How to: - 1.5" body lift for less than $50 | Page 6 | Ford Explorer Forums - Serious Explorations

  • Register Today It's free!

Prefix for threads which are instructional.
I do have a fairly large gap from my hitch to the bumper. Kinda looks goofy. Dont like it but only way is to cut and weld a seperate bracket to lift it. But Im also thinking about re-routing the exhaust in the hole to make it a little cleaner.
 



Join the Elite Explorers for $20 each year.
Elite Explorer members see no advertisements, no banner ads, no double underlined links,.
Add an avatar, upload photo attachments, and more!
.





But Im also thinking about re-routing the exhaust in the hole to make it a little cleaner.

dual tips exiting above the hitch? that would look pretty good. they'd probably have to be flush or inset so you don't burn yourself on them
 






I do have a fairly large gap from my hitch to the bumper. Kinda looks goofy. Dont like it but only way is to cut and weld a seperate bracket to lift it. But Im also thinking about re-routing the exhaust in the hole to make it a little cleaner.

You did the 3" lift though right? the gap from the 1.5" is not that bad.

the bracket approach works well, but obviously for the 4th gens its a lot more work.
 






You did the 3" lift though right? the gap from the 1.5" is not that bad.

the bracket approach works well, but obviously for the 4th gens its a lot more work.



yea i did the 3" lift. Took about 9 hours. Some mods required. Yea to make it work i would have to cut the whole hitch off and make a bracket and weld it in. PIA if you ask me.
 






dual tips exiting above the hitch? that would look pretty good. they'd probably have to be flush or inset so you don't burn yourself on them

Yea Im almost positive Ill do that. But ill have to also move the wires that are zip tied to the hitch so they dont melt. Which isnt a big deal. But I dont have true duals. So I might do one rectangular pipe out or buy a single in dual out rectangle kinda like the corvette has the double pipes on each side.. But rectangle. Just so it fits. Ill go shopping and see what I can come up with.

Any one know if there are any ill effects from removing the resonator from the rear exhaust? Does it make it louder or cause it to trip some codes?
 






Nice write up! Might do this in the near future!
 






did the exhaust re-routing. Not totally happy with it. The pipes arent thick enough so it doesnt really look like anything is there. So ill shop around for beefier ones. But for now i like it. It gets my exhaust out of the way and its something I dont see on vehicles.
 






did the exhaust re-routing. Not totally happy with it. The pipes arent thick enough so it doesnt really look like anything is there. So ill shop around for beefier ones. But for now i like it. It gets my exhaust out of the way and its something I dont see on vehicles.

exhaust re routing?
 






yea from where it sits stock to the hole where my body lift is in the hitch. Need thicker exhaust pipes.

exhaustdone.jpg


crooked in pic but recently got it fixed
 






I am going to install a 1.5" BL this weekend. It sure would be nice to have a list of needed tools...I don't want to get knee deep into it and realize I don't have a tool I needed. Thanks in advance for any help anyone can provide.
 






-Floor jack
-Socket and ratchet set (regular and deep) with 1/2 and 3/8 sockets and extensions
-1/2" Breaker bar
-Oil Filter Vice Grips from harbor freight http://www.harborfreight.com/locking-oil-filter-wrench-66568.html
-PB Blaster or WD 40
-Block of wood to put between floor jack and the body so you can jack up each side
-Dremel tool to cut fan shroud
-Flat/phillips Screw drivers
 






-Floor jack
-Socket and ratchet set (regular and deep) with 1/2 and 3/8 sockets and extensions
-1/2" Breaker bar
-Oil Filter Vice Grips from harbor freight http://www.harborfreight.com/locking-oil-filter-wrench-66568.html
-PB Blaster or WD 40
-Block of wood to put between floor jack and the body so you can jack up each side
-Dremel tool to cut fan shroud
-Flat/phillips Screw drivers

Great! Thanks for the quick response. I plan to install this weekend. This will definitely help...now if I can get all the XLT trim off for paint, I will be in good shape!
 






Started the BL yesterday and man were my bolts rusted. The front two just broke right off with out too much effort, so now I need to buy 2 more bolts since I was supposed to reuse those. What length should I buy to replace them? They were the "A'' bolts that were going to be reused in the "C" mounts.
 






Nvm. I got the bolts. Luckily my local hardware store had a few sizes to choose from. Finally finished with everything today and it looks great. :thumbsup:
Now all I need to do is get some bigger tires.
 






pictures?
 






Okay, I got my body blocks and have cut them to 1.5" size. I bought all my grade 10 bolts at Westlake hardware and I am ready to tackle this project this weekend...now that it is not 115 degrees.

Question: I want to paint all the gray XLT trim on my Ex, where is the best place to find "removal instructions". I don't want to break any of the tabs and/or bend them. I did paint my grill all black last weekend with some Krylon Fusion paint...holding up pretty well.

Any last minute advice before I install my 1.5" BL? I think I am going to try and tackle the front with an impact...will post before and after pics.
 






As long as youve got a full can of elbow grease, liquid wrench, and that locking oil filter wrench it should go pretty smooth.

As for removing the trim, I haven't been able to find a write up, most people tape off their whole truck and paint it while its still attached

Good luck!
 






so what would be all the sizes of the bolts needed if i wanted to replace all the bolts just to be on the safe side from rusted bolts?
 






I noticed that this lift is being done to a regular Explorer. Will it work on the Sport Trac, and if so is everything the same?
 



Join the Elite Explorers for $20 each year.
Elite Explorer members see no advertisements, no banner ads, no double underlined links,.
Add an avatar, upload photo attachments, and more!
.





As long as youve got a full can of elbow grease, liquid wrench, and that locking oil filter wrench it should go pretty smooth.

As for removing the trim, I haven't been able to find a write up, most people tape off their whole truck and paint it while its still attached

Good luck!

What's the locking wrench for could I get by with reachover channellocks?
 






Back
Top