ARCHIVE 100 Series 1" Body Lift

[bluecruiser]

Transfer case shifter isn't an issue either way.

Well it does lower the tcase lever...actually the 1in is quite noticeable and at least on my truck makes shifting the tcase lever a bit tougher...nothing I would complain about but definitely different than stock.

 

[paflytyer]

I agree with the above which is why I'm looking for a 1/2" kit. No way would I be happy with unsightly gaps, especially with stock tuperwear bumpers. I figure I can cover 1/2" enough by slotting the stock mounts of the bumpers.

I'm also assuming that the transfer case lever will drop down by 1/2" or 1" depending on the body lift?

For my needs, less is more sometimes when modifying, so I can keep the car more balanced for everything it has to do for the family.

A simple solution would be to not run a 35" tire. You're lifting the body 1 inch and leaving everything else where it was originally, no way around that. Things are gonna show. If you're just driving around town, there is no need for a BL. Even on dirt roads you should be fine. It's not until you start stuffing things and compressing things that it becomes an issue.

If the tire size in your signature is correct, what are you looking to gain by doing a BL?

 

[TeCKis300]

Well, since you asked...

I don't intend to run 35's or anything larger than my current 33's so tire clearance is not the concern. I don't want a static suspension lift as I have the benefit of AHC. Which means I don't have to deal with compromised suspension geometry (droop, caster, camber). Yet I can still lift via the suspension on demand 2+". So with a moderate tire lift, and suspension lift, I now want to add a moderate body lift.

The body lift will allow me to raise my stock bumpers and running boards accordingly. It's as much a cosmetic thing that I'm looking for as it is functional. While I doubt I need it functionally as I'm not looking to rock crawl, I should gain a bit more approach, and clearance for the running board (although I do want step sliders in the future). I might even be crazy enough to raise the rear bumper and weight distribution hitch (I have air tools and a TIG welder). With the minor added space in the underbelly, I might look to add a fresh water tank for on board showers.

You guys might think it's dumb to put the effort into minor adjustments, but again, I'm a firm believer that less is more. The car is already incredibly capable and it's a challenge for me to enhance things is subtle ways to keep as much balance to the vehicle as possible. I like to consider my upgrades in a holistic fashion, rather than upgrading at a detriment of other qualities. Sometimes it's against the grain, but that is the fun of customizing a car.

 

[OregonLC]

I'm also assuming that the transfer case lever will drop down by 1/2" or 1" depending on the body lift?.

Fortunately, they make an extension.

 

[1loudLX]

Honestly, I cant see why anyone would want to raise the body off the frame farther than absolutely necessary. I didn't put a body lift on my 2005 that has stock height tires just to gain a little clearance for my running boards. Front bumper and rear bumper are mounted to the frame on the bottom, so you're just stretching out the bumper with a 1" lift, and jacking your COG up. If you're not running 35s or maybe 34s with tire chains why would you jack with the body mounts?

 

[paflytyer]

Well, since you asked...

I don't intend to run 35's or anything larger than my current 33's

You guys might think it's dumb to put the effort into minor adjustments, but again, I'm a firm believer that less is more. Sometimes it's against the grain, but that is the fun of customizing a car.

Was just wondering your ideas/plans. I think your tire is just shy of 33", right? If so, you're going to have a larger space in between tires and fender. If I read your original post correctly, you were trying to avoid gaps/extra space. Granted, space between bumpers/body is different, but cosmetically it's on par.

 

[TeCKis300]

You guys are forgetting that I am not following the same cascading set of mods you guys are. Give it a second to comprehend my perspective.

I'm on AHC at stock 'N' height.

I upsized my tires, such that at stock height, the tires fill out the wheel wells, reducing the tire to fender gap. It almost has the effect of making it look lowered. A 1/2" body lift will put some wheel well gap back so it will look cosmetically about stock for the tire to fender gap.

I am choosing to do a body lift and not a static suspension lift, for the very reason that this does NOT raise COG as much as a suspension lift. With AHC, I do not have to choose between no lift to optimize on road behavior, and a lot of lift for maximum clearance. I inherently get the best of both.

I'm not preaching my setup to you guys as I get that most of you are looking for a more off-road focus'd build. I don't want that at the detriment of my hundy's on road behavior, yet I want a broader performance envelop all around.

