How hard is it to mount a 1" Body Lift?

[jfrabat]

I am thinking about getting this, but I dont know if it is something I can do myself or not. It seems that with the hydraulic jack and 4 stands I could do it myself, but has anyone done it?

I originally intended to do a SOA conversion to fit 33" tires in the future, but have since decided to do a 1" BL and 4" Rubicon Express lift (which will be done when the 31" tires are a worn out). But since my current 31" tires do rub, I wanted to start with the 1" BL (besides, they are not so expensive), and was wondering if it was something I could do myself over a weekend.

Felipe

 

[currupt4130]

Not hard at all. Just jack up each side and slide a 2x4 b/w the body and frame while you work, pull it out before you tighten everything down.

 

[jfrabat]

And what do you think about my decision to drop the SOA in favor of 4" Rubicon Express and 1" BL? I know the Jeep would probably flex better and overall performance would be better with the SOA, but it also kills the leaf pack faster, and is much more expensive to do (not to mention more difficult!).

 

[lethaldose]

i done a 1" on a tj and it was a breeze used my rock knockers as my jack point one side at a time about an hour and half in it all together working leisurely

 

[Snitty]

the SOA... kills the leaf pack faster, and is much more expensive to do...

A 4" lift won't be much cheaper, if at all cheaper than a SOA. And depending on where you get parts, the 4" might even be more expensive. You will still need (or should have) the SYE and new shaft. You will still need to worry about the steering angle. You will still need to face brakeline issues.

With the SOA, you don't pay for the lift, you pay for everything to accomodate the lift. It only yeilds 1.5 inches more than the 4 inch lift does. You already have springs, and are cheaper to replace. You can find sets of stock springs on ebay for under 50 bucks. Sometimes you can find people giving them away.

I say go SOA. Compare what each lift requires and compare the differences. Excluding everything that you'd end up buying aside from the lift itself, you buy a kit for the 4", and you'd buy perches and shocks for the SOA. The work is not that bad. I did my SOA in my back yard on a concrete pad.

As for the body lift... Assuming that the body bolts will come loose, it's one of the easiest height mods you can do. I didn't have the option. I broke two body mount bolts trying to remove them. I figured I should stop before I ended up having to strap my body to the frame. When I rebuild, though, you can be sure I'll have a few hockey pucks on top of my new frame. It's too inexpensive and easy not to take the small effort

 

[TwistedCU]

body lifts are pretty simple. A 1" is really simple. Keep in mind 2 things:

You can add about the same clearance as a 1" BL to a YJ by getting a set of used TJ flares and trimming a little sheet metal. Lots of write-ups on that if you google it.

and

Another thing to consider is if you truly want to do a SOA lift but view it as a more expensive route because you can't weld and would have to pay someone to do the welding:
http://www.full-traction.com/detail.php?MODELID=2&MAKEID=1&TYPEID=1&PRODUCTID=147&NOTES=10,18

Those kits are substantially cheaper then a full SUA lift kit, but you will still need shocks and a pitman arm too. Snitty can probably tell you which pitman arm you'd need from a junkyard as opposed to buying a new one.

Just thought I'd make you aware of that option.

 

[currupt4130]

Pitman off a ZJ

 

[Snitty]

That would be it. But be careful asking for the pitman arm. The junkyard thought I was asking for a CJ pitman arm (outside us jeepers, they don't know what a ZJ is). And when I asked for a Grand Cherokee pitman arm, I waited and waited, and then "Here you go sir, your Cherokee pitman arm"... from an XJ

Even if you go with a 4" lift, you should drop that pitman arm

 

[currupt4130]

Even if you go with a 4" lift, you NEED to use a drop pitman arm

Fixed it.

 

[redrooster]

There is a seem in the middle of a 3" body lift block that you can use to cut it in half. It's kind of hard to cut straight with a port-a-band like I used. I would suggest a chop saw of some nature that has the ability to clamp it down.

 

[currupt4130]

There is a seem in the middle of a 3" body lift block that you can use to cut it in half. It's kind of hard to cut straight with a port-a-band like I used. I would suggest a chop saw of some nature that has the ability to clamp it down.

I cut my 3" down to an inch and sold the other 2 inches... :lol:

 

[smell my dirty poodle]

use lots of pentrating oil the week befor on yur body bolts be ready to cut access holes. with enough money, time and big hammer u can do just about any thing on a jeep all buy yur self

 

[black87yj]

get spraying the pb blaster right away and the bolts should be no problem. i've been restoring 20 year + vehicles for 30 years and thats THE most important step. prep prep prep !