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
This is on a 2001 Sport Trac 8 point body kit
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:
Amazon.com: Zone Offroad Bulk 3" Tall x 3" Wide Body Lift Block: Automotive
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:
View attachment 318495
View attachment 318496
View attachment 318497
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
