Body lift - pics + parts

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lovetoski

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I am doing a noise abatement project in my cruiser. The inside is currently gutted. I'm planning (hoping?) to run 35's at some point, and a body lift seems appropriate to that goal, so since the body mounts are all easily accessible right now, I went ahead and did a 1" body lift.

Here's a pic of the OEM bolts... and the puck size I used...and a before pic...
Old Bolts.webp
puck size.webp
Entire-a-before.webp
 
Here are the parts I used to do the lift...and a pic of how it looked afterwords...
UPC of boatroller-spacer thing.webp
New and Old Bolts for comparison.webp
Entire-after.webp
 
I got the boat roller at West Marine. They only had 12" rollers in the store, so I bought 2, since I didn't want to stress about not cutting off a finger while slicing a 2" piece on my chop saw....actually, this turned out to be a good decision, since it took a bit of practice to get a nice clean cut (I mangled the first two).

I got the bolts at Tacoma Screw...I used 8 120mm bolts and 4 150mm bolts. All were 10 X 1.5 thread (10.9).

I selected these sizes as they were ~1" longer than the OEM bolts (they only had bolts in 10mm increments). But, the pucks compressed by ~1/8" (something I did not count on) and I could have gone 10mm shorter on all of the bolts.

If I were doing this again, and knew in advance the correct bolt size, I would have ordered exactly what I wanted from McMaster Carr or similar, but that's why I'm posting this thread, so you can see what the OME bolt lengths are, and plan ahead if you do this mod.

All in all, this is an easy mod. It did take me nearly a day from start to finish. Tracking down the right parts took some time (driving around town). Removing both batteries and trays...and both were rusted so I cleaned them up and repainted them. Removing the access plate for the rear-most bolt was a serius pain as the screws were rusted in place (thankyou impact driver). Most of the body lift bolts came out fine, but I'd hit them with aerokroil a few days earlier.

By far, the most fun part was reefing on the high-lift and watching the body lift right off the frame.

Here are a few more pics...
Measure-a-before.webp
Measure-after.webp
 
I did exactly this myself roughly 2 yrs ago. Same boat trailer rollers and all. All but one puck are holding fine. The one showing collapse is as expected, since it's the one without a big enough thick washer for support.
 
Wile E Coyote said:
I did exactly this myself roughly 2 yrs ago. Same boat trailer rollers and all. All but one puck are holding fine. The one showing collapse is as expected, since it's the one without a big enough thick washer for support.
Click to expand...

Any chance you can post a pic of what the "collapsed" puck looks like?
 
lovetoski said:
Any chance you can post a pic of what the "collapsed" puck looks like?
Click to expand...
Sure can, I can snap a pic Monday or Tuesday and post it up.

I bought two rollers like you did, and made a few extra pucks that I've kept lying around. Replacing the dead one is a 'one of these days' project that should take about 30 mins or so at most.
 
Wile E Coyote said:
Sure can, I can snap a pic Monday or Tuesday and post it up.

I bought two rollers like you did, and made a few extra pucks that I've kept lying around. Replacing the dead one is a 'one of these days' project that should take about 30 mins or so at most.
Click to expand...

That's funny - I made a few extra pucks also, wasn't sure why, just did it because I had everything set up. Now I know why!
 
Is there anything else you needed to take into consideration such as shifter and radiator placement with a 1" body lift? I've considered this for when I eventually replace my body mount bushings (will use OEM rubber since it should help keep the ride from becoming too jarring). Did you need to get extra washers? Where exactly on the bolts did you put the pucks?

I'm also curious if the strength of the body mount bolts is an issue, as I'd like to use all stainless hardware when I do the job, if possible. Just another thing to help resist future corrosion.
 
Last edited:
Pics as promised:
There are actually 2 pucks that are collapsing, the ones at each L & R footwells.
As you can see, there's plenty of time to get around to replacing them. I'd guess they've lost 3/8" height at most.
DSC02365.webp
DSC02368.webp
 
Spook...
For 1" lift, I did nothing to the shifter or the fuel filler neck.
I did need to mod the fan shroud though. I'd previously split the shroud in half, so it was even easier job. Just relocate the bottom 2 mounting holes.

Edit:
An obvious means to avoid the above problem would be to find or make properly sized washers to support the entire puck.
 
Last edited:
Great info...
Thanks for the bolt sizes...
Sometime in the near future i will being doing a 1" or 1 1/2" body lift so this info will be a great time saver...

:cheers:
 
Wile E Coyote said:
Pics as promised:
There are actually 2 pucks that are collapsing, the ones at each L & R footwells.
As you can see, there's plenty of time to get around to replacing them. I'd guess they've lost 3/8" height at most.
Click to expand...

I think all mine look like that :doh:, damn stockers
 
Wile E Coyote said:
Spook...
For 1" lift, I did nothing to the shifter or the fuel filler neck.
I did need to mod the fan shroud though. I'd previously split the shroud in half, so it was even easier job. Just relocate the bottom 2 mounting holes.

Edit:
An obvious means to avoid the above problem would be to find or make properly sized washers to support the entire puck.
Click to expand...

Sweet. I've got an electric fan bolted to the stock shroud mounting points, so if need be I can easily modify the mounting rails I fabbed for it. This looks like a cheap and worthwhile weekend project to gain a little more room for suspension flex. Great since I'm hoping to do the GM spring conversion before winter comes.
 
GLTHFJ60 said:
Where did you guys lift from with your highlift?
Click to expand...

I used my highlift right under the rocker. Had to tilt the highlift a bit, and put a pad between the highlift bar and the body.
 
Spook50 said:
Is there anything else you needed to take into consideration such as shifter and radiator placement with a 1" body lift? I've considered this for when I eventually replace my body mount bushings (will use OEM rubber since it should help keep the ride from becoming too jarring). Did you need to get extra washers? Where exactly on the bolts did you put the pucks?

I'm also curious if the strength of the body mount bolts is an issue, as I'd like to use all stainless hardware when I do the job, if possible. Just another thing to help resist future corrosion.
Click to expand...

Shifters seem fine. I did have to lower the rad shroud. Took the time to split it also. Most time consuming part of lowering the shroud was trimming on the bottom around the lower rad hose and drain petcock.

I put the pucks right on top of the existing OEM bushings, so the top of the puck was supporting the body.

I used grade 8 bolts, which in various threads on this subject seems to be the recommended strength.
 
MikeKennedy said:
Sweet. How much did all the parts cost ?
Click to expand...

I spent approx $20 on longer bolts + nuts + washers. The boat rollers were $18 each. So all in all I guess I spent $55 - 60.
 
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