take 2.
Since a couple people already asked me about this after I did the lift on Sopel's and Robert's trucks, here are the details of where and how:
The kit can be easily obtained from
4Crawler Offroad - Custom Body Lift Kits
I have dealt with him in the past and other then having to wait once for a little while to get a response e-mail, the guy was great to deal with and the sale was smooth, he's a Toyota off-road guy as well.
The kit I would recommend (no affiliation with him) would be the poly bushings and spacer lifts made from UHMW (more durable).
The bolts you can get locally and will save you on shipping from the US, I would recommend a 1" to 1 1/2" max lift as beyond that larger modifications are required.
A 1" lift can be easily done without modifications, you can even push for 1 1/2" like I did on Sopel's and Robert's trucks. There are the following modifications needed regardless of which you do: Radiator mounts need to be lowered if the radiator is mounted to the body (all models except the 40 series). This requires the removal of the grill, unbolting the AC condenser/rad (if applicable), drilling new holes for the bolts to compensate for the lift, and reattaching the radiator at the new location. In automatic trucks the linkage for the shifter needs to be extended, since factory threads do not reach you need to cut, sleeve and weld a piece to make it 3/4" longer. Since the shifter is mounted to the body this is necessary to be able to engage the truck into "L" or 1st gear. In Manual transmissions there is no problem at 1 1/2". Beyond that size the shifter would have to be removed, heated and bent to not hit the body or cut and extended.
The high/low range shifter needs to be adjusted, which is done via the factory threaded shaft due to the fact that the shifter will now touch the body before it engages into low range. Since the shifter is attached to the transfer the shifter will be lower in the cab but it will not cause any issues even at 1 1/2" body lift.
The 4X4 to 2X4 needs to be adjusted in manual (non vacuum models) same as above since it is the same shifter. In vacuum actuated model it is left alone. The PTO lever does not need adjusting (unless it hits the body now which we did not have issues with), but it is significantly lower due to the fact that it is also attached to the transmission/transfer and not the body. This causes the boot to no longer seal fully and might be an issue in deep water crossings. So far that has not proven to be an issue and no water got inside the truck. But if you are motivated enough a simple extension bracket to raise the mounting on the transmission can be done to bring the shifter to normal position.
The steering has enough expansion in the slip joint that it does not need modification, all of the hard lines for fuel, brakes, etc are also fine and do not need modifications. The e-brake and locker did not need adjustment but double check them in case.
Since the air box is going to sit higher this might prove to be a small problem in some trucks, you can fix this easily by installing spacers to tilt the air box more towards the engine so the rubber tube for the intake isn't kinked or get a different hose to fit.
To do the body lift the following are needed/recommended:
air gun - this makes taking the old ones off much easier
an adaptor to a floor jack to lift the vehicle side without damage to the rocker. Access to all of the body mount bolts which requires the removal of the carpet in those areas (or at least prying it up) which will require the removal of the seats in most cases, not forgetting the 2 front bolts which are usually hidden under various components in the engine bay (like battery trays on a 60) or the 2 in the firewall (behind some rubber grommets).
A way to cut, sleeve and weld an extension to the transmission shifter linkage in automatics. There is the option of using a die to thread it and finding a couple to match but that required a lot more work then welding (for me at least).
When removing the old pieces: unbolt the radiator, leave it loose, just make sure it's not sitting on the blades of the fan. Access all the areas that have the bolts, take off all the nuts from both sides, jack up one side of the vehicle only, remove old components and install new with the spacers (as on the website), thread the nuts on very loosely. Repeat on the other side. When everything is lined up and sitting on the new set of spacers and bushings then you can tighten all of them. You will likely see that some bushings or spacers might be loose even with the full weight of the truck on them but that is normal. Tighten to the point where the bushings just start to compress working your way in a pattern (either front to back on one side or something similar). Install jam nut at about 60ftlbs to the bottom nut (and locktite if using just regular nuts). Adjust and reinstall everything as needed. This process takes about a full day due to the disassembly of components.
Anything beyond an 1 1/2" lift will require more modification to relocate brackets.
When getting bolts locally make sure to use grade 8 hardware and I recommend using special crimp nuts which act like nylock nuts but better. They have a tapered end which locks the threads automatically and does not require lock washers or locktite. You will need 2 different lenghts of bolts as some body mounts have 2 layers of steel (with a space in between) and others only have one. Measure your current and add spacer lenght.
Since the kit comes with new large washers I would recommend re using only the washers that are on the bolt head side and the nut side from your factory ones as they are thicker then most washers. When ordering the kit confirm the amount of body mounts and the diameter and specify the height as he can make them any size you want.
