A couple body lift questions

[easnoddy]

#1 - How much do I torque those body mount bolts? The instructions do not mention torque and I haven't checked my Hanes manual yet, but my guess is that it won't be there.

#2 - What are the "proper" bolt lengths for a 2" body lift on a 97? Everyone mentions getting new bolts but noone says what size they got.

#3 - My kit did not come with fan shroud drop brackets so I will have to fab them. It did come with this weird 6" long corner bracket with 4 holes in it that is not mentioned in the instructions...what is it?

 

[Redrig]

I didnt install mine but ill try to help you out.

1) I dont know what to torque them at but the shop made me bring mine back in after a week or 2 for retightening. So if ya cant find the specs id just tighten them pretty tight and recheck them later.

2) Not sure on this one either but I would just take a stock one out and get your bolts 2 inches longer than that one.

3) Could that bracket be for your emergency brake cable?

 

[rino351]

1) I dont know-
2) Not sure on this one either-
3) Could that bracket be for your emergency brake cable?

I'm sure that helped out alot!
LOL

 

[Redrig]

I'm sure that helped out alot!
LOL

LoL I know But I thought they were pretty good suggestions. What do you suggest?

 

[hit_that]

i can guarantee that bracket is for your e-brake

 

[Stic-o]

Alrighty...

1. Not sure But don't over tighten them like I did and strip out the threads

2. Just take the old bolts and add three inches (or 2 for a 2" BL) I think the longest one go to the back and they get smaller on the way up.

3. I did not adjust the radiator or fan shroud. I just cut the bottom half off. No problems with cooling.

There is no extentions needed on E-brake, gas lines or anything else. Hope this helps

 

[jimbo74]

my trucks a yota, but from my research, nobody really lists what a proper torque is for body bolts... but from the research i have done, the conscenus is not a lot is required, due to the fact that the bolts are huge at that point to begin with, i think the bolts i used on my bl are 1/2" bolts and the spec i found for them from an engineer that makes his own bl locally to me said 27 ft/lbs

www.4crawler.com his site is based towards the toyota line, but he does have instructions for pickups and suvs and they should be pretty universal.... he also does other makes models too and can custom make stuff

 

[section525]

I need lift lips

 

[jimbo74]

that is too funny, section525

 

[pat0046]

does anyone know where i can get a 2 or 3 inch body lift for a 95 ford explorer xlt

 

[nitefish12]

So when buying/installing a BL, theres more to it than just installing the parts? Will the instructions that come with the kit include the descriptions of the changes you'd have to make to your fan stuff, e-brake, and steering?

 

[easnoddy]

There's A LOT more than just installing the parts unfortunately. We got the pucks in pretty quickly with the help of an impact wrench but spent a good deal of time on the fan shroud and front bumper. The rear bumper still isn't lifted. here are the bolts I used for a 2" kit:

Front: 12 x 150 mm, class 10.9 bolts - perfect fit!
Front Interior: Original Rear Body mount bolts. Not sure how long they were.
Behind front seat: 12 x 120 mm class 12.9 bolts with alan heads and 8-grade washers
Behind rear seat: 12 x 120 mm class 12.9 bolts with alan heads and 8-grade washers
Rear: 12 x 160 mm 8.8 bolts that came with the kit

So my bolts are stronger but I had to use 4 different types. These were IMPOSSIBLE to find which was why I was looking on here for the proper length so I could get them ahead of time. Home Depot and Lowe's did NOT have anything like what I wanted. I had to find a local industrial bolt and nut place to find big, strong metric bolts.

My front bumper is a little crooked, but I will fix it in a couple weeks. Luckily I had access to sawsall's and drills and dremels and cutting wheels and welders, etc. The fan shroud relocation took a bit and was hard to do with the dremel and the fact my kit didn't include the upper relocation brackets. We used a couple zip-ties to get the AC hose out of the way of the serpentine belt. We had to cut the fan shroud to fit the transmission lines.