Consider that for highway performance, I've not sacrificed much if at all between slightly taller tires and a 1/2" body lift.

And off road, I'd like to think I'd gained more clearance and capability all around between the tire, AHC suspension, and body lift.

Both operating aspects, I'd argue, that are more capable than any static lifted rig.

The transfer case lever won't bother me sitting 1/2 or probably even 1" lower. I get that the bumpers are mounted to the frame. It's likely easily massaged 1/2" up, but not as likely 1".

 

[wildsmith]

My first BL was 16mm and the OEM bumpers adjusted fine to cover that. When I went to 40mm I had a T3 on the front which adjusted up for no gap by drilling new holes and the OEM rear adjusted up again as well. The front bump stops squish quite a bit if you put a lot of weight on them.

 

[SupraTuRD]

This is a very nice body lift kit. I bought the kit with the zinc plated brackets and steering shaft spacer. I have decided to stick to 33's so I no longer need the kit. The kit is brand new/never installed.

If anyone is interested, PM me.

 

[Duiser Offroad]

We provide a transfer case extension; machined/ threaded/ steel/ painted black, for our 2" BL's on the 80.

When we installed the 1" BL on the 100, just like the 80, there was no need for an extension. The shifter doesn't even drop past the shifter boot. Additionally, the shifter had no noticeable issues shifting. Which a shifter extension wouldn't solve anyway.

If for some reason people, ie customers, think we need a transfer case shift extension we will provide them.

 

[Duiser Offroad]

The best thing I can tell you guys about whether or not you need or should want a body lift is centered around your tire size and vehicle use.

If you are running or want to run 35's without rubbing, this is what the kit is made for.

If you don't have 35's, don't want 35's, or have 35's and only drive on pavement, then the 100 Series 1" BL probably isn't your thing.

If you guys want a 1/2" BL kit, let me know because so far not a whole lot of people have stepped up. Meanwhile, 1" BL's are selling fast.

 

[paflytyer]

Great to see you guys listening to what we need/want and providing that. That's what customer service is all about.

 

[paflytyer]

1" Body Lift is done. It was a pretty big undertaking. Doing the actual pucks is no more than 30-60 minutes, everything else is an 8 hour job. I see no reason to even attempt this by yourself. It's a 2 man job, but only for the lifting, puck install, bolt remove/install and generally someone to go around and check for things that might be binding. The steering spacer and radiator brackets are a one man job, but time consuming. I actually have not done the steering spacer yet, but very badly need to. The lowering of the radiator is a chore without removing the main battery and tray. I would remove them both if I had to do this job again.

Couple notes...
If you run the newer style Slee battery tray with the extra bracket, you need to remove the brake line bracket where it attaches to the UCA on the passenger side. There is not enough play in the line to stretch around the bracket. I'll post some pics and a write up as soon as I can. I just removed the brake line bracket, opened the folding tab, fed some more line through and reattached after the lift was done.

Also, Remove the radiator brackets/bolts prior to the lift. Just let the radiator sit there unattached while you raise the body.

And don't forget to remove the bolts for the steering linkage below the rag joint. I did not do this, and now I'm scrambling to figure it out. The 2nd intermediate steering shaft is touching the body where it goes through the firewall, and it sounds/feels like the wheels are falling off. I'm not 100% sure about adding this spacer now that the lift is done. Maybe someone who's done it can chime in.

Spresso? Anyone else who's done it, post lift?

If I secure the steering wheel (I need to turn the wheel to access the bolts that go through the rag joint) and separate that joint (I have to cut the hard black boot to access the nuts and add the spacer) will I be able to push the steering shaft down and in towards the rack to make the necessary gap? And, should the shaft be matchmarked, or will it not spin once free?

 

[Duiser Offroad]

Hi, thanks for the right up.

Yes match mark the steering wheel and be careful not to turn the wheel. The shaft should move fairly freely once unbolted but, yes unbolt the linkage prior to the lift and its a lot easier.

We will review our instructions to make sure they are as clear as possible.

1" Body Lift is done. It was a pretty big undertaking. Doing the actual pucks is no more than 30-60 minutes, everything else is an 8 hour job. I see no reason to even attempt this by yourself. It's a 2 man job, but only for the lifting, puck install, bolt remove/install and generally someone to go around and check for things that might be binding. The steering spacer and radiator brackets are a one man job, but time consuming. I actually have not done the steering spacer yet, but very badly need to. The lowering of the radiator is a chore without removing the main battery and tray. I would remove them both if I had to do this job again.

