ToyYoda

My truck has a 3" body lift and a lot of people I tell that to freak out. I haven't had any problems and the ride is real soft for having cranked torsion bars. What are some of the bad things about having such a tall body lift?

bob200587

https://www.yotatech.com/forums/show...ght=body+lifts

I don't like body lifts because:

They make the shifter lower, And you can't rest your arm on the console and hold the shifter level in 4th gear, which is really comfortable.

The taller they are, the more pressure they put on the body mounts

It causes lots more body roll

more than 1-2" looks tacky (to me)

It Makes your bumpers look stupid and/or require some sort of plating or something to cover the gap

They make gaps that let more mud in the engine bay from the wheel well.

They ride worse than a stock truck.

They offer no increase in travel

MudHippy

All but the wheel travel thing, wheels won't travel through a fender. I'm pro body lift, but I'm not gonna wear myself out on this one today.

neliconcept

I will agree on the bodyroll but I have sent my truck into turns that scares me and it takes it decently well. I really need to stop doing this as I used to drive an M5 all the freakin time, so used to that mentality.

if you use grade 8 bolts, should not wear out anything

fthertime666

I have a 3in BL as well... the only problems I have with it are the transfer case lever interference. That being said, I have seen body lift spacers punch thru sheetmetal, of course this was NOT on a toy, the body mounts on the toys are pretty beefy so I dont think they will fail (unless you live in the rust belt) I will be changing my junk to a 2in BL soon because of the t-case...it's
pretty scary when your junk pops out of 4wd on a hillclimb.

Greg_Canada

I have a 4crawler ultimate bl, it has the oversize blocks, so it spreads the weight out well.
It rides better than stock (more rubber/bushings between frame/body to isolate vibrations).
There is WAY more room to work on the motor.
You can do a drivetrain lift/gas tank lift (way more clearance)
more space for motor swaps.

Downsides?
Had to modify shifter
boot for shifter doesnt fit perfect now (need shortshifter kit)
gap between body/frame (need gapguards).
Thats it, if i bought another toy, i'd BL it.

drew303

I have a 2" BL.

no noticeable difference in handling, and I dont run a sway bar. Handles fine IMO.

I did it to keep my tires from rubbing and make a torsion bar fit (tweaked IFS/frame, long story).

Don't like how the shifters sit lower but oh well I got used to it.

Benefits? eh... Allows you more tire clearance and more room to weld on armor.

And gets the body further from harms way... It does give you more clearance, not more travel.

MudHippy

:bigclap:
Eloquant, gentlemen. It's days like this, when I think we might win this war.:cry:

Wazioc

I'm not a big fan myself either. It seems the frame rails and cross members are the lowest points on most vehicles. If you lift the body, it doesnt increase your minimum ground clearance (unless youre just using it to fit bigger tires) I would much rather see a suspension lift on a vehicle. Offers more travel for better offroad performance, and doesnt have the 'tacky' look of frame rails hanging down way below your vehicle.

CJM

2" is the max I would ever go, anything other than that and your gonna be playing with different lines, shifters, etc.

My only complaint is the transfer case shifter and boot, but if you do a drivetrain and motor mount lift it fixes that. Worst part about a body lift is the transfer case shifter area may need to be trimmed.

MudHippy

My 88 gets away with a 3'' BL, with 0 modifications, I geuss I got lanky arms, shifters all fit me fine.

CJM

Depends really on the t/c shifter orientation. My friends 91 pick up is fine, my 96 T100 shifter is much lower and different. 2" would lower it a good bit.

MudHippy

An' excuse to get the Twin-Stick setup, it sounds ta me.

CJM

Yea..wish I had a 5 speed too..

ToyYoda

I bought my truck with a 3" body lift and I was thinking about taking them out and doing a nice suspension lift if I heard some really bad stuff about it. I do have 33" tires so I think that might be why they did the body lift. I've had no problems at all with the lift and the shifter feels great. However, I don't like the frame showing as much as it is now.

bob200587

I don't think your shifter feels great...

ovrrdrive

I had my shifters extended when I did my 3" bl and I've never had any problems at all out of anything having to do with the kit.

Everyone around here at least is pretty adamant about the fact that bl's and bracket lifts do nothing at all to increase wheel travel or suspension performance so I just don't get the deal at all.

If the only complaints are seeing the frame and the shifters, then my answer is that I had the levers extended and put nerf bars on the side to hide the frame and all is well.

I'm getting ready to do a 4-5" Superlift kit, 36"x13.5 iroks, and 5.29's soon too... Imagine that, two useless lifts on one truck. Thing is, the 36" tires will give more ground clearance than the stock tires did so offroad performance will indeed be improved.

I've had the 3" Bl on there for like 10 years and it has been completely transparent. Hey, not everyone has the need to go do a custom 4-link suspension to get the most articulation and wheel travel.

chimmike

if you're gonna do the 4-5" lift, you NEED extended brake lines and the diff drop spacers.

Seriously. I just installed the TRDparts4u 3-4" lift, and the stock brake lines are about at their max, and the CV's are at about their max as well. I'll be installing the diff drop spacers next weekend and brake lines.

ovrrdrive

A Superlift kit has everything you need to lift the truck including the brakeline relocation brackets and the diff spacers afaik.

I'll probably run the lines relocated to get it up and going and then do steel braided extended lines as money permits.

slamigo

When I bought my jeep, the previous owner had a 3" BL installed. I removed it right away and the bolts were ALL tweaked. The shifter wasn't lined up right either. With the BL removed, the rig is much safer and doesn't look so stupid anymore either.
I personally wouldn't go above 2" on a BL. The toyotas are pretty capable stock though, so lots of guys crank up the bars and put a 2" BL on to clear 32s or even 33s with some trimming. A stock toy with that set up can be a lot of fun and not very expensive either.