Ok i am the one who recommended this section so i figured i will be the first to post in it. its only right dont you think.
ok here goes.
At first look my bronco looks like it has a crazy lift on it but in fact it is only a 6'' body lift. to do this is simple. you find your self 8 6'' hard rubber bushings (you can find them like old motor mounts or something like that) go to a hardware store and find yourself some washers that cover the surface area of the rubber bushing and get 16 of them (one for each side of all 8 bushings) also get yourself 8 bolts that will be long enough to go through the bushing and still put some thread into the frame. then you go back home and take the carpet out of your bronco so you can get the access panels off to get to the bolts that hold your body to the frame. take out the front 6 body mounts. leave the rear two in place so you can keep the body aligned and still attached. take a car jack and raise the front of the body up enough to fit the new/old 6'' bushings under the body and line them up with the holes in the fram and body not forgetting to add the washers on each side. get all the bolts threaded but not tightened down so you can repeat these steps to the rear. once all the bolts are threaded tight them down. dont be shy to tighten hard so they dont come loose but dont overtighten to the point where you are squeezing the bushings. i know it seems like you will get alot of body roll with this but if you use some stiff bushings then you really wont. i have it on my bronco and i get almost zero body roll. i do however have a somewhat smoother ride and what appears to be a killer lift for a tenth of the price.
just in case you cant find the body mounts there are two under the radiator support, two under your feet, two under your but and two under the tail gate. any other questions can be asked here. good luck and as always have fun.
Raise Your Body 6"
Started by
Guest_Gunner_*
, Mar 04 2004 10:51 AM
37 replies to this topic
#2
Broncoholics
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Posted 04 March 2004 - 02:01 PM
I sure hope you don't drive this truck on the street with a 6" body lift!
I've heard horror stories of people getting in a wrecks and the long bolts shier off the body/ frame and you and the truck body go for a flight! Even rolling off road would tear off the body from the frame but thats just my opinion. Do you run stock suspension with no flex?
I've heard horror stories of people getting in a wrecks and the long bolts shier off the body/ frame and you and the truck body go for a flight! Even rolling off road would tear off the body from the frame but thats just my opinion. Do you run stock suspension with no flex?
Wheel it like you stole it!
#3
Guest_Flash69_*
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Posted 04 March 2004 - 03:13 PM
I would rather pay the full price for a reputable lift kit and do it the right way.I have a 3 1/2 inch suspension lift with all the drop brackets to make all the geometry right.I dont have to worry about body roll or shearing the body bolts.That sounds like a spooky set up to me.Better be careful.
#5
Guest_Gunner_*
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Posted 05 March 2004 - 07:03 AM
hey now i didnt say i did it. i bought the thing like that. i was just offering a tip to anyone that was interested. but no i dont drive the thing anywhere yet. i have ALOT of work to do to it before i take it anywhere i drove it from the place i bought to my uncles driveway where it has sat while i am working on it. and to counteract the bolts shearing off use larger bolts. you dont have to use the skinny bolts that are on there get yourself some larger bolts and redrill the holes. believe me i didnt say it was safe i just said it is cheap and easy to do and no the body doesnt roll much at all so i wouldnt have a problem off road even as is. as far as it staying on my truck no it isnt. i am going to lower the body lift to about 3'' and get the skyjacker lift kit. but my bronco wont see much offroad time anyway. i have ATV's to have fun offroad my bronco is going to shows. thats right it wont even be driven that often. gas is like 3 bucks a gallon up here i dont make that much money. so it is getting a complete restoration (most work being done by me, dad, and uncle) then it will be driven around just to make jaws drop and impress some judges.
#6
Txquadhunter
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Posted 06 March 2004 - 01:12 PM
go to a boat store near you and buy the trailer roller bumpers in almost any size you wish to use as lift bushings. I know quite a few who body lift's with them without any troubles, 4" is as high as they've done. but they buy 8" rollers to cutt in half to 4" so less/cheaper then buying 8 2,3 or 4" bushings after buying bushings, washers and bolts they come out half the price of a body kit and the boat trailer roller bushings are made of the same stuff as body lifts.
#7
Broncoholics
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Posted 09 March 2004 - 09:38 AM
Go with a 6" lift as most show trucks are down graded with body lifts.
I had a 3" body lift and a 1" suspension lift on 35's. I kept getting high centered on easy trails as the skid plate protecting the t-case was so low. The only height gain you get under the frame is the tire height.
