How to: 3rd Gen BODY LIFT. Install. | Ford Explorer Forums - Serious Explorations

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RoadBully

Explorer Addict
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January 8, 2008
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City, State
Saint John, NB
Year, Model & Trim Level
Explorer XLS '02
Ok, Finally did it.
I ordered a Performance accessories body lift, Part number 883, for a 98-00 Ranger.
The front bumper brackets were useful, we only had to expand the slots slightly to have it line up properly.
frontbracket.jpg

Frontend.jpg

The other modification needed was to the front mounts themselves, they are threaded half way though and have a nut on the end of the bolts, the new bolds that are sent with the kit are only threaded at the end, So I had to grind the threads out of the middle section of the mount to allow the bolt to pass though.
Frontmount.jpg

mount1.jpg

I don't have a picture of it, but I needed to trim 3 inches off of the bottom of the fan shroud, as of course the motor doesn't lift, but the fan shroud does.
Then we of course undid all of the body mounts, took off one side completely, and left one side loose, but still attached.
removal.jpg

They were accessible under the carpet, under the drivers and passenger foot area, just behind the front seats, and beside the rear seats, then in the rear as the picture above, as well as at the very front under the bumper cover.
Picture040.jpg

We jacked up half of the truck, installed the blocks and started all of the bolts,
bolts1.jpg

Once that was done, we jacked up the other side and installed those as well.
Torqued them all down at once, replaced the carpet and trim.
After all of the body mounts were tight and trim replaced we focused on the bumper brackets.
The front one was great out of the kit, just a bit of grinding to make it fit.
But the rear bracket was useless, So we made that from scratch at my friends machine shop.
Unfortunately 50 of the pictures we took were corrupted on the camera.
After that of course you've got your steering extension and you're good to go.
The steering extension will work, but is a bit thick and does not slide over easily,
we just ground a bit off of it to make it slide into and over the steering shaft at both ends,
the bolt holes lined up and that was that.
Hope this helps guys, It feels great to finally have it done. :thumbsup:

Cheers


Ben.
 



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I say RoadBully gets ELITE status for AWHILE.:thumbsup::thumbsup:

You are badass dude.
 






I say RoadBully gets ELITE status for AWHILE.:thumbsup::thumbsup:

You are badass dude.

Thanks man,
Hope the write up helps people out, I may have missed some things, and sorry there's so few pictures, but If you guys have any questions, don't hesitate to ask.





Ben.
 






When you get time tell about the steering. Anything have to be modified for the steering or pretty much like installing on a ranger? And the brake lines?
 






dude, that is sick! i want to put a body lift on mine too but I definity dont have the time or money... Do you have any pictures of the finished product?
 












When you get time tell about the steering. Anything have to be modified for the steering or pretty much like installing on a ranger? And the brake lines?

Steering was routine, and there was enough length in the brake lines. :thumbsup:
 






so it was really just that simple? lift one side, put in blocks, lift the other, put in blocks and then just put in the steering extension?

also i'm guessing towing would be out of the question on the stock hitch
 






custom fabricated the rear bumper brackets I made them very heavy duty, and am sure I can still tow with the stock hitch.
plus I had to modify the fan shroud, and trim the front brackets a bit,
but yeah, that's pretty much it.
 






sorry for all the questions haha

but i have one more..do you just need to make a bracket to move up the hitch , or do you need it to actually mount the plastic part of the bumper? Thats my only worry is that i have no way of fabbing a bracket up for the rear, but i could deal with the hitch being a few inches lower than the bumper for a little bit
 






sorry for all the questions haha

but i have one more..do you just need to make a bracket to move up the hitch , or do you need it to actually mount the plastic part of the bumper? Thats my only worry is that i have no way of fabbing a bracket up for the rear, but i could deal with the hitch being a few inches lower than the bumper for a little bit


you could leave the hitch where it is, but you'd haveto cut the bottom out of your plastic part for it to clear.
 






Absolutely Fantastic!! How did the paint come out on the plastic fender moldings/bumpers etc? That is the 1st gen3 I have ever seen lifted, and it looks awesome!!
 






The paint is still holding up well, I should sand it down and redo it, because I was impatient at first and had a few runs, but as whole it looks alot better than gray.
Thanks for the comments, I like the x SOOOOO much better now that it's lifted. :)


Ben
 






...Great writeup...:thumbsup:..and yes, include the steering extension...I just added this to my "how to" list in my signature...:D

...EDIT:

...Ad maybe a before and after side pic would be helpful to those looking to do the same..:dunno:
 






would love to see the finished product:thumbsup:

:( I would so love to do a double SAS:D
 












Very nice:thumbsup: Just can't stand the frame showing:thumbdwn::(
 






yeah, nothing I can do about that though.
 






Yeah I know.. I didn't like the frame showing when I had the BL on my 2nd gen. and the 3rd gens show more then that from the factory.
 



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Yeah, I removed that sticker on the frame, and am going to repaint it so that it won't be quite so easy to see.
 






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