How to: 1.5" body lift for less than $50

[Brutality]

For the 1.5" you don't need an extension.

I'm really thinking about just cutting these down, and making them work that way.

 

[HiImBrian]

Do it.

 

[Brutality]

Just got some 265/70/17 geolander MTs so its gonna happen!

 

[rangermidtn]

Just to let everybody know, you can fit 2" blocks on the explorer. You will have to do a little trimming on the rear. The front you will need to make a bracket to lift it. No problems with anything else, will post a pic later.

 

[Mr Dubya]

How does the steering shaft feel about this?

 

[rangermidtn]

How does the steering shaft feel about this?

No problem with the shaft.

 

[Mr Dubya]

No problem with the shaft.

Meaning no extension bracket required?

 

[rangermidtn]

Meaning no extension bracket required?

No extension needed.

 

[Mr Dubya]

No extension needed.

That's good news

 

[michaelkill4]

Body lift was fairly easy for me. Did the whole thing myself after a couple beverages. Spinning puck was a ..... but figured out how to keep it from spinning. Got my new wheels and tires too!

 

[97Mounty97]

okay I know this is an old thread but will this work on my 97 mountaineer??? I would really like to do this

 

[97Mounty97]

So does anyone know if this will work on a 97?

 

[Ronin8002]

So does anyone know if this will work on a 97?

You might just order the PA-883 3" kit (or the Summit Racing knockoff version which is a good deal cheaper). That way you'll have whatever brackets you need and can modify them for the 1.5" lift if they are required. Or you could just do the 3" body lift.

Anything you don't end up using you can just sell.

 

[97Mounty97]

You might just order the PA-883 3" kit (or the Summit Racing knockoff version which is a good deal cheaper). That way you'll have whatever brackets you need and can modify them for the 1.5" lift if they are required. Or you could just do the 3" body lift.

Anything you don't end up using you can just sell.

Alright thank youq

 

[XLTDONUT]

1.5 lift..request for lynchywa

hi everyone....just joined after reading about 1.5 lift....excellent,would love some more info before i start...also as im in perth wa...would like to be able to contact lynchy down in albany if thats possible....cheers:my ride is 2005 ut xlt explorer

 

[lynchy wa]

Hey mate, I got a 1.5" body lift kit that Ronin sent me a while ago....(Yeah mate, I know I'm a slow worker )

Email me that addy Steve and I'll post it up to you.

G'day to everyone I aint spoke to for awhile and really hope you're all going well.

 

[MRay061]

So Ive read over this post and haven't seen anything where it explains what to do with the front bumper ?

On the 3" body lift you need to use the relocation brackets, the original post says you won't need that. So what do you need ? What modification has to be made ? I've been scratching my head about this and don't want to start the lift without this knowledge.

Sorry if it's been covered, but like I said I haven't seen it, hopefully I didn't scroll past it.

Anyone?

 

[edmundotrd]

suspension mod spects?

what kind of lift you did ?
what size are your tires ? are you running wheels spacer ? sorry, but I just install 3" body lift kit I got my new rims and I'm planning to run 285/75R16 , just looking info and some onat that has the same mods like me, thks

Body lift was fairly easy for me. Did the whole thing myself after a couple beverages. Spinning puck was a ..... but figured out how to keep it from spinning. Got my new wheels and tires too!

 

[FirefighterJose]

I would love to do this, I don't have a lift but the 20" wheels I have give it more ground clearance...

**I DID NOT BUY THESE WHEELS. THEY CAME WITH THE EXPLORER**

So I figure with some off road wheels in the same 20" with more rubber it'll be looking
pretty good, and then a 1.5BL on top of that might make it look like a larger lift.
Only issue is I'm 2wd.

Stock for stock but my bigger wheels make it look like a slight lift. Is
there any confirmation cutting them at 2" will still make everything work without any kind of modifications aside from the radiator shroud.

 

[ezg594]

A few people have been asking me about where to get a 1.5" body lift. I PMd another member this information but I figured other people could benefit too. Thanks to JSHaag for being the first one to show that this one works: http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showpost.php?p=2479410&postcount=356

When i did the 1.5" body lift, the lift blocks came out the PA-883 kit. It's not necessary to buy that kit to do a 1.5" body lift though, since you really don't need the brackets and steering shaft extension.

It's pretty simple, really, and should cost you around 50 bucks at most.

You'll need 5, 3" tall by 3" wide body lift blocks, available here:

http://www.amazon.com/Zone-Offroad-Bulk-Tall-Block/dp/B0021IAOQE

Once you get those, you'll need to take a band saw or a miter saw and cut them in half. There's a nice casting line at the halfway point on the plastic blocks you can use as a guide. If you don't have access to one of those power saws you could also put the blocks in a vise and use a hacksaw or something.

Anyway when you cut those blocks in half, you now have 10 1.5" blocks, which is the number you need.

Now for the bolts. There are 5 pairs of bolts/mounts; I'm going to call them by a letter to make it easier to explain.

A= the pair of mounts at the very front of the truck
B= the pair of mounts in the foot area of the driver and front passenger seats
C= the pair of mounts behind the front two seats
D= the pair of mounts just underneath the rear seats
E= the pair of mounts at the very back of the truck under the liftgate

Your factory body mount bolts are for the most part too short to use once the lift blocks are in place. They are all different lengths so some of the longer ones will be re-used for different places in the truck. Some you will have to buy, however. I used www.boltdepot.com since they were hard to find at any local hardware store. If you don't use Bolt Depot make sure to use Grade 8 bolts for the best strength. Here's what you can re-use and what you need to order:

A= You'll need to order 2 replacements, but save the old ones. The new size is 12mm x 1.75 x 120mm. Bolt depot part number is 6135. If you don't use Bolt Depot make sure to get ones that are threaded for the whole length (this is for the front only, the rest can just have the end threaded).

B= You'll need to order 2 replacements, but save the old ones. The new size is 12mm x 1.75 x 150mm. Bolt depot part number is 6274.

C= You can re-use the old "A" bolts you took from the very front here.

D= You can re-use the old "B" bolts you took from the front seat foot area here.

E= You'll need to order 2 replacements. You don't need to save the old ones unless you want them later to go back to stock if you have to. The size is 12mm x 1.75 x 130mm.

So again, you're re-using 4 bolts and buying 6.

That's all you need for parts. It'll be about 15 bucks plus shipping for the bolts and about 19 bucks plus shipping for the lift blocks.

The installation steps are otherwise very similar as the 3" body lift, which is in 2 parts in these two threads:
http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showpost.php?p=2395137&postcount=342

http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showpost.php?p=2395138&postcount=343

With the following exceptions:

-No steering extension or bumper brackets are needed.

-For the rear bumper cover, the metal part of the bumper will touch the bumper once the lift is in, so you need to trim some of the plastic on the underside of the bumper to allow the metal part to clear

-For the fan shroud, the lower fan shroud will need to be trimmed a bit (about an inch or so) on the inside curve so the fan doesn't rub on it.

One more thing, make sure you disconnect the steering shaft and lower fan shroud before you jack the body up to insert the lift blocks. Otherwise you might damage your steering system or your fan.

Here are a few pics of my truck with 265/75/16 tires and when it had just the 1.5" lift installed:

For those people who needed to know the bolt lengths (if they didn't want to re-use some of their factory bolts), here are ALL the bolt lengths needed to complete the lift (thanks Lynchy):

A- 120 mm
B- 150 mm
C- 110 mm
D- 120 mm
E- 130 mm

hi everyone. can i ask someone here if this method is applicable to a 2001-2002 explorer sport trac 4x4?
i just realised that this is the perfect lift height for my needs.