Couple notes...
If you run the newer style Slee battery tray with the extra bracket, you need to remove the brake line bracket where it attaches to the UCA on the passenger side. There is not enough play in the line to stretch around the bracket. I'll post some pics and a write up as soon as I can. I just removed the brake line bracket, opened the folding tab, fed some more line through and reattached after the lift was done.

Also, Remove the radiator brackets/bolts prior to the lift. Just let the radiator sit there unattached while you raise the body.

And don't forget to remove the bolts for the steering linkage below the rag joint. I did not do this, and now I'm scrambling to figure it out. The 2nd intermediate steering shaft is touching the body where it goes through the firewall, and it sounds/feels like the wheels are falling off. I'm not 100% sure about adding this spacer now that the lift is done. Maybe someone who's done it can chime in.

Spresso? Anyone else who's done it, post lift?

If I secure the steering wheel (I need to turn the wheel to access the bolts that go through the rag joint) and separate that joint (I have to cut the hard black boot to access the nuts and add the spacer) will I be able to push the steering shaft down and in towards the rack to make the necessary gap? And, should the shaft be matchmarked, or will in not spin once free?

 

[TeCKis300]

Thanks for the review. Now that it's lifted, any driving or aesthetics impressions? Am I falsely stuck on a 1/2" lift and the 1" is a no brainer?

 

[Sverige]

This thread needs more pics!

Before and after shots please...

 

[paflytyer]

Thanks for the review. Now that it's lifted, any driving or aesthetics impressions? Am I falsely stuck on a 1/2" lift and the 1" is a no brainer?

This thread needs more pics!

Before and after shots please...

I have some pics to post. Just been really busy. The after pic looks just like the body is 1" higher

This is a complete kit, but my comment/suggestion would be that Jonesys should include directions specific to the 100 series 1" body lift, not something that combines all BL's for the 80 and 100. Although, its hard to say that even all 100s are the same. I had been texting bluecruiser and jonharis prior to, and during my install, and we had some differences just between us 3. All minor and pertaining to our mods- except for the steering issue which Jonathan didn't seem to have as bad bluecruiser and I.

.5" or 1" is dependent on what you're doing I guess. This is not something I'd want to do twice, so the 1" was the way I was going. I think you'll see less issues by just going .5", but if you're running 35's that may not be enough. It really is an all day job. Maybe if you do BL's on 100's for a living you could get it completed in 4 hours, but there was no way I could do that. If I would have taken pics at every step, I would have been 12-15 hours. It's a lot of work..... not really difficult work, but time consuming work. Maybe I'm just slower than most.

I do have a bunch of pics to share and I hope it will help the next member out. Thanks to Spresso for being one of, if not THE first person to do this stateside. Its a big undertaking when you're not sure what will clear and what wont. Bluecruiser helped me out by telling me to stop being a fruitcake and just start taking things apart, and Jonathan for texting me every day to find out if I did it yet. Its pretty unnerving to see the body rise away from the frame and hope that nothing breaks, just pay attention to what's happening and don't rush. That's how I found the brake line issue with the aux battery tray.

As far as driving afterwards. I don't notice anything except the aforementioned steering issue (which is pretty bad) Looks wise, there are gaps at the bumpers and sliders. I can adjust the ARB and the sliders. The Slee bumper will need to be removed and cut. I'm *considering* doing that to improve the departure angles.... but that Slee bumper is perfection, and I don't know if I want to mess with it. I have an 80 series buddy with a new super duper plasma cutter and he's begging me to try it out. I don't know if I mind the aesthetics of the gaps, but gaining an inch of height on the bumpers would be nice.

A full write up with all the pics I have is coming. Here's a before/after.

 

[jonharis]

Hey Jonseys! Any way you can quick ship me a set of radiator brackets?

 

[3D FJ]

Hey Jonseys! Any way you can quick ship me a set of radiator brackets?

View attachment 776154

That's some crazy body lift there. Think the center of gravity there will be much of an issue?

 

[silverhorse]

Could you guys do a 3"?
sorry if i missed it in a previous post.....