Body Lift going on this Saturday

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Billy Griggs

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Dec 8, 2004
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I have about 3 guys helping me install the 3" body lift. Does anyone have any suggestions or ran into any problems I should know about? I figure this will take atleast all day.
 
I installed my bodylift last summer. Its a very long job, but not overly difficult. Make sure to hit all the body mount bolts with some PB blaster or Wd-40 as they tend to be very difficult to take out. Also, once lifted check all your clearances in the engine compartment. (especially A\C line) I didnt do this and it cost me as the idler puller wore a hole in my AC line. The biggest tip I can give you is to have a torch handy, as heating the body bolts made mine come out MUCH more easily. If you run into difficulites feel free to make a post and I'll try to help you out. Good luck, it will look awesome when you are done!
 
Some pics of my install...



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Finished Product



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Billy - I just finished mine yesterday. Make sure you get the fan shroud clear of the radiator before lifting. It will hang up on the fan otherwise and make that part "interesting". I found deep sockets were very helpful. Having a longer handle breaker bar or air tools would also help.

I did mine by myself with a few minutes help getting the bed back in place. It took me 3.5 days with a few trips to the dealer.

I too can help with questions if you get stuck.
 
Hey, I dont know about doing the body lift, but am looking at lifts, I was told a leveling kit would work fine and not put any extra strain on the front end parts that tend to wear out quicker with a lift. Is this true with a body lift? Which of the two would get me more clearence and taller tires? Or would it be good to do both? A suspension lift is just too much $$ for me right now. Thanks guys, and yours looks great sean!
 
I don't have pics up yet of mine to show. I have to get the new rims, tires and bushwacker fender flares installed.

cottonwood - If all I am doing is moving the body three inches higher why would you think that would wear the tires any differently?
 
Not so much the tires, I was just told that it would mess with thingslike the steering and the front drive shaft, But that was in regards to the suspension lift. I was curious if there were any of these down falls with the body lift. I dont know how it works but I figured if the body went up it may affect those things. If it doesn't mess with with anything else and will get the look and taller tires then that seems like the way to go. So how about a leveling kit? Add it to the lift? Instead of the lift? Or not needed?
 
There is no leveling kit really for an ST, the F150 has one because it has front coil over suspension. The ST has torsion bar front suspension, so you can crank your torsion bar bolts to gain a max of about 2''. No, a body lift does not affect steering or the front drive shaft, as you are leaving the suspension of the truck, COMPLETELY stock. All a body lift does is lift the body off the frame so larger tires can be utilized. The ride is the exact same, however handling will be different due to the higher center of gravity. You can go for a torsion twist/ rear shackle lift + body lift for a total of 5 inches of lift. Thats what I did on mine.
 
I don't know about a leveling kit for the Trac. I can't recall anyone mentioning one in the three and a half years I have been posting here. The only thing close is the TT adjustment which can lift or lower the front end.



With the suspention lift you would need to get a new upgraded front drive shaft. The new angle would wear out the old one quicker. Once you get the front end aligned I think there would be no other worries.



The only downfall of the body lift is you are not supposed to tow with the bumper after the lift . . . . get a hitch.



Hope that helps.
 
Yeah, it helps. I think thats the way I will go. Where can I go to have all this done? I dont think I trust myself with something like this. Is torsion twist/ rear shackle lift+body lift something that most auto shops can do? Or should I find someone who knows a little more about Sport Tracs? I want to make sure its done right.
 
If you don't have a mechanic to do it look for shops that sell wheels and tires and call one of them. If they don't do it they might know a place that does.

 
Torsion twist / shackle lift is very easy to do, if you look under projects I believe that there is one written up for it. You can take a look and see if you would feel comfortable doing something like that. The bodylift is definitely a very labor intensive exercise, and your best bet would be an off road shop. However, they love charging alot for labor on bodylifts. I was quoted $1000, just in labor. Thats why I decided to do it myself. However, I have been told that was a high quote, and you can probably get it done for about 700 or so parts and labor. Good luck with your decision, the ST will look great when its done.
 
Technically, a body lift does mess with the steering. Just b/c in the kit, it comes with an extension for the steering shaft. Deffinetly zip tie back the lower a/c line from the lower pulley on the passenger side. Mine had ate through it already and that line was $255 with discount. Deffinetly check all of your alignments with the bumpers and the fenders. After getting back from the shop, we had alot of problems trying to get those aligned. Also if you have OEM fog lights and wonder why they won't line up, well its b/c of the body lift. I had raised this question before and others have had the same problem. There really isn't a fix unless you make a new mounting point and bracket for the fog lights. For front brush guards, some have said, after getting the body lift to just "flip & switch" the brackets. That might work in some instances. On my ST, it didn't work b/c my mounts were on the outside of the tow hooks, not on the inside. I'm in the process of making new brackets. If worried about the tow hooks, to reinstall, well, if you want them, you'll either need to refab a bracket for them, or just cut the bumper. Not really anything else can be done.



I had gotten my body lift installed at a local shop called "Trick Trucks" and the price they charged for the install was $570. I had gotten my lift from a fellow ST'er on this site for $130 shipped.



I also agree, dont tow with the bumper, buy a hitch. Its better anyway (Body lifted or not)

Hope this helps. :)
 
chad it depends on the tools you have. Anything to speed up would help. (air gun etc.) Being it was 85+ degrees each day I worked about 5 hours each. A second pair of hands would definitely speed things up. If they also had a set of tools, you both could be working and when you need that extra hand it would be there. I had to make a few trips to the store / dealer to get parts.



There were members here that would have helped but it was last minute that I had Thursday and Friday free to work on it. I was in no hurry so it took a bit longer.



I'm not that young anymore either :lol::lol::lol::lol:;)



If I was to do it again, I think I could get it done in two days. It depends upon what is rusted and breaks when you go to remove it . . .



 
Our truck came with the body lift. When we looked at it we thought that it sat higher than others we looked at but the dealer swore it was stock height. We didn't really realize that it had the lift until we tried to install the OEM fog lights that we bought for it and the holes didn't line up. After looking, we noticed that it did indeed have a lift. We've (by we, I mean my hubby) has gotten really good at modifications..fog light brackets, grill guarge, hitch.



I love the look though.
 

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