How To: Lift the Front Torsion Bars on First Gen Nissan Xterra 

Love all your vids..it isnt hard to turn the bolt if you put a jack under the front enough to get the weight off it thats what nissan told me you were actually supposed to do

Thanks buddy. I know what I'm doing, had many of vehicles. But videos like this are what I love. Someone took their time to give me a quick walk thru. Much appreciated.

Great videos. Very well described instruction and I like how you include closeups of what you're talking about. Looking at picking up a first gen this week and very excited!

So helpful! Thanks for sharing. Just did this today for my 02. Was easier than I thought it would be! Was only able to get 1.1/8" before I'd have to redo the torsion setup. I'm ok with the look now. Always thought something looked off. LOL I'm glad to see manufactures now a days start to level out their mid size trucks it seems...Tacoma and the new Frontier, which I'm buy early next year. I've had my X 16yrs and only 165k. Great trucks!

Excellent video thank you for taking the time to make this video. I used this video as reference to lift the front of my 2003 Nissan Frontier 4x4.

Thanks for all the info you put in your videos. Forums are great and there is a ton of good write up for this put it is always better with a video. I was uncertain as to what i had to look for. Know I know exactly where and what to look for. You just place all the picture a saw on forums in the right place by moving the camera to where I should look. Thanks again and keep doing the good work you are doing.

Great Video, best and easiest to follow on the Torsion Lift. Thanks

Just finished my 2002 and it looks great! Thanks so much for the video it was so helpful. Did it in conjunction with the new Bilsteins up front.

Awesome video!! Thanks for posting this

Great video! Will be doing this on my '02 during Thanks giving break!

Pretty useful video, thanks!. This is also applicable to the WD21 platform (Nissan Terrano/Pathfinder). You could add that to the title because there aren't any other videos on this.

10/4 I’ll keep you updated

Nice video! Very helpful 😃

Love your videos, man

Good stuff! I’m building some cool Nissan myself!

Super helpful. Thank you!

Awesome video. I'm gonna try this wit my 2003 nissan frontier! Thanks

Thanks for this video. Subbed.

O shit! I'm early for the video I was waiting for. 😌

Good video 👍

I crank the torsion bars up and new shocks, and I have too much damper and bouncing ride on front what do you think

Just attempted to lower my torsion bars back down a little after bottoming out. Started to make a popping sound and bolt drops now in both directions turned lowering my driver side front to a point of not drivable. Is it stripped? Tried supporting front end with a jack to take weight off and still dropped when turning the bolt in either direction. Suggestions?

Hey man where can I find that other torsion video, can’t seem to find it in your videos

so you need to re index if your control arm is close to the bump stop ?

Put a spot of paint on the visible part of the bolt (up top)....or paint one flat of the lower bolt.....and count the turns .... More precise than estimating “parts of turns”

Hi! I do have a 03 frontier and I was wondering if I can adjust my torsion bar to get the 2” lift on the front and just use a 2” block on the rear in order to get the 2” lift.Not doing off-road just for looks.By the way great video and hope you can help me out.Thanks

I'm definitely gonna replace all 4 tires before I do this. I'm buying an 04 Xterra today for 5k with 75k miles.

Yes indeed, I am replacing the entire lower control arm. But it is a pain to remove the bolt. I cant imagen how complicated to remove the bushing from the chassis. Any recommendations?

Nice video, i always wanted to level out my wifes xterra but was not sure how bad it would though off the alignment. About how much lift can you get without reindexing? i live in michigan and am sure the tosion bars are rust welded permanent.

Hey Rob back on your channel again! The bump stops on the front, do they just pop off or are they screwed in? Ordered a pair of lo profile ones, just wondering what to do to replace them since I can't find anything online, thanks!

I have a 2001 frontier. I measured the rake where you said to and it’s just over 1 1/3 inches from front to rear. But I wondered how to tell if the rear is sagging from worn out leaf springs? I just bought it at 190k miles but have no idea if they’ve been replaced. He definitely took care of it so they may have but I don’t know. I’m trying to decide how much lift to do on the rear but am not sure because I don’t know if it’s the proper ride height. Do you know what the distance from the center of hub to fender should be?