There, done.
Since a couple people already asked me about this after I did the lift on Sopel's and Robert's trucks, here are the details of where and how:
The kit can be easily obtained from
4Crawler Offroad - Custom Body Lift Kits
I have dealt with him in the past and other then having to wait once for a little while to get a response e-mail, the guy was great to deal with and the sale was smooth, he's a Toyota off-road guy as well.
The kit I would recommend (no affiliation with him) would be the poly bushings and spacer lifts made from UHMW (more durable).
The bolts you can get locally and will save you on shipping from the US, I would recommend a 1" to 1 1/2" max lift as beyond that larger modifications are required.
A 1" lift can be easily done without modifications, you can even push for 1 1/2" like I did on Sopel's and Robert's trucks. There are the following modifications needed regardless of which you do: Radiator mounts need to be lowered if the radiator is mounted to the body (all models except the 40 series). This requires the removal of the grill, unbolting the AC condenser/rad (if applicable), drilling new holes for the bolts to compensate for the lift, and reattaching the radiator at the new location. In automatic trucks the linkage for the shifter needs to be extended, since factory threads do not reach you need to cut, sleeve and weld a piece to make it 3/4" longer. Since the shifter is mounted to the body this is necessary to be able to engage the truck into "L" or 1st gear. In Manual transmissions there is no problem at 1 1/2". Beyond that size the shifter would have to be removed, heated and bent to not hit the body or cut and extended.
The high/low range shifter needs to be adjusted, which is done via the factory threaded shaft due to the fact that the shifter will now touch the body before it engages into low range. Since the shifter is attached to the transfer the shifter will be lower in the cab but it will not cause any issues even at 1 1/2" body lift.
The 4X4 to 2X4 needs to be adjusted in manual (non vacuum models) same as above since it is the same shifter. In vacuum actuated model it is left alone. The PTO lever does not need adjusting (unless it hits the body now which we did not have issues with), but it is significantly lower due to the fact that it is also attached to the transmission/transfer and not the body. This causes the boot to no longer seal fully and might be an issue in deep water crossings. So far that has not proven to be an issue and no water got inside the truck. But if you are motivated enough a simple extension bracket to raise the mounting on the transmission can be done to bring the shifter to normal position.
The steering has enough expansion in the slip joint that it does not need modification, all of the hard lines for fuel, brakes, etc are also fine and do not need modifications. The e-brake and locker did not need adjustment but double check them in case.
Since the air box is going to sit higher this might prove to be a small problem in some trucks, you can fix this easily by installing spacers to tilt the air box more towards the engine so the rubber tube for the intake isn't kinked or get a different hose to fit.
To do the body lift the following are needed/recommended:
air gun - this makes taking the old ones off much easier
an adaptor to a floor jack to lift the vehicle side without damage to the rocker. Access to all of the body mount bolts which requires the removal of the carpet in those areas (or at least prying it up) which will require the removal of the seats in most cases, not forgetting the 2 front bolts which are usually hidden under various components in the engine bay (like battery trays on a 60) or the 2 in the firewall (behind some rubber grommets).
A way to cut, sleeve and weld an extension to the transmission shifter linkage in automatics. There is the option of using a die to thread it and finding a couple to match but that required a lot more work then welding (for me at least).
When removing the old pieces: unbolt the radiator, leave it loose, just make sure it's not sitting on the blades of the fan. Access all the areas that have the bolts, take off all the nuts from both sides, jack up one side of the vehicle only, remove old components and install new with the spacers (as on the website), thread the nuts on very loosely. Repeat on the other side. When everything is lined up and sitting on the new set of spacers and bushings then you can tighten all of them. You will likely see that some bushings or spacers might be loose even with the full weight of the truck on them but that is normal. Tighten to the point where the bushings just start to compress working your way in a pattern (either front to back on one side or something similar). Install jam nut at about 60ftlbs to the bottom nut (and locktite if using just regular nuts). Adjust and reinstall everything as needed. This process takes about a full day due to the disassembly of components.
Anything beyond an 1 1/2" lift will require more modification to relocate brackets.
When getting bolts locally make sure to use grade 8 hardware and I recommend using special crimp nuts which act like nylock nuts but better. They have a tapered end which locks the threads automatically and does not require lock washers or locktite. You will need 2 different lenghts of bolts as some body mounts have 2 layers of steel (with a space in between) and others only have one. Measure your current and add spacer lenght.
Since the kit comes with new large washers I would recommend re using only the washers that are on the bolt head side and the nut side from your factory ones as they are thicker then most washers. When ordering the kit confirm the amount of body mounts and the diameter and specify the height as he can make them any size you want.
There, done.