 

[nitefish12]

"Luckily I had access to sawsall's and drills and dremels and cutting wheels and welders, etc."

:are these things you must have in order to complete a BL the right way or best way? How long did it take for you to get all that done?

 

[easnoddy]

:are these things you must have in order to complete a BL the right way or best way? How long did it take for you to get all that done?

Well, In order to raise the bumpers, there's no way I can see not using some big power tools. Maybe some people had useful brackets, but mine sure weren't. We had to cut a little on the front bumper and we welded and drilled a little too.

In just doing the lift, no, you need nothing other than the pucks, bolts and washers, a jack, and a socket wrench with at least a 3" extension or deep sockets.

After the lift your main concern is the radiator fan shroud. We could not get my fan off (we had a mechanic with us) so we did all the work with it in place. We cut the bottom tabs off of it with a dremel. We had to fab top and bottom brackets (most kits come with them, mine didn't). We had to tie off the AC hose and just yesterday I had to put a piece of tubing between my tranny lines and the AC hose (so they didn't burn a hole in it). The fan shround and front bumper took the most time. We still haven't done the rear bumper.

Of course I am one of the first to get 33"s on with a 2" body lift and TT/shackles so we had to do a good bit of cutting in the back of the wheel-well. I need to go about 1/2"-3/4" more on my TT with new bolts and to put on my AAL. I'll do this when I fix my bumpers.

 

[nitefish12]

your making me nervous

 

[easnoddy]

If you don't care about lifting your bumpers, it much easier. Like I said, you really need a socket wrench (torque wrench would be good as well), metric and standard sockets, a tire iron, a lift kit, 2-3 zip ties, a hacksaw and a big jack. That is all it takes to lift the truck 2-3" depending on the kit. Once it's up the things you need to work on will become evident.

If you are NOT lifting the bumpers you won't need the big drills, saws, fabricating brackets, etc.

There are some prep steps that you should do that are in the kit. There is a good resource on this site that I followed while doing the lift.

Getting the bolts out and putting in the pucks is pretty easy with a big jack. An impact wrench definitely helps here though. Makes things less strenuous and quicker...it is not necessary though.

The zip ties will pull your AC line out of the way...easy.

The radiator fan shroud is plastic and basically keeps anything from hitting the fan. You will have to trim off the 2 lower tabs with a hacksaw. You will have to drill new holes in the supplied brackets from the kit most likely in order to drop the shroud a safe distance. I dropped mine more than most do and had to cut one of the upper plastic tabs and make a new bracket. There is a bottom bracket that is supplied with the kit that you should be able to use. You will have to drill a small hole in the bottom of the shroud. Then you will need to cut a little tab out of it so your radiator cooling lines will snap back into place.

Overall it's pretty striaghtforward for the 2" lift. Be careful though.

 

[DirtDemon85]

ok ive just one question, i just installed a 3" b/l on my 01' sport, everything worked out well just once i was done and went to start the motor i noticed the AC hose is now rubbing on the Belt, is there anyway to relocate, or possably sheild it? thanks i know its a tough question cause not many ppl have done a body lift on the sport/ sport trac but i think everything is in the same location as the 2nd gens in the motor compartment

 

[nissanboy]

tie the line off to something with some big zip ties... and do it quickly or you will end up with NO A/C cause it will rub through. i didnt notice this till i had no AC at all.

 

[chico]

The bracket is the e-brake and I also had to do some cutting and drilling on my rear bumper and some drilling on the front bumper. Also if you have a oil cooler up front watch out for those lines. Good thing though .. I didn't have a problem with my steering.

 

[DirtDemon85]

Alright its been a while, i had it zip tied and all but after offroading one fatefull day the zip ties snapped w/out me knowing it until it was too late... Anyone know how much it is to get fixed? if not what about doing it myself is there any special kinda hose or just disconnect the current one and take it 2 the auto parts store to have them match it... Im at a loss... just did my tints and i cant open the windows and its freakin 80 degrees in my car lol well any help would be greatly apriciated