Putting on a 3 inch body lift.

[Colin2722]

Alright so this is my first time doing any sort of lift and with the help of a friend after 5 hours we have finally gotten 3 of the 5 body mounts off of the drivers side. Question. how do i get the mount off that is located above the gas tank? and the front mount for the bumper is stripped so what would a solution be for that? thanks for any input.

Colin

 

[jaschlum]

suscribing.. you could try cutting off the bolts. ive heard some people resort to doing that..

 

[yostyexplorer94]

It makes it much easier to remove the gas tank. Then you can hit the nut on the bottom with some heat, and hit the bolt with the impact. Best of luck, I know I had loads of fun with my body lift

 

[nitro71]

I ended up using a 2-3' pipe wrench and a impact gun to get one of the fronts off. Think I ground the other one off. Can't remember.

 

[Colin2722]

after ten hours im at fronts off, rears off, drivers off(without droping the tank) and two passenger side mounts loose. i ended up cutting off both of the fronts because it turns out that they both have a nut on top and since the bushing is threaded it also acts as a nut which sucks. the three that are left on the passanger side are not rounding off at the top but arent getting any looser while their spining.

 

[jaschlum]

hey man, hows it going?

 

[Colin2722]

alright after about 14 hours of labor ive gotten all the mounts off but the kit that i got did not come with the right sized bolts. do not order anything from streetsideauto.com because the customer service is crap and the box looked like it was being held together by tape. I called performance accesories and they are sending me a new set of bolts and nuts so i hope to be working on it again by friday. Ill keep updating.

 

[gmanpaint]

The kits are for Rangers and the bolts that come with the kits dont all work on an Ex. The ranger has more body mounts because of the bed.

You can use some of your old bolts if they are still good. I think, (been awhile)The bolts from the rear cargo area can be used for the middle mounts, and for the front two bolts I went to John Deer dealership and got grade 10.9 -165mm bolts with large fender washers to replace the ones I cut off and trashed after a good fight, but I won, they lost...LOL

 

[Colin2722]

no the kit they sent only had 7 bolts, no nuts for the brackets hardwear, but i already talked to performance accesories and they are shipping some out for me. i was wondering if anyoe had a solution for the exposed radiator hoses behind the bumper. i like the mean look without the front bumper but i want to cover the bottom part up with something. im on a budget

 

[tweakedlogic]

How about a cheap skid plate?
Did you use the steering and/or shifter extension? I'm just wondering. I have a 3" kit with no extensions.

 

[Colin2722]

well like i said at the moment my process is kind of at a standstill because of not having any bolts but i was also wondering about my steering. how is it without any extensions? does it bind at all and how do you disconnect the parking brake. also what else do i need to disconnect and how do you drop the fan shroud?

 

[nitro71]

I had to put some stacks of washers on my bolts when I put them in for the body lift. Can't remember which ones. Think the back ones.

You have to use the steering extension.

You have to drop the fan shroud. Think there's two screws on top holding it in. Maybe something on the bottom. Put the new brackets on. Put the shroud on. Bend the bottom brack piece till you get it where you like it and bolt it on to something on the bottom.

I can't quite recall how to loosen the parking brake. Think you hand torque it over on the drivers side kick panel then put a screw driver or allen wrench in to take the stress off the cable. After that it's not to bad to relocate it.

 

[gmanpaint]

For the parking brake, just separate the cables in the middle of the truck. After you look at it, you will see what I mean. Then after you attach the drop bracket from the kit, re-attach it.

On a 2nd gen, There are 4 drop brackets for the radiator. 2 rectangle, and 2 tabs. Tabs on top, rectangles on bottom. An easy way to rectify the shroud is to cut it in half (across) and attach both halves to the stock locations. On a 1st gen, there are 2 flat drop brackets on top, and you install a single bracket to the core support in the middle attached to the shroud.

I would definitely run a steering ext for a 3" body lift. You can make your own if your a good welder/fabricator. They are available to purchase individually.
They are expensive being a completely machined part.
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/PRA-SE3500/

I wouldn't worry about the shifter extension at all, but if you have to have it....
http://www.my4by.com/body-lift-manu....html?osCsid=0f19b1523f9332113c9199e5990e52ae

Just make sure you remove the connector for the shift cable on the firewall, unplug the harness for the Transfercase/trans, all the ground straps on body mounts and firewall. Only do 1 side at a time so the body don't get separated from the frame and falls off.
Use 2x4 lumber to fit in the body cavities (in center of rig) on top of your floor jacks to lift for puck placement. Best to have another person when doing this job for safety reasons.

 

[nitro71]

Be very careful putting the new lift pieces in. You should put a block in when you have your hand in there putting it in place. If it comes off the jack you lose your hand.

 

[Colin2722]

well ive been reading alot of threads and many people have not put on a steering extension and have been fine. my rear bumper is not really wanting to come off so im thinking about just leaving it at stock hight and just having a three inch gap. that wouldnt bother me so much. as of now im still waiting on a new set of bolts and hardwear but that should be in sometime this week along with my new copperhead shackles. after painting them they will be going on as well. ill then have 5 inches in the back and 3 in the front until i get new springs and coil seats for another 1.5'' in the front.

 

[yostyexplorer94]

You need the extension. When I did mine I couldn't see how you could go without it. I did have some binding in my steering after the body lift..... I had to move the plate that holds the steering shaft in the firewall down until the binding stopped and re secured it with self tapping metal screws. Someone in the forum did this too because that's where I got the idea from. I searched my heart out to find the answer to the binding. The end result was I had a little gap at the top of it that I filled with rtv sealant. No problems yet!

Also if you don't want to spend $$$ on springs, you could use 3" diameter washers from tractor supply company or your local hardware store to lift the front end. I stacked mine up 1" high under the coil seats, but I think you can go up to 1.5". I did that and wheeled it without problems. Of course you might get more flex out of the lift coil springs but idk if it is enough to justify the cost. I couldn't justify the cost but my lockers would take over when I was all flexed out and kept me wheeling right along!

 

[gmanpaint]

Some slide the shaft apart, drill a hole, and add a bolt and lock nut to extend it, but I don't know how safe that is. But I believe that is safer than not having anything holding the shafts together.

 

[Colin2722]

thank you everyone for all this help. another question. the front bushings when i was trying to take them off stripped so i ended up cutting and grinding them off. do you need the funnel shaped piece for the lift or would it be alright to just go but a nut to go on top?

 

[nitro71]

Can't quite remember how I did it but some large washers and lock nuts should be fine. Get some grade 5 stuff and you're good to go. Check out a place like Fasteners or such. They usually have a good selection and won't break the bank.

 

[Colin2722]

alright after three hours tonight i finally got all the blocks in place. i ended up cutting off the fan shroud because it was being pulled up by my radiator hoses. ill put some pictures up later. all i have left is to tighten everything down and relocate the parking brake. On that note, i got the brake loosened but i can not for the life of me figure out how to remount it. what does the mount that is in the kit look like? and how and where do i mount it. as for the steering extender i used it and it works amazingly. front bumper is still off and the rear i couldn't get off so now i have an ugly gap there.i can honestly say though that i think that all this work finally paid off. (almost)

Colin