Have you produced the replacement of the lower control arm and large bushing? Is it the bottom large bushing pressed? If pressed, which tools do you recommend. Best

I have a question. My 2000 xterra on stock height had a dramatic positive camber. Is this what I need to do? Since new nothing has ever been done. Just shocks replacement from worn ones. I've just noticed how funny it looks. The tops of the tires look like a old vw beetle when you lift it off the ground at all times. And I'm seeing outer tire wear. I recently had an engine replaced. So maybe they messed with it somehow at the shop? Any help would be great.

Hey Rob what’s your advice on changing these 3 belts on the front of this motor? Pain in the a$$ or not bad? Mine needs the belts changed out bad. I have the new ones just ain’t changed them out yet. Advice please!!!

Can you do this with stock suspension components my front sags a little bit wonder if I can just leveled out a tad not ready to get a lift yet

If I have bottomed out on the arm bit then how would I be able to increase my suspension anymore?

Just asking I have a 2003 Nissan frontier with stock torsion bar at stock level how high do they go because I want to get Rancho shocks for 2.5 lifted and my intention is to level it like you

Great video Rob! My 2003 Xterra just had it's front lower control arms replaced last fall. Now my front passenger side sits a bit lower than the driver's side and pulls to the right. Do you think the mechanic may not have adjusted the torsion bar after replacing them?

Great video I didn't know it was that easy to get a bit of front lift. Does it throw off your alignment at all when this is done?

Here's the thing I adjusted my bars but I believe I stretched it to the max I'm not 100% sure. But! Now my passenger side stripped on the bracket the bar goes into n my vehicle dropped! This has happened twice! Any help would be greatly appreciated 🙏 Tia

Question, I have a 98 frontier and I’m looking to lower the torsion bars. I’d like an inch and a half of drop, do you think that that would make my ride too bouncy being that I’m loosening the bars? Thanks

Do you recommend this for a 2004 frontier rwd 2.4? I am getting bilstein 4600 shocks, but everything else is stock. Will this wear out other components and give a harsh ride?

Great video! I’m trying to do this currently and can’t even get the jam nut loose. I’ve PB blasted it and tried plenty of other things. What’s next? Can I crank the torsion bar without loosening the jam nut?

Have you had to replace your auto locking hubs ? Mine don’t work, and I was wondering if lockers just bolt up or if I will have to do some mods?

With the 4 x 4 parts upper control arms. How much lift did you actually achieve? Also how did you get that camber to 0? I’ve got a 3/4 to 1inch gap on the bump stops. My camber is still 1.0 positive.

Question for you! How come you didn't lift the front of the truck so the axles could hang down when you made this adjustment?

Hey rob if I get a 1.5 inch lift shackle for the rear will my torsion bars be able to be adjusted to the same level height as the lifted rear?

Hey at this point of the video, what was your tire size, and lift height? Thanks. I only have a 2wd xterra, but I still want to lift it to fit 285s.

Hi could you do the same for nissan hardbody d21? Need some advice

Hello rob, I was wondering if you could help me out with a bit of an issue I am having with my xterra. As of now I have a 2 inch body lift as well as torsion bar crack up front to eliminate uneven rake front to back. My front end currently sits about a half inch to an inch lower than the rear. The issue I am having is that the bump stop gap on the driver side is less than the gap on the passenger side, I believe this is what is causing a clanking sound coming from my front end whenever I take a medium to hard right turn and even sometimes left. It’s important to note that my tie rod ends, upper/lower ball joints, and sway bar end links/bushings are all brand new as of last month. It’s also important to note that both bump stops are missing (they must have came out as some point in the recent months). Could this be the cause for the clanking sound? Or is it possible that I already wore down a tie rod end since I am running 33’s. Why is one side of the bump stop gap smaller than the other if my rig is even in height (driver to passenger side) and my tire pressure is all the same? Any and all advice would be greatly appreciated! Sorry if this message was all over the place.

Just picked up a 1st gen, 5 speed 4x4, i'd like to keep it stock, just level the front. It's on 31's now, i just want to pick the nose up a bit. Hopefully this will help!

