Body Lift on a BJ71

[Josh NZ]

Hi Folks,

Got plans in the near future to do a body lift on my BJ71, and I only really want to do 1".

Few questions!

Can i buy a 2" kit and cut the spacers down to 1"?

What work is generally involved with a body lift? (might be a silly question).

Do i need to do anything drastic ie steering shaft mods or gearbox/engine/radiator mounts, brake lines or anything like that?

Cheers
Josh

 

[sadam_husain]

yeah its pretty easy to do mate but those uhmwpe blocks can take a bit of work to cut up

when you lift it you'll have to adjust your radiator shroud for fan clearance, the steering shaft is telescopical so that will adjust itself and don't worry there's no chance of it being too short and falling out theres about 150mm down inside the slip joint (steering box end where the rubber boot is), the coiled brake lines coming up to the master cylinder will stretch out and be fine, the fuel tank filler tube will have to be lengthened if the fuel tank is mounted into the chassis, mine is a single cab with the tank attached to the body so it wasn't a problem, you'll have to watch the wiring loom anywhere it runs between the body and chassis so it doesn't get pulled tight, undo the rubber boots around the gear and 4wd levers and make sure they still have enough travel and don't fowl on the body after you have lifted it, your pto lever should be ok but I had to make a bracket to lift mine 50mm after I did the body lift (my body lift was 50mm), they are all the main things I can remember just visually watch and check everything else as you do it and make sure you keep all the original rubber mounts in there and add your 1" spacers in with them

 

[Josh NZ]

@sadam_husain thanks for the detailed reply!

When it comes time to fit the spacers in, how do you physically lift the body? Is it a machinery type job or hand tools?

Cheers

 

[kbushnz]

@sadam_husain thanks for the detailed reply!

When it comes time to fit the spacers in, how do you physically lift the body? Is it a machinery type job or hand tools?

Cheers

Dont need anything special. Car bottle jack and some timber.
When I did mine in the Playdoh I undid all the bolts but left them sitting in the holes.
Pulled the bolts out along one side of the truck. Then lifted one side with the bottle jack and timber under the door sill. The body is not as heavy as you think.
Then slipped in the spacers and dropped in the bolts, may need new ones if the old ones are not long enough.
Once one side was all done / bolts dropped in, repeated the process on the other side.
When they are all in put on the nuts and washers, gave the body a bit of a shake to settle it in position and tightened her all up.
As said watch for any lines / connections between the chassis and the body. Dont lift too high or you risk stretching or breaking something. Particularly down the drivers side of the truck. Thats where all the brake lines seem to run in the Toyota's (R/H drive)