My friend has an 88 automatic toyota pickup just like i do and his dad is lifting it up for him like 2-3 inches. but i asked him wheres he gonna get his lift from and he told me his dad is going to get 4 blocks of steel all equal in size from his work and he pointed to me where hes going to put them. like above the wheels on this axle or something i have no clue lol

but anyways, has anybody heard of doing something like this? just getting 4 blocks of steel and putting it under something to lift your truck up? is it safe cause i have the same truck and was wondering if i could have him do the same lift?

 

its ok to use blocks if your a mall crawler but offroad they are not good...

a body lift would be easiyer cheaper and prolly more functional lol

 

Yes.

No.

 

Future Darwin award winner.

 

well my truck is 2WD so its REALLY low to the ground i just wanted to lift it a bit but im not going to be going heavy off roading with it. probaly just a little hunting and camping but the roads ill be driving on is mostly limestone. no mud or anything. i was just wondering if blocks will be safe to drive on the road with like 100 miles on the interstate.

haha as you can tell i know NOTHING about this stuff im learning something new everyday

 

No matter what it is still dangerous.

 

Maybe you could do 1" if it's just for looks...more probably isn't a good idea.

 

oh okay well what would you guys recomend getting for a 1988 2WD toyota pickup auto trans? ive searched the internet but couldnt find anything...

 

I like how this thread started with the classic "So I have this friendwith an 88 pickup..."and ends with lifting your truck.

 

haha yeah how about a small body lift?? there around 100 bucks easy to install and you can fit bigger tires!!!

 

Whitey13 i mentioned about my friend who has an 88 pickup just like i do and how his dad is putting a lift on it if you read the hole post. i was wondering if it a good idea to do that with my 88

 

Pretty slick editing my friend...
I don't know about your year, but have you researched the $ price a body lift? If his dad was going to charge you any amount of $$ for the steel blocks, I'd assume it would approach, if not surpass the average cost of body lifts.

 

you'll have a heck of a time finding a body lift for an automatic toyota.
i've got a 91 and no one I've talked to offers it- there are issues with the linkage.

the easiest lift would be ball-joint spacers for the front suspension and extended shackles for the rear. you could pick up 1.5" up front and 2" for the back for a few hundred bucks + the cost of shocks.

 

Here's some good reading for you.

http://www.4crawler.com/4x4/ForSale/BodyLiftKit.shtml

What you are considering is usually refered to as "blocks". You will see folk for and against them. Search here and you will find a lot to read. I can tell you that my boss had a buddy years ago in San Diego with blocks on the rear and he watched him driving down the road in front of him have one side of the rear end come loose swing out from under the truck and trash a car parked on the side of the road. That was at maybe 25 mph sure wouldnt want to try it at 65. Plus front blcks are illegal in many if not all states.
Hope this helps
Jim

 

Definately NOT a good idea. For you or your friend. And I'm pretty sure lift blocks in the front end are illegal in all states. I know they are here in Canada (all Provinces).

A body lift would get you the least expensive lift, and let you fit some bigger tires to get the chassis off the ground. If you're truly not going to offroad it hard, then a 3" kit would be acceptable. I'm running a 3" kit in mine, but I'm hard on it and the body can shift if I haven't tightened it down recently.

Honestly, tell your buddy that the blocks are NOT safe. No mechanic I know would sign off on lift blocks in the front.

 

 

I don't think he's talking about blocks in the front, it's 2wd.

And to the OP, your rear suspension is a spring-under design, IIRC, so blocks will actually lower your truck instead of lift it.

 

How the heck do you plan on using a block lift on a spring under axle truck with a-arms in the front?

Tell your friends dad that he is an idiot.

If you are talking about lifting the body off the frame for lift, buy a kit. There are certain areas of modding where pinching pennys can lead to bad bad things.

 

I have seen a 3" body lift made from PVC pipe on a yota before it was a ebay buy that a buddy of mine bought sight unseen he did not know until I was working on his truck and took a closer look at the lift, at the rear of the cab there was a 4x4 treated block holding the cab to the frame with a very large Ubolt.

so any thing is possible but not always advised.

 

he can do the classic jeep spring over lift for the rear.