would have otherwise due to the greater arc through which they can now twist.

There is a simple way to fix the torsion bar wind up 'issue' - one needs to fabricate up a new & slightly longer linkage between the torsion bar and the upper (?) front wishbone. This linkage should force the wishbone down and the body stance up without adjusting the torsion bar....but again the wheel alginment issue comes to the fore.

Whiteline Suspension (amongst others) should be able to fabricate the linkage.

[Golf Loon]

Steering linkage would need lengthening too

[Seano]

Good point!

Probably explains why I've never bothered with this mod...