SaintLarryZonka

Should I go with the body lift or just keep saving for a suspension lift kit? What are the pros and cons of off roading with a body lift kit?

stagger_lee

You won't gain suspension travel with a body lift, but you will be able to clear bigger tires on a stock suspension. Save for suspension. I personally cant stand to see the gap between a frame and the body with a body lift. Drives me crazy, but I'm OCD and I have some whacked opinions. What do you want to get out of your rig? Welcome!

saitotiktmdog

Go with suspension. IF the truck is ifs and you can avoid it dont use blocks in the back as they wont increase your flex any. Most ifs lifts come with them. If you have to use them fine but plan on eliminating them later or also add a little shackle lift to help increas flex. You get more flex if you dont use blocks and get new spring stacks. If it is a strait axle truck for sure dont go body lift. You could also go ball joint spacers. They are a good route as they will increase your flex some in the front but I dont think you can go much more than 2" of lift with them. If more is what you want than get a suspension ifs lift. If cheap is what your looking for body lifts are cheap. Downside to body lift is steering shaft extensions are needed and they can cause shifter issues. More leverage on the bushings and bolts and tend to loosen or get play after a while. Body lifts more than 2" I would stay away from. For IFS lifts there are a lot out there. I have the procomp stage 2 and I am happy with it. It is a bit more spendy than others but it is a good sturdy lift in my opinion.

abecedarian

body lift-
pro: lower cost, lower center of gravity, allows larger than stock tire fitment, some maintenence easier to do on the vehicle, allows a driveline lift for better ground clearance
does not affect suspension geometry
con: larger lifts put significant stress on body mounts and can break, some kits may have issues with shifter components, most kits cannot be used on a column shift automatic, affects the asthetics of the vehicle (gap between body and frame, possible bumper issues)

suspension lift-
pro: allows larger tires, some kits may allow more suspension travel
con: many do not work with stock rims, higher center of gravity, some kits employ different methods of rear lift including blocks on leaf springs and are generally considered not as strong as ones using new leaf springs, some kits do not do enough to stiffen the front suspension/frame adaquately

anyone else want to add?

saitotiktmdog

Tacoclimber

A properly installed and maintained body lift will last longer and eliminate many of the "problems" commonly (and generally incorrectly) associated with body lifts.

Another plus for BL's is you can increase tire size as well.

Everything's got its pluses and its minuses.

As already asked, what's the purpose of the truck. If you plan on doing high speed stuff, avoid a body lift at all costs.

If slow and steady is the game, BL's certainly have their place.

SpecialScottie

Steering can pose an issue depending on the height of the suspension lift

SaintLarryZonka

Alright, i will keep saving up then. i just want a better off road handling mainly but i will keep the stock suspension for the time being

abecedarian

another thing I'll add: due to the nature of a suspension lift, you may also need longer shocks and alignments may become more difficult to set/maintain.

and finally, some people combine a suspension lift with a small body lift to get the best of both.

Tacoclimber

Now we're talking...

"All things in moderation..."

Jay351

What kind of offroading are you doing?

A good route for say mild trails would be BJ spacers (to increase your front ends downtravel) and a mild body lift.

Most 4-5" suspension lifts available (AKA bracket lifts), well ALL of them (except long travel kits) will simply space the stock suspension (and front diff) down 4" with a drop bracket. This increases the forces on the stock IFS mounts, makes your front diff more vulnerable and increases the COG. And like mentioned already, the rear kit included is 9x out of 10, just 4" blocks. Which will ruin your leaf springs and make the ride worse.

You do gain some approach, underbelly and departure angles/distance but the most important area you want clearance (under axles) is only changed by going with a larger diameter tire.

So a body lift could give you room for the bigger tire, thus giving you the under axle clearnace you need. You could lift the tranny and motor up giving you a flat belly (thats a very nice thing!!) thus gaining underbelly clearance and of course you will gain some approach angles and (if you mod your rear bumper or get a new one) can gain departure angles aswell.

Personally, I wouldnt run a bracket lift or sorts. When pushed they tend to start to give. My opinion based on the facts I have come across..

Trustyrusty

It really comes down to this, IFS is pretty weak stock, so unless you are gung-ho about SAS'ing or Long Travel.. Its like this

Body Lift-For If you really wheel your truck and get just flat nasty with it.

Suspension Lift-If you cruise to the mall, and wanna spend about 700 bones more, also you will have problems bending the cheap brackets, and keeping it aligned.

I wheel my truck harder then most people, and I go where people that have 35's and lockers go, when in doubt, hit the skinny pedal is my motto, I've already broken my sway bar, bent a tie rod, and bashed in my skidplate... And I got an alignment tomorrow, and I've only had three wheelin trips this year, I align it once a year.. last time out I had the truck about four feet in the air jumping off a terrace so dont let anyone tell you body lifts will punch through your cab, because they have no idea what they're talking about, the lift blocks are actually larger around then the stock body mounts.. If it was me and you REALLY wanted 4" of lift, get a 3" bodylift, and 1" longer shackle and a slight twistin' of the T-bar and your good to go.. Also on my truck I only have 3" of body lift and I can clear 35's, so lift as much as needed, not as much as you want. 15" of lift won't help you when your struck or doing barrell rolls all over the trail, and if you think body lifts look bad having the frame stick out, put some sliders on the side, covers the frame and they sit higher then they normally would.

abecedarian

yeah Jay351, some front IFS lifts use a drop bracket (and extensions to the spindles too )...
which is why I mentioned most do not do enough to stiffen the front suspension:
but at least one I know of does:




and you mentioned ground clearance... at least one suspension lift kit does give you lift (about 3") without spacing the diff down- total chaos long travel kit (downey's does too, but I'm not as familiar with it)

Trustyrusty

AH Almost forgot to mention that, IF you DO get a 4" Bracket lift, I reccomend spending the extra coin to get the Stage II Pro-Comp lift, it comes with the extra gusseting that he showed in his pictures, four extended length pro comp shocks, and if you find the right kit 4" rear springs instead of blocks, but thats alot of cash to dump into an IFS setup.. He got his for cheap so I cant blame him..

abecedarian

400 bucks
ya' gotta shop around... craigslist can be your friend!
but buyer beware- the procomp stage II (with leafs) uses lift blocks for the rear which I personally don't recommend, particularly on a truck or runner which already has sagging rear leafs. pop the extra 250 for the 4-5" lift leafs (order them separately if it's cheaper to do so.)

84RNR

Maybe I missed it, but what year and model? Like others have said, depends on how big you want to go. Might need a combo of both. 5" or under and I'd go suspension lift. Anything bigger and maybe add body lift to it, but that's big. Suspension lift will cost more but perform better. Body lifts by themselves are the cheap out IMHO. Either way might need longer brake lines. With body lift will need to think about some of the connections that go inside the vehicle being long enough. I'm a suspension only if possible lift kind of guy but whatever works for you is the right choice.

Mic09dcsm

Space between the body and frame? Haven't you heard of sheet metal and shears? I say BL, I fit 35's on my truck with suspension components which total to less than the cost of the tires.

2" Body lift Downey 3" springs and u-bolt flip kit 2" O'Reillys blocks 1.5" 4Crawler Balljoint spacers
I'm not including the cut rotors, ceramic pads, new front brake lines, new CV joint, all four balljoints, new shocks and other miscellaneous parts/tools I had to buy.

The tires were around 900$, with rims 1100$. And my truck has wonderful ground clearance, flex, COG, stance, etc.

hmmwv15

Body lifts also help keep your rocker panels that much further out of the rocks. I'd just throw one on and see how you like it, and if you find out that it's not what you wanted you can always take it off.

If you do suspension, I'd go for some really flexy springs in the rear to offset the front.

Skinsfan6

Abe what ifs lift do you have pictured up there with the braces between the rear control arms mounts and the transfer case crossmember? I already have a used 4" lift I got cheap, but I'd like to buy those braces separately if possible.

abecedarian

It's a Pro-Comp Stage II IFS lift.
You can buy the struts (the bars up to the frame) separately, so I'm told, but the lower control arm mounts have to have the tangs (ears?) on them as well. It's also a PITA to have an alignment done since the strut has to be removed to access the rear LCA adjuster.
I have a lifetime alignment 'plan' with Firestone, so they have to align it, but they always give me grief over it. I counter with "I told the manager there is a lift kit on the truck when I purchased the alignment plan." They have no recourse other than to do the work. But it seems my wheel bearings, bushings, frame, whatever... something that's already been checked needs worked on.