So this weekend I set aside both Saturday and Sunday to do my 3" body lift from performance accesories.
I just wanted to share my experiences so that others doing the same may benefit. I read the instructions prior to doing the lift, made sure I had everything I figured I would need. I would like to point out that I live up north in Canada, Vancouver to be exact where we get tons of rain, snow and salt. Being that the case is why I planned on "additional work" caused by broken bolts and rusted components. I soaked the bolts a few times a week or so prior, more than once in the days that followed as well.
Taking the bumpers off was pretty simple, impact gun makes short work of the bolts. Few minutes and both bumpers were laying on the garage floor in the "put these back on pile". Battery out, air intake tube off, checked all wires and hoses. Unclipped tranny cooler lines checked them all for slack and play. Disconnected emergency brake cable. Rusted a little, came apart pretty easy. The two body mount bolts up front came off with ease. You don't need to hold the nut throught the hole in the front clip, you can access it from underneath and behind with a box end wrench. Took steering linkage apart. Went inside to do interior body mounts and where the real fun begins. Started passenger side foot well and behind seat came out easily with impact gun. Next one was really tough, required a 1/2" drive flexbar and a piece of pipe on it. Rear passenger side bolt snapped like a twig, so did the driver side one.....awesome. Then the mount above the gas tank snapped......that was a real moment of cursing. Knowing full well, now the gas tank comes out.....joy. Ok 7/10 bolts were ok, 3 snapped. Not too bad, I have an angle grinder
If this happens to you, you can neatly grind that big square nut off, cutting flush with the plate on all 4 sides you can neatly cut it off. After that you can pull the remaining piece and nut out leaving the mount behind. Mine have rusted threads but the mounts are pretty solid and so is the rubber and plates. I ran a drill bit through the mounts and the bolts dropped right through. Lifting the truck and installing the blocks is very simple, one side then the other. At this point you get to see what it looks like lifted and get all excited as I did. 
Tightened all bolts, used nuts and washers on both rear most mounts since the originals were broken. Re-installed gas tank, re-mounted fan shroud which was easy the brackets actually work properly, put everything under the hood back together and interior. Pulling the carpet back is a must so the kickplates all come off around the doors. Put emergency brake cable back on. Note here, the instructions lack a proper drawing or explanation for this. I figured it out, which worked in the way the bracket seems to be intended to and works well. However the little blurb in the instructions is useless. So all buttoned up, everything is done minus the bumpers at which point I am thinking I am pretty home free right, haha no. I checked the brackets with all the hardware and the stock bumper mounting gear. The hole sizes and locations don't match up and the brackets are at best made of 3/16s plate steel, instead of 5/16s or 3/8s which would be alot sturdier. I run a laser cutting machine at work and have all the means to make some new, far superior plates. The rear bumper the bracket holes needed reaming to accept the stock bolts, as well as my bumper needed some tidy cutting in 2 places to clear the frame rails and brackets. The front bumper bolts actually fit so that was a little plus, however the bumper is just slightly angled without any grinding or mods, so it too will need some grinding. It was getting late so I left that to mess with one of the days this week. It's more of a picky ass thing I know isn't perfect and see immediatley more so than others notice.
All in all it was a good handful of work. Lots of laying under the truck. Plenty of heavy wrenching by hand and using air tools. Some grinding will likely be inevitable, more so the more bolts break off on you. It took me 2 days, probably 14 or so hours of working time to complete the job (I know a californian vehicle takes half the time with no rust). It looks good and feels solid when I drive. No major problems. I am super happy with it, despite the hiccups along the way. After all that is what customizing is partly about, extra work! ha ha! I finished and it was pitch black out, so I haven't taken any pictures. I will post some if I can.
I just wanted to share my experiences so that others doing the same may benefit. I read the instructions prior to doing the lift, made sure I had everything I figured I would need. I would like to point out that I live up north in Canada, Vancouver to be exact where we get tons of rain, snow and salt. Being that the case is why I planned on "additional work" caused by broken bolts and rusted components. I soaked the bolts a few times a week or so prior, more than once in the days that followed as well.
Taking the bumpers off was pretty simple, impact gun makes short work of the bolts. Few minutes and both bumpers were laying on the garage floor in the "put these back on pile". Battery out, air intake tube off, checked all wires and hoses. Unclipped tranny cooler lines checked them all for slack and play. Disconnected emergency brake cable. Rusted a little, came apart pretty easy. The two body mount bolts up front came off with ease. You don't need to hold the nut throught the hole in the front clip, you can access it from underneath and behind with a box end wrench. Took steering linkage apart. Went inside to do interior body mounts and where the real fun begins. Started passenger side foot well and behind seat came out easily with impact gun. Next one was really tough, required a 1/2" drive flexbar and a piece of pipe on it. Rear passenger side bolt snapped like a twig, so did the driver side one.....awesome. Then the mount above the gas tank snapped......that was a real moment of cursing. Knowing full well, now the gas tank comes out.....joy. Ok 7/10 bolts were ok, 3 snapped. Not too bad, I have an angle grinder
If this happens to you, you can neatly grind that big square nut off, cutting flush with the plate on all 4 sides you can neatly cut it off. After that you can pull the remaining piece and nut out leaving the mount behind. Mine have rusted threads but the mounts are pretty solid and so is the rubber and plates. I ran a drill bit through the mounts and the bolts dropped right through. Lifting the truck and installing the blocks is very simple, one side then the other. At this point you get to see what it looks like lifted and get all excited as I did. Tightened all bolts, used nuts and washers on both rear most mounts since the originals were broken. Re-installed gas tank, re-mounted fan shroud which was easy the brackets actually work properly, put everything under the hood back together and interior. Pulling the carpet back is a must so the kickplates all come off around the doors. Put emergency brake cable back on. Note here, the instructions lack a proper drawing or explanation for this. I figured it out, which worked in the way the bracket seems to be intended to and works well. However the little blurb in the instructions is useless. So all buttoned up, everything is done minus the bumpers at which point I am thinking I am pretty home free right, haha no. I checked the brackets with all the hardware and the stock bumper mounting gear. The hole sizes and locations don't match up and the brackets are at best made of 3/16s plate steel, instead of 5/16s or 3/8s which would be alot sturdier. I run a laser cutting machine at work and have all the means to make some new, far superior plates. The rear bumper the bracket holes needed reaming to accept the stock bolts, as well as my bumper needed some tidy cutting in 2 places to clear the frame rails and brackets. The front bumper bolts actually fit so that was a little plus, however the bumper is just slightly angled without any grinding or mods, so it too will need some grinding. It was getting late so I left that to mess with one of the days this week. It's more of a picky ass thing I know isn't perfect and see immediatley more so than others notice. All in all it was a good handful of work. Lots of laying under the truck. Plenty of heavy wrenching by hand and using air tools. Some grinding will likely be inevitable, more so the more bolts break off on you. It took me 2 days, probably 14 or so hours of working time to complete the job (I know a californian vehicle takes half the time with no rust). It looks good and feels solid when I drive. No major problems. I am super happy with it, despite the hiccups along the way. After all that is what customizing is partly about, extra work! ha ha! I finished and it was pitch black out, so I haven't taken any pictures. I will post some if I can.
