Hey guys,

After thinking about doing a SAS, the costs and expertise needed to do it right, I'm shifting my efforts to raising my ground clearance that some have heard me discuss before. So, here's the plan:

1) I'm replacing my 1" BL with a 3" BL
2) I'm replacing my 1" Motor mount lift blocks with 3" blocks
3) Since the motor is now going to be 3" higher, I have to move the transfer case up 3" also to level it back out. So, using a 3" spacer from Roger Brown, I'll temporarily be able to drive the truck before I can move my gas tank.
4) Since my rear bumper is already designed for a 1" body lift, I'm going to cut the rear portion of my frame off, and move it up 2" to locate the bumper in the same place in relation to my body. This is also going to drastically increase my departure angle, which even with my high clearance bumper I've wished was higher numerous times out on the trail (ie Fain's Ford ledges).
5) Then, before I can cut out the crossmembers, I'll be moving my gas tank to the spare tire area as described here: https://www.yotatech.com/forums/show...as+tank+design
6) Once my tank is moved, I'll cut out the old crossmembers and make them flush with the bottom of the frame rails. The rear-most crossmember will also be my new location for my extended lower control arms.
7) From here, I'll be using some of my 3/16" sheet to finally protect my transfer case properly. It's going to be sweet to have no gas tank and no crossmembers to get hung up on anymore, that's for sure. I'll be able to slide right over stuff.

That's my new plan, which will be so much cheaper than a SAS, and be equivalent to raising my vehicle practically 6" in the belly area. Plus, I'll easily be able to clear 35" tires, which will add an additional 1". What do you guys think?

Chris

 

Sounds like a good plan in theory...but that sounds like an awful lot of fab work for a guy with a half finished rear bumper!

J/K!!! Good luck!

 

haha, what brian said.

i thought you said you were holding off on your rig until you got some other things taken care of?

 

I agree completely! But, I think the only reason it isn't done is because I don't have the welder at my house. It's such a pain in the butt to go over to Paul's and get everything setup, then do some work, then put it all back up. I've got a shed now, and I'm hoping I can convince my wife that I'm going to buy a Miller 210 soon.

Chris

P.S. Thanks for motivating me, though!

 

The body lift and drivetrain lift require no fabbing, so that could happen in a half a day easily. It's what I want to do after that requires all the time. My wife wants me to buy a Raptor so we can ride together, and I want one, but I want to do this stuff to my truck too. I'm torn!

Chris

 

And you're about to have help living there with no family in town and nothing to do after 5pm for the entire month of January... Teach me how to weld and I'm your bitch.

 

That's awesome! I wish I could teach you how to weld, but Paul's got the welder, so it's kind of hard for me to teach someone how to do it when I don't have it here at my own house. Plus he lives with his parent's still, and his dad is kind of anal. I wish I could hide a Miller 210 welder from Kristen, but she'd divorce me if she found out I bought it. Damn! But, nevertheless, you're more than welcome to join use anytime we work on it over at Paul's house.

Chris

 

There's a phrase I don't hear nearly enough anymore. I think "grinding duty" might be more appropriate.

 

I'll have to cut the sliders off and move them up too!

Chris

 

I think this is a lot of work for not so much gain.

Get a front locker and then think of the next step.

If you do all this bodylift and drivetrain lift, you are going to have a monster truck if you do an axle swap or a lot of stuff to undo if you don't want a monster truck.

 

Get the Raptor, you will LOVE it.

 

If this is a Roger Brown, with steering extension,and all parts, I'll buy it off of you. Also, does it have the grade 8 hardware?

See, lowering the effective cost already!

 

It's got all the parts I needed for my '97, except I'll have to check and see if was grade 8 when I bought mine. I can't remember! I've already got one offer from Roger on taking it back in conjunction with my 1" motor mount spacer. Would you want both or just the BL?

Chris

 

What is the motor mount spacer for?, other than the obvious answer...
Is it needed for the 1" BL? I dont remember hearing about that one.

 

The main purpose of me switching to a 3" body lift is so I can do a drivetrain lift, which will raise the motor, transmission and strasnfer case up high enough to clear the bottom ofmy frame rails. This will allow for a smooth bottom to my truck, so I won't high center on my crossmembers, and if I do, it will be smooth, and I should be able to slide over the bigger rocks with much more ease. The motor mount spacers are what raise the engine up, and then custom crossmembers are made to raise the transfer case the same amount. Make sense?

Chris

 

Get you some 38's 15" of diff clearance here

 

Well, I've heard of people running tires that big on the stock toy axle, but I know the IFS front end would die quickly with tires that large. Not to mention the power steering pump, etc. I am tempted, though, to run either 35" boggers or possibly 36"er's to push the limites a tad further. The more clearance the better, but I'm really worried about the front end, which is one of the reasons I haven't locked the front yet.

Chris

 

It sounds like you are basically lifting everything except the frame (and even then you are lifting the rear end of the frame up). Why don't you just buy a Fabtech 6" lift and be done with it. It will give you the same lift except you will gain more clearance since it will also lift your frame. It won't change your COG much since you are pretty much lifting everything anyway. And it will be a heck of a lot easier.

 

check out the new Cooper STS, they have a 37" that measures like 36.4 inches tall, i bet you could fit those with a 3" body lift and your current suspension set up.

 

Well, actually, I would buy the Tuff Country lift instead if I was going to. But, my way is a heck of lot cheaper, my COG will be a lot lower, and with those lifts, I have to custom design the rear suspension anyway to compensate for the increased height. This plan sounds hard, but once finished, if I ever want to spend the money and do a SAS or IFS lift, it will be that much better because my break over angles will already be much better.

Chris