To body lift or not to body lift, that is the question!

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meigsrock

meigsrock

10 Year 15 Year
Joined
Feb 6, 2006
Threads
34
Messages
458
Location
Anchorage Alaska
I am working a bit on my daily driver, a 1992 standard 6' bed pickup. I am about to replace the bed on it due to a car hitting me and thought that if I am going to put a body lift on my truck now is a good time because I will already have the bed off. I also have a Marlin Crawler rock rear bumper and had to notch the rear of my old bed and am not sure I want to do this to my next one.

I will also be upgrading the front bumper too. Not sure if I will buy or just build one myself. I really like the Trail Gear rock defence bumper wo/stinger hoop, and of course ARB bumpers, and Warn bumpers but those last two are spendy. If I buy one with a body lift there will be a gap between the bumper and body which I do not care for. If I build one I can build it to fit.

I am kind of thinking of going to 33s but do not know if the 22re can handle it with stock gears. Maybe eventually 35's with gears. I found a cheap 2" spacer & add a leaf lift for around $200-300 I am considering. Maybe with the body lift too I could fit the 35's. (Ya ya, I know a SAS or links with 36"-40"s is best........maybe someday, but for now this is on the cheap and my daily driver)

I also want to put rock sliders on it.

I have always hated body lifts but for some reason I am considering a small one for my pickup 1"-3".

So a couple of questions.........ok more than a couple.:hillbilly:
1. Would you body lift or not?
2. How hard is it to do?
3. Does it mess up anything?
4. Any other hidden parts I will need besides the body lift kit?
5. What sizes are available and how much body lift would you go with? 1,2,3"
6. How much lift do I need to clear 33's, and 35"
7. Any companies you would recomend for the body and or small IFS lift.

Thanks for the help.
 
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3" body lift is not small nor does it look nice ... actually looks very hillbilly.
1" to 1.5" is easy, cheap and functional.

remember for every 1" of lift that is 2" larger tire you can run.

i would recommend you do the body lift before doing any futher body armor since relation to the body is important for cosmetics as well the body lift might give way to different mounting points on the frame for the side bars.

suggestion, if you are going to do a body lift then replace the complete rubber assembly, not just adding a new section to the original mounts. remember the body mounts attach the electrical, brake lines, master to slave, steering control and your ass to the frame. if you have too much movement then things start to wear, things you do not want to fail. for the extra couple bucks do a proper job.
if the body mounts on the mini are similar to the LC mounts then you will have a steel sleeve though the center, it is there to control the amount of crush you apply with the bolts. you need to replace this with a piece the proper length. grade 8 bolts are recommended.

do it correctly and you will be happy with the results.
do it on the cheap and lazy and you might not be happy at all.

just a suggestion, take it for what it is worth.
 
Crushers gave some good advice. I personally wouldn't do a body lift but if for whatever reason I did decide to install one, it wouldn't be more than an inch. I've replaced all the body bushings on the 4Runner and it was very easy. I wouldn't think that a 1" body lift would be any harder. I don't think for 1" you have to do anything else but I'm not certain.
 
crushers said:
3" body lift is not small nor does it look nice ... actually looks very hillbilly.
1" to 1.5" is easy, cheap and functional.

remember for every 1" of lift that is 2" larger tire you can run.

i would recommend you do the body lift before doing any futher body armor since relation to the body is important for cosmetics as well the body lift might give way to different mounting points on the frame for the side bars.

suggestion, if you are going to do a body lift then replace the complete rubber assembly, not just adding a new section to the original mounts. remember the body mounts attach the electrical, brake lines, master to slave, steering control and your ass to the frame. if you have too much movement then things start to wear, things you do not want to fail. for the extra couple bucks do a proper job.
if the body mounts on the mini are similar to the LC mounts then you will have a steel sleeve though the center, it is there to control the amount of crush you apply with the bolts. you need to replace this with a piece the proper length. grade 8 bolts are recommended.

do it correctly and you will be happy with the results.
do it on the cheap and lazy and you might not be happy at all.

just a suggestion, take it for what it is worth.
Click to expand...

X2.
done right, a reasonable body lift can look nice.

Crushers, do you guys have hillbillies in Canada? I thought they were a US thing...
 
we have hillbillies here too.
there are some ... real ... butcher jobs running around here, not sure how they can stay on the road.
 