I had a 3" body lift and a 1" suspension lift on 35's. I kept getting high centered on easy trails as the skid plate protecting the t-case was so low. The only height gain you get under the frame is the tire height.
Wheel it like you stole it!
#9
Guest_SaddleUp_*
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Posted 17 March 2004 - 05:30 AM
3" is much safer. There are many states with laws regarding how high of a body lift is allowed due to the safety issues with these tall lifts. Many of them also require that the body lift be a complete kit from the manufacturer which is again done due to the safety issues that are common when backyard kits are put together. (Mostly this is due to sheer stupidity of using cheep hardware or poor blocking)
Rick
Rick
#10
Guest_Gunner_*
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Posted 17 March 2004 - 11:29 AM
your right there are laws regarding these things but when you are a policeman that carries his badge everywhere then you dont really worry about those things. just like my truck couldnt pass emissions if i shut it off so i dont have an inspection sticker but one i dont get hasseled for it and two my truck is so high they couldnt see it if they jumped anyway. is all this morally wrong? yes but hey who needs morals when it comes to broncos.
#11
Guest_SaddleUp_*
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Posted 22 March 2004 - 01:44 AM
Policeman are not above the law. They should be setting the example for others to follow. That is not to speak of the moral issues regarding home brewed modifications. I personally would not hesitate to put together a body lift using for instance boat trailer rolllers. Since I worked for an Off Road shop in my past lifetime (I only do this now for fun) I have seen many lifts that were done very well and at the same time many that were done poorly. Mentioning state laws served two purposes though. First there are many that are unaware of what laws they may be breaking. At the very least someone should know what laws they have decided to ignore. Second there are in fact very good reasons for this particular law. That being that it is intended to keep the riders safer since anything over 3" decreases the stabitlity of the mounting points to a large extent. (I've seen 4" blocking folded over) Before trying to raise the boby 6" we should intead consider our reasons for raising it. Are we doing it just for looks? Many do. Are we trying to save money? What price are we then placing on the lives of those riding inside. When we get right down to it the reason for lifting should be to gain ground clearance. How? By getting larger tires on to add room between the ground and the differentials. Don't forget the transfer case though. If you add 6" to the body you leave the T-case where it was and gain very little extra clearance in the middle. If you go from 33" to 38" tires you then only gain 2 1/2" in the middle. A 3" body lift and a 3" Suspension lift gains you 5 1/2" instead at the t-case. What does it then cost us to gain ground clearance? Ans: Stability. To gain this ground clearance we have then raised the truck up 6" and changed the center of gravity to a much higher point. Can we compensate for this? Ans: Some. By putting wider tires on the rig we can help stabilize it from side to side. We open another can of worms there regarding laws though since it will usually require flares. On the subject of flares we should not foirget the other option for gaining clearance. That being that we can simply put the bigger tires on and make the vehicle fit the tires. With the early broncos we are in a unique situation since it is both very common and they really do look better when the wheel wells are cut out for flares. My question then would be, Why do we need 6" of lift? What tires are we putting on that will require this? I personally would leave a body lift as the last option to gain enough room for those really big tires. With cuttout flares we can easily get 33" tires on without any lift whatsoever. Add 3 1/2" of suspension lift and we can get 35" tires under there without touching the body and we gain about 6" of clearance under the t-case. Add another 2" of suspension for 5 1/2" Suspension and it looks like we can get 38" tires under with extreme cuttouts. If we add 3" of body lift to this we might get 42" tires under there. Note that we did not even need to lift the body though until we were a ways up there. Basically I guess my point here is to consider why we are lifting the rig in the first place. Then only lift it as much as we need and in a safe manner to get that. It doesn't do us much good to gain ground clearance under the diffs if we end up high centered on the t-case, upside down in the ditch, or worse with the body down a ravine after having separated from the frame completely. (Yes, this does happen)
Rick
Rick
#12
Guest_SaddleUp_*
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Posted 22 March 2004 - 01:55 AM
Note: My post above assumes an early Bronco. Newer Bronco's actually will fit the same tire sizes using approxiamtely the same lifts without cutting the wheel wells. Cut outs are still an option with the newer Bronco's though to gain room for really, really big tires. 38.5 tires will fit in the wheel wells with just a suspension lift of about 6" on them. Add a 3" body lift and you might get 42" tires on. Bigger tires will almost certainly need cut out flares though to keep the tires away from the body unless you completely remove upward articulation. (Might be okay for a show rig but not for the trail)
Rick
Rick
#13
Shadow_D
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Posted 31 March 2004 - 07:20 PM
First of all I have