livelarg

I have an 88' 4runner. I am currently running 32-11.5 on it.It works fine, but when I turn sharp, the tires scrape the fenders. I was thinking about doing a body lift.
I normally don't like body lifts that much, but budget makes doing a full lift a little out of range.
Can someone that has done a body lift tell me how hard it is to do and how you like it.
I would like to do a 2" lift max, and my truck is a 5 speed.
If you have pics of a 1st gen with a body lift. would love to see those too.

Thanks
Kent

outcast

I helped install a body lift on a 99 F150 SuperCab in march and it was easy. The hardest part was loosening the bolt holding the body to the frame. Id say go for it!

slyang1012

i thought about getting a 3" BL for my Tundra. However since its only 2wd with spacers.. i think ill be the neighborhood idiot. Ive been wanting to convert my 2wd to a 4wd.. so now i just decided to save for a SAS. =) if yours is already a 4x4.. get an inch or two just to clear it.. good luck.. its gonna look nice! =P

livelarg

Is there any problem with moving the linkage for the 5 speed with a body lift?

Thanks
Kent

rimpainter.com

Depends on how high you go.

jimbo74

there isnt a linkage adjustment for a stick, there is for an automatic though... look into www.4crawler.com he has all the info you will ever want to know about body lifts and he sells them too, he custom makes his lifts tailored to your needs...

my truck is a second gen truck which is more/less the same as a gen 1 runner, i have a 3" bl on it, wasnt hard at all, but i have heard the p/u is easier than the runner, and i am pretty mechancially inclined.... my truck is also a 4x2... i didnt need to modify the shifter linkage, but i did need to trim the floor a little bit to clear it..... 4crawler sells a short throw shifter for the 4x4 tcase also if you want to do that, check out his site....

waskillywabbit

iTrader: (-1)

I just did a 1" body lift w/ new body mount bushings from 4crawler.com (Roger Brown is the man!) and it took me about 2 hours working slow and by myself...hardest part was finding a place to put the jack since my front fenders are off!

I did the body lift to clearance the custom bumpers and to make the crawler install later.

4Crawler

iTrader: (3)

You can read the installation instructions and see for yourself:
http://www.4crawler.com/4x4/ForSale/...ft_HowTo.shtml

Listed at the bottom are some of the things you may run into at various heights. Can't be real precise on these since they vary. Some folks run into issues at 1" (or lower) and others do a 2" lift with not a single thing to fix up. Nothing insurmoutable is likely, just takes some time to figure out what is wrong and how to fix it.

JM

I have the same year and truck you have with a 2" body lift. I will try to post some pics of it.

JM

Hope this works for you

livelarg

Your truck looks good, thanx for the pic.
what is the best kit? and what else would I need to complete the job?
Thankx for all of the info.
Kent

BLKNBLU

iTrader: (1)

Here's mine with 1" BL. I'd say go with Roger's lift for sure. Never heard a bad word about his products ever. I also got the bumper and radiator brackets from Roger. In retrospect I really did'nt need the rad. bracket but me being in the desert I was overly paranoid about keeping the fan and radiator perfectly lined up.

4rnr

sorry Im not a fan of a bodylift, I like to trim and hammer bodyseams flat. I just cant get used to gaps between the bumpers, and raising the roof line and not raising the ground clearance.
If you are doing a 1'' id say do it. but the three inch is just asking for trouble.

4Crawler

iTrader: (3)

Properly installed, the body lift should not be visible. Brackets to relocate bumpers are easy to install. Raising the bumpers increases approach and depature angle:

http://www.4crawler.com/4x4/ForSale/...o.shtml#Bumper

Raising the body allows room to raise the drivetrain, if desired. This increases breakover angle and ground clearance under the vehicle between the wheels:

http://www.4crawler.com/4x4/CheapTri...ft/index.shtml

And since the lift allows fitting taller tires, overall ground clearance is increased.

As noted on the body lift page:

http://www.4crawler.com/4x4/ForSale/...it.shtml#Lifts

"Lift as much as needed, but as little as possible"

As an example, to fit 33x12.50 tires, the rule used to be a 4" IFS lift kit. But with a 1-2" suspension lift via ball joint spacers/shackles/add-a-leaf/coil-spacers and a 1" body lift, you can fit 33s just as well. And you end up 1"-2" lower than with the 4" lift for more stability. A body lift has the least impact of any type of lift on stability sine you are only raising the body. If you figure the body accounts for 25% of the vehicle's weight, 1" of body lift only raises the center of gravity about 0.25". A suspension lift probably raises 90% of the vehicle's weight (only the axles remain low), so 1" suspension lift raises the CG 0.9". Taller tires raise the CG 100% of their added height.

But to each his own. No one lift will suit everyone's needs. I ike to spread my 4Runner's lift out over the suspension and body. Instead of a 6-7" suspension lift, I kept it in the 3"-4" range and added a 3" body lift to give the tires room to stuff (and yes I have also cut/trimmed/pounded fenders). A lower lift keps the on-road manners decent (no bump steer) and off-road, the flatter, low-lift springs flex very nice:

Here is a pickup with taller lift springs:
[iimg]http://c-67-170-224-64.hsd1.ca.comcast.net/Photos/101_pana/Moab2001/GoldenCrack/P1010472.JPG[/img]

And here is my 4Runner with a lower suspension lift:


I prefer to keep all 4 tires on the ground if possible