Hey your videos are rad, subscribed. Now quick question; I just ordered a pair of KYB gas-a-just shocks for my 04 rwd Xterra, do you think I could get a 2” torsion bar lift with those ?

Thanks for the videos, after raising the front (torsion twist) will we have to get longer front shocks?

Do the 2wd 1st gens also have torsion bars? Or do they use coil springs? Thanks

Just did both of my lower CT arms and complete front end replacement (Balls, Ties, links ect). The simple way to measure your FRONT height on a 3 inch lift(w/33in tires) is 7cm from top of the tire to bottom of wheel well. No confusion running from front to back, side to side. Just 7cm from rubber to metal ;) Adjust accordingly PS... dont use an impact like I did lol You'll strip the bolt before you get to 7cm. Patience is your friend on this one. ;)

Hey quick question! I just did a pnl lift and got it aligned, a few days later i noticed the FR side was a .5" higher. than the FL. Will i need to get another alignment if make a small adjustment to bring that side down a bit?

Do you have a video or would you recommend a video for installing rear shackles?

How much lift can you get without reindexing the whole torsion bar? So when raising height I loosen the bolt?

Should you get a new front end alignment after doing this?

So after doing this is there anything else that needs to be done to the rear?

does messing around with the torsion bars interfere with the alignment of the vehicle??

Another great video, Shoot i'm only at 20 and 5/8 to the bottom of my door in the front lol. I cant seen to figure out where to go from here. I still have everything stock including the bump stops, the drivers side is at its limit with maybe a 1/2 gap and the passenger side has about 3/4 gap left. the torsion anchor seem to be just about at its limit as to how much adjustment is left. Is it time for reindexting or what? thanks Rob

Thought you had to jack up whatever side your twisting the torsion bars on?

Can I do the 2inch body lift that you did a video on and also this "PML" without doing any extra modifications?

I plan on putting the Xterra on the lift, mark torsion bar nuts so I know that they will match number of cranks and marks point in the same direction. Do you suggest lifting the back some as well?

Why not put a jack under the front end and then keep track of how much you adjust the bars?

does the suspension get harder when rotate de bar?

Great video, have 2wd 2001 frontier would like to do the 3” front lift on it , 1.is it possible 2.what parts would I need and 3 where to buy??? Any help I appreciate it, thanks

I want to lift my 03 xterra what options do I have

Will this accommodate a 3" lift OR drop? Thx!

My alignment is perfectly fine now. If I were to level my 2003 Xterra, would I have to do an alignment?

Hey Rob. Quick question how tall are the stock bumpstop(upper)

Does it work for a 2003 nissan frontier

Is it the same for a 1st gen Frontier as well?

Does this put added strain on your control arms?

What model of side mirror fit to terrano?

After this do you have to redo alignment?

Can I do this with a 2wd first gen?

Good video except for the fact u didn't take the weight off of the front end before u made adjustments

How much of a lift can u get out of the stock torsion bars with out re clocking them and turning them a a few teeth

How many inches would it go up

What heavy duty steering do u have

It wouldn’t be so hard to turn the adjustment bolt if the vehicles front end was jacked up.

How do you lift the rear .?

Hi.do you have a closer pic of the recommended bump stop gap.

Question,when adjusting your torsion bar and getting it where you want it. Do you need cam bolts for your alignment?

I can't get the locking nut off. Any tips?

Hello I need a hand I'm about to throw a for sell sign on my qx4 I just can't figure out what's wrong with my vg33 mind if I pick your brain I don't want to sell it but I'm so upset with her

Good video, but you didn't mention alignment...... If you're raising it all, it changes the geometry of the front end, and will need to be aligned....

i know this is an old video but if you end up maxing your torsion bars heightwise do you have to reindex?or is that for just if you want more height

2000 nissan frontier desert eagle package. i want to level the truck. is PML a good idea or?

How much lift did you get?? I listened like 4 times and it sounds like you said 25 inches!! Did you say 2.5 inches??

Gentlemen why is it so hard to find a level kit for 04 Xterra 3.3 4wd? My front end sags I’m only wanting to go up 2 to 2.5? Any help or pointed in the right direction would be much appreciated.

Where do you get you first gen stuff

Video starts at 5:35