How much can you raise the spare with the mount lift mod?

[e9999]

well, for crying out loud, I just saw a stock 80 driving around and boy did that spare look low to me now... So I guess that mod does make a big difference after all...

Darn, should have taken the before and after photos. Guys, always remember: pics, pics, pics!

go for it!

E

 

[RavenTai]

Thanks for the details Eric

 

[Rookie2]

well, for crying out loud, I just saw a stock 80 driving around and boy did that spare look low to me now... So I guess that mod does make a big difference after all...

E

I's about to say, sounded more like a tire leveling mod. than a tire lifting mod.

Thanks for the right-up. I'll check the before and after measurements when I do mine.
Any reason why you went with deez-nuts instead of washers on the crank bracket?


Rookie2

 

[e9999]

R2,

yes it's more leveling than lifting. When you see a stock setup the tire is really tilted down quite a bit. It seems to be more hozizontal on the 100 though.

Well, the reason I used nuts on the crank is that I had some handy and you only need 8 instead of 24 washers or so. Also, in the crank case, the crank is *hanging* from the mount so lateral stability is not a big issue if the nuts are in compression, whereas for the mount, the mount is *raised* from the frame so you need something wide enough that it won't wobble sideways. IOW, I had to use washers to be wide enough on the mount, but for the crank it's less critical.

Eric

 

[Rookie2]

Roger that. All makes since.

I'll put it on the list.

Thanks again for your thoroughness. It will definitely save me some time.


Rookie2

 

[e9999]

I think it's worth emphasizing the leveling only part. Guys, don't expect miracles with this mod. I haven't done any serious rock crawling, and the one time I hit the spare tire was once while dragging the tail after starting up a steep hill with abrupt departure. It's the rear part of the tire that scraped, of course, and this mod would not have changed this at all. The main difference it will make is if you would have otherwise hit a big rock in the 10" range that the axle and diff would have cleared for some reason but would have caught the spare. Might help also in the mud and sand?
Anyway, it's a fun little job, inexpensive, and it helps a bit, so why not.
E

 

[StressPuppy]

e,

You mentioned no before pictures, but do you have after pictures?? At least what it looks like from the back of the truck?

This is on my list to do in the next week or so.

 

[wingnutter]

SP, I'll be doing this tomorrow or thursday, so I'll take some before and after pics.
I'll post em soon.

 

[e9999]

e,

You mentioned no before pictures, but do you have after pictures?? At least what it looks like from the back of the truck?

This is on my list to do in the next week or so.

camera not to be found. But I can tell you that the bottom of the front of the spare is now even with the axle housing and well above the bottom of the diff. Looks basically horizontal.

E

 

[wingnutter]

Here is a before and after pic. Tire is a 285/75/16 BFG. Didn't do a whole lot behind the bumper but it raised and leveled on the axle side.

Before

After

 

[e9999]

yours look much higher than my stock tire... do you have a lift? if so, how much?
how high above the ground is the spare now?
E

 

[wingnutter]

yeah, its lifted. Not sure the final numbers since I put on the new tires. I'll check the measurement tomorrow. Lost my light as I was finishing up. Here's another pic that might show you. I believe its 18 1/2" to the bottom of the hitch.

 

[NorCal Cruiser]

RT, from what I saw and measured, the tire is held up against the "bar" in the very back. That is what limits how high it can go. Just in front of that is the sheet metal lip, also fairly close. The tire is not touching the rear of the transverse mount, just the front. So basically, the rear of the tire is limited in how high it goes by the bar and lip. And it's already there with the regular mount position apparently. On the front, there is indeed room to move it up. This is what you do with the mod. Note, however, that if you keep on moving the front of the tire up, you will hit the lip (not good), and because of it tilting, the rear of the tire would start going lower. Now, I imagine that would not be satisfactory, because the rear of the tire is normally the part that would be most likely to scrape (closer to the bumper) whereas the front is already higher than the rear diff and so not a liability.

I just did the spare tire lift mod on Monday, I lifted the bracket 2.5" and lowered the winch 2". After cranking my spare most of the way up I'm concerned that my tire will rub the sheet metal lip that's just ahead of the rear cross member. My first idea was to cut open some 1/2" or 5/8" rubber hose and cover the lip but then I would lose about 1/2" to 3/4" of potential ground clearance. I started wondering if it would be ok to just bend the lip down flat so the tire wouldn't be rubbing against a sharp edge? Are there any downsides I'm not seeing to bending the lip down?

What have others done to protect their tires from the lip?

 

[NorCal Cruiser]

Anybody else have this problem?

 

[VCCruzr]

I just did the spare tire lift mod on Monday, I lifted the bracket 2.5" and lowered the winch 2". After cranking my spare most of the way up I'm concerned that my tire will rub the sheet metal lip that's just ahead of the rear cross member. My first idea was to cut open some 1/2" or 5/8" rubber hose and cover the lip but then I would lose about 1/2" to 3/4" of potential ground clearance. I started wondering if it would be ok to just bend the lip down flat so the tire wouldn't be rubbing against a sharp edge? Are there any downsides I'm not seeing to bending the lip down?

What have others done to protect their tires from the lip?

I have seen that others that have done this have gone to the local auto parts store and bought some door edge trim. Just cut to length and slide it onto the metal lip. HTH!

 

[HIPPYHUNTER]

Where are the pics fr this thread?

 

[Blade 80LC]

Where are the pics fr this thread?

Many old threads lost their pictures after a site redesign. You'll have to find more recent posts to see pictures.