What Wayne and the others said. I lifted my 1992 Surf (same frame as your truck) and three others. Stay at 1.5 inches or less and you will have no troubles.

meigsrock said:
So a couple of questions.........ok more than a couple.:hillbilly:
1. Would you body lift or not? YES
2. How hard is it to do? EASY - takes a couple of hours but have a mate to help - it is a pain to do on your own (you need two wrenches and they are either side of the body)
3. Does it mess up anything? You will have to drop the radiator - you must unbolt it from the body and drop it by the same size of your lift - otherwise you will break hoses. Slacken off the steering joint - it will stretch slightly - but not enough to come apart.
4. Any other hidden parts I will need besides the body lift kit? Radiator drop brackets (unless you drill into the front (I did this)
5. What sizes are available and how much body lift would you go with? 1,2,3" - Dont go above 1.5''
6. How much lift do I need to clear 33's, and 35" - 1.5'' body + 2'' sus lift will fit 33's very easily
7. Any companies you would recomend for the body and or small IFS lift. - Roger Brown - I'll find his web site now.

Thanks for the help.
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Stay at 1.5 or less and you'll have no troubles - fuel filler will stretch ok too

Here's that site

http://www.4crawler.com/4x4/ForSale/ProductLine.shtml#ToyotaOnlyProducts

Be carefull if you fit ball joint spacers fror front lift - it stresses the hell out of your CV boots - you will become adept at changing them (ask me how I know)

An easy rear lift is to fit Landcruiser springs and longer Rancho/Procomp shocks
 
The Aussie guys are very helpful with mini trucks

ToyotaSurf Australia Site

Write up to give you some clues - not quite your truck but close enough - early use of WD40 is a must - days of it!

Body Modifications
 
I have a 1" and I am very glad I did it. Easy. I did it homebrew, this was before Roger Brown was selling his kits. I bought an endcut of 2-1/2" roundstock 6061 aluminum at a local scrap place, then had a friend slice and drill the pucks for me on his lathe. I bought all new 7/16" stainless hardware for the body & bed bolts, and I got a new poly cab mount kit from energysuspension.com | Welcome

Radiator is easy, you can just pull the little half-moon piece off the bottom of the shroud, or re-drill and drop it. Sounds like you have the bumpers solved. Brake & clutch lines are no problem, same with gas fill, electrics. Nothing required on the steering column. Might have to mess with the shifters, altough a better solution (what I did) is to have Bud (BudBuilt) bend you up a crossmember with 1" of lift, and lift the engine 1" at the mounts.

Sooo much easier working under the truck. Sliders much easier to weld on.
 
1" is what i have in my garage waiting to be installed. its a 4crawler kit
 
If you want the best suspension with bigger tires on ifs you simply NEED a body lift. Here goes: 3 inch body lift, ball joint spacers, fresh stock rear springs, low pro upper bump stops and regular low stops to limit droop. You then relax your torsion bars to match the normal rear springs. Factory v6 4.88's and 33's. Spacers will give you more travel in front while relaxed torsion bars will give you a softer ride and keep your cvs at a normal angle for normal driving. The problem with the bj spacers is that most people use them for lift and then drive around all the time with their cvs all crazy. This is what fries them, not the droop while flexing. The body lift keeps your center of gravity low and in some cases (1st Gen runner) lets you lift your gas tank. For real wheeling this is the best performing mini truck ifs setup there is, in my and my crew's opinion.

Main prob with the body lift is shifters. You will need to clearance them and/or get a short shifter setup.
 
Here's the setup I just talked about in the Maze district of Canyonlands. Forgot I also had sway-away tbars on this thing. fyi I had the 4.11's in the truck and this point and it did just fine in the maze, which is not crazy wheeling but pretty tough. 4.11's got me some STELLAR highway mileage - I saw a couple tanks do 23 mpg, and I always got at least 21.

163793_808302757823_19219860_44900470_1645165_n.jpg
 
I am sort of re thinking my lift here. I think I am just going to shoot for 33"s for now if I can get away without re-gearing. I am thinking that if I want to go to 35's or bigger I will do a SAS and put an extra fj60 axle and springs up front that I have laying around.

How well does a 22re do with stock gears and 33"s? What are the stock gears any way? 4.10 or 4.11 I am guessing.

I think I will keep the body lift to 1-2" if I do one.

Thanks for the Ideas on the engine lift and the T-case shifter lift. Any info on how the regular shifter is effected.

Boyo, Those were ball joint spacers I was looking at in that 2" lift kit. I also found some at 1.5". How big were your spacers that it trashed your cv joints.

A 3" lift looks pretty good with 33"s. I found a picture of one with a 3" body and 33"s but could not load the photo.

I think a 1-2 body lift with 1.5" ball joint spacers would be good unless those ball joint spacers are going to trash my cv joints.

