Body lift question
 

I'm in the middle of putting a 3in body lift on my 87 pickup with a standard transmission. The work is easy enough with some friends to pick the body up while I switch in the bushings :D. The problem is that after lifting the body the shifter hits the side of the floor board and I cant get it in reverse and it keeps popping out of 2nd and 4th. It seems that i would need to raise the engine and tranny with it but the kit didnt come with anything for that. Am I missing parts or is there something I can do to fix this? Thanks

Nope, thats pretty common.

you have a few options..

1. buy a short throw shifter kit
2. trim the floor
3. (what I did) heat up and bend the shifter up and to the left.

And go buy and install the marlin crawler shifter seat and bushing.

for the money, one of the best mods out there.

I would personally Opt for Number two of the options listed above.

We had to bend the floor to get it in gear so I could drive it. Since the transmission sets so low the shift boot doesnt even sit right. I ran through some water and it came up in the cab, that sucked. Even after bending the floor its still a pain in the ass and the boot knocks it out of 2nd and 4th. I'm not as worried about the amount of money spent as I am about getting it done right. Would the short throw shifter and Marlin Crawler stuff fix all of that?

1 mod always leads to another :pop:

My kit came with steel rods to be welded in the shifters. After getting those welded in and a little shift plate trimming, my boots fit fine and I don't have any issues at all with them...

I wouldn't bother with a drivetrain lift unless you plan on going to the rocks with it.

my 85 is almost laying on the floor in 2nd and 4th as soon as I get off my lazy but its goin in the vise for some bending

4crawler offers screw-on shifter extensions if you'd rather not weld on your shifter :)

You want it done right and to take advantage of the bl, then call Bud and get a BudBuilt cross member/skid that pushes the tranny/xfer case up 3"...




Fred

I know :bang:

I inverted my inner boots because they where binding on the shifter in reverse.

Try that out.

Yup! Jay's right. In my research, I came accross that a couple times.

Thanks for the input. I think I'll try the shift boot trick then get the shifter extensions and short throw when i have some more money. I'll let you guys know how it works out.

What kit did you buy?

My performance accessories kit came with 2 cold rolled peices of steel that where welded into the shifter. The place they where welded in was right before the shifter bends, so that fixed alot of my shifter issues, then the bending was needed for fine tuning. The boots where getting in the way since the shifter has a longer throw now.

If R/2/4 are the issues, these hit the back of the shifter boot/hole. Try moving the shifter boot back a little relative to the floor and try that:
- http://www.4crawler.com/4x4/ForSale/...l#ManualTranny

http://www.4crawler.com/4x4/ForSale/...BodyLift59.jpg

Or just cut out the center web of steel under the boot, so instead of an "8" shape, end up with a "0" shape.

We ended up cutting the center part of that metal peice out to get it working.

I dont remember what kit it was. I had it on my 4Runner, which is an automatic for the last four years. I didnt really think about the shifter problems when I got the idea but I'll work it out.