Body Lift Kit (1 Viewer)

[Sammy Jenkins]

I'm going straight to the point here with no b.s. I found this place on the web (http://www.marks4wd.com/body-lift-kit-index.html) that sells body lifts for the 80 series LC. Well I was just wondering if it was any good and if I were to put that on my FZJ80 with slee's 2.5 inch lift kit (Medium Load) would it cause any problems? For example steering or caster? I'm thinking 25mm or 50 mm of body lift (1 or 2 inches) for the cruiser. Always looking for new ways for clearence on the truck.

- Sammy J

 

[LandCruiserPhil]

A body lift will not affect steering or caster - You are only lifting the body.

A body lift can affect linkage, wiring, hoses, and engine fan.

Phil

 

[Sammy Jenkins]

Has anyone tried this?

 

[Junk]

Sammy, not too many guys here in the US with body lifts. Suggest you call Slee tomorrow and chat with them about it. They've tested a of different combinations out and would likely be able to give you some great input on it.

 

[Jonathan_Ferguson]

The kit consists of: 12 spacers 25Lx60x11, 12 bolts, 10 nylock nuts, and washers.

Lots of places do Kits just like this, But still require other bits to be changed.

 

[cruiserdan]

I do not like body lifts. I would never do one. I would never buy a vehicle with one installed. The body belongs on the frame in the factory mounting position, period.

Think of it this way:
Raising the body up off of the original mounting points is like walking on stilts. Movement is akward and any oddball movement is uncontrolable and you are on the verge of falling on your face. The body is a great deal more likely to shear it's mounts in a collision and much more likely to shift around in evasive manouvers or panic braking.

I believe that it is basicly very un-safe...........

Off the soap box now.......... :


D-

 

[Rookie2]

[quote author=cruiserdan link=board=2;threadid=13908;start=msg129181#msg129181 date=1080617723]
I believe that it is basicly very un-safe...........

Off the soap box now.......... :


D-



[/quote]

Gheezz Dan... it's not like the guy is installing a 25,000 Giga Watt transciever... or is it???

... thought it had been to long since that was brought up again .

Rookie2

 

[moralien]

IMHO a body lift of say in inch would be ok. If it were to clearance something like duel cases. But if the goal is to just get larger meats under there then you cross over into the cheese ball league. Something best left for a TJ with funky backed spaced chrome rims.

N

 

[ginericLC]

WOW! I didn't realize that there was so much resistance to body lifts on this board. I'm not into the big body lifts but I body lifted my 60 1.75" and would have gladly gone to 2" The main advantage of it is you aren't shifting all of the weight up, only the body. It does not adversely effect the center of gravity. As far as the mounts breaking in an accident that would depend upon the quality of the mounts. I'm not saying a 6" body lift is a good idea. It does affect the linkage of the steering. But a mild body lift is certainly acceptable, at least to me.

 

[Sammy Jenkins]

I knew that there would be at least 1 person coming around with a positive attitude towards this idea. I figured if I did an inch or maybe two of body lift and 2.5 inches of suspension lift, the truck will come out looking good w/o any problems. Plus there wouldn't be any problems, like steering or caster from any of the lifts becuase they are so minimal. Plus the pricing on these babies are just as much as slee's spacers. I don't think this is a bad idea after all, something worth considering. peace,

- Sammy J

 

[turbocruiser]

[quote author=ginericfj80 link=board=2;threadid=13908;start=msg129655#msg129655 date=1080680691]
The main advantage of it is you aren't shifting all of the weight up, only the body. It does not adversely effect the center of gravity. But a mild body lift is certainly acceptable, at least to me.
[/quote]

Sorry, but this is incorrect; any lifting up of any amount of weight affects the center of gravity...even you sitting in your seat affects it, how much it affects it depends on how much weight and how much lift but the body has significant heaviness to affect COG. Also, the flex factor is unavoidable assuming that the new mounts are the same material as the old mounts. The only way I can think of to reduce the flex factor is to use another material that is stiffer than the stock rubber mounts. I could not agree more with Dan, dont do it, there is no reason to do it, just rely on the OME and Slee setups to achieve what you want.

 

[ginericLC]

Ok, I mistyped. Of course it adversely effects the center of gravity. It does not effect the center of gravity as much as a suspension lift. With a suspension lift you are moving the body, frame, engine, tranny, etc... up. With a body lift you are only moving the body up so less weight is moved up. I will never argue that a LC wagon body is light. But comparitively it is when adding a body, engine, tranny, frame, etc...

I would never suggest using soft rubber to do a body lift. The body will shift under strain with a soft material. I would use a harder urethane body mount. Another thing I wouldn't suggest doing is adding to the current body mounts for a body lift. There is the possibility of shifting between the two sections. One solid new mount is a better approach. When replacing the hardware I've used nyloc nuts to ensure that the nuts stay tight. And it can be a lot of work relocating things like fans and linkages and off the shelf bumpers could become a problem. A body lift is not without minuses, just as a suspension lift is not without minuses. And speaking of minuses there are a lot of issues that can pop up from using spacers on top of springs. I know Christo and his crew have worked hard to get a good system, but some of the other spacers I've seen people running on top of their springs sort of scare me.

I have a feeling that someday my 91 will be getting a body lift to clear bigger tires. I've already gone about as high as I want to go with springs.

The two advantages I really see of body lifts is that slider placement becomes easier and larger tires can be outfitted without messing with caster issues and of course the price.

 

[Augie]

Depend on what you need to do body lift might be a good solution. A properly designed body lift would not affect the strenght of the body mount. My biggest concern is LC have some bolt that went directly from the body to the frame with no rubber bushing and the rear cross member that would make it look funy if you don't cut it and change with custom bumper.

Ask this on Icelandic 4X4 forums and all of them would say yes.

 

[sleeoffroad]

I did a 2" on the ShortBus when I built it. Used aluminum blocks. It is only when you look at the bolt lengths that are used that one would understand why it is such an issue. I had to hunt around for the longest bolts to do the front.

In off-road conditions the body moves a lot. Also, to note that with 2" none of your other bumpers etc will line up.

 

[Safado]

[quote author=sleeoffroad link=board=2;threadid=13908;start=msg129816#msg129816 date=1080689811]
I did a 2" on the ShortBus when I built it. Used aluminum blocks. It is only when you look at the bolt lengths that are used that one would understand why it is such an issue. I had to hunt around for the longest bolts to do the front.

In off-road conditions the body moves a lot. Also, to note that with 2" none of your other bumpers etc will line up.



[/quote]

I had one on a previous vehicle...Christo hit it spot on. You get some added roll, your bumpers look like $hit, your body bushings get shot to hell, and you're always wondering about those bolts.
.02

 

[thelal]

Shawn Jackson in Fort Collins, CO has put on a 3" Marks body lift on his 94 80 and runs 37" SSR's. Contact him for more info (he is also on 80scool).

 

[Curran]

Shawn has a sweet looking truck, but he put a ton of custom work to get looking and working that good: custom bumber mounts, radiator mount, t-case linkage (?).... Hats off to him. I couldn't or wouldn't have the patience to do half of that stuff.

Curran

 

[Sammy Jenkins]

I dunno anymore (not unusal for myself) if this is a good idea. The way Christo puts it; "In off-road conditions the body moves a lot. Also, to note that with 2" none of your other bumpers etc will line up." This is happening to me more often... Come in here with an idea and it usually comes out with negative feedback (which is alright)... Live and learn. Anyways thanks for the input.

-Sammy J