If I do one I will definatly do it before I build a front bumper or put sliders on. I will also do it right and get a good quality kit. Any other good companies making good body lifts?
 
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just curious as to why you need so much lift to run 33s.
the kid is running 33 swampers with no lift at this time and he doesn't rub. we are considering doing a 1.5" lift on the cab but more for looks than need. 3" lift equates to 6" taller tire being able to be ran. that would be clearence for a 37" tire, seems a bit overkill for a 33" to 35" boot ... no?

just trying to understand the reasoning behind it, not trying to be criticising.

personally, i like low and stable on my wheeling rigs.
 
crushers said:
just curious as to why you need so much lift to run 33s.
the kid is running 33 swampers with no lift at this time and he doesn't rub. we are considering doing a 1.5" lift on the cab but more for looks than need. 3" lift equates to 6" taller tire being able to be ran. that would be clearence for a 37" tire, seems a bit overkill for a 33" to 35" boot ... no?

just trying to understand the reasoning behind it, not trying to be criticising.

personally, i like low and stable on my wheeling rigs.
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yeah in theory you should be able to run a 37 with three inches of lift... but the problem is rubbing on fenders while turning, not just pure vertical. the three inches on mine is just enough room to stuff the tire and be able to turn. any less and you would have to chop fenders or run a narrower tire. (not a bad move at all, a 33x12.50 sucks in some situations...) i personally don't like the look of chopped fenders. honestly i can't imagine running 33's with no lift and no chopping the body. you wouldn't be able to have any up-travel at all.

i agree that you want the minimum lift for the tire size. a three inch spring/crossmember lift raises your cg far far more than a body lift. drivetrain lift is an awesome move as well, you can get that to match the body lift and not have to worry about shifters at all. another bonus of the body lift is you can pull your oil pan out without having to drop the differential.

i would very much recommend the v6 factory 4.88s with 33's. 411's are doable but really not fun and your clutch will wear more quickly. you can get a pair of 4.88s for 400 bucks without a core, and they are seriously strong differentials. (cryo treated from the factory) i've never heard of one breaking if it was taken care of. although if you run a locker in the front you might be asking for it...
 
meigsrock said:
I am sort of re thinking my lift here. I think I am just going to shoot for 33"s for now if I can get away without re-gearing. I am thinking that if I want to go to 35's or bigger I will do a SAS and put an extra fj60 axle and springs up front that I have laying around.

How well does a 22re do with stock gears and 33"s? What are the stock gears any way? 4.10 or 4.11 I am guessing.

I think I will keep the body lift to 1-2" if I do one.

Thanks for the Ideas on the engine lift and the T-case shifter lift. Any info on how the regular shifter is effected.

Boyo, Those were ball joint spacers I was looking at in that 2" lift kit. I also found some at 1.5". How big were your spacers that it trashed your cv joints.

A 3" lift looks pretty good with 33"s. I found a picture of one with a 3" body and 33"s but could not load the photo.

I think a 1-2 body lift with 1.5" ball joint spacers would be good unless those ball joint spacers are going to trash my cv joints.

If I do one I will definatly do it before I build a front bumper or put sliders on. I will also do it right and get a good quality kit. Any other good companies making good body lifts?
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t case shifter is the bigger problem. regular will need clearancing with a 3", if i'm not mistaken. but there isn't any reason not to do the drivetrain lift at the same time. (other than a little bit of cash - should be around 300 bucks) it's cheap(ish) and you don't need to do any driveshaft mods with it.

you'll need engine mounts for a lift (4crawler) and a budbuilt skidplate that's made for the lift. tranny and t'case shifters with both come up. you might need to raise your exhaust a bit too.

i had 1.5" spacers and wheeled it hard, never a problem, but as i said above i relaxed my tbars so i wasn't driving around all the time with the cv's bent up all funny. that seems to be the major issue, causes the boots to fail quick, etc. with ifs at droop you don't have any weight on the drooped tire, so you aren't going to break the cv if you're gentle.

now that i think on it stock is 4.10, landcruisers are 4.11 (??) no matter... no real reason not to get the 4.88's in there. minus wheels/tires you're in around a grand for the setup i mentioned, including regear if you find those diffs cheap.
 
Bud will know for sure, but I think if you try to lift the t-case 3" with a custom crossmember, you may end up having the driveshaft hitting the horsecollar. I would also worry about your driveshaft angles, both F&R.
 
OK, just tossing it out there. No tranny in my truck now so I can't crawl under and take a look. It could be that the issue happens if you have dual cases. But remember talking about it at one point with him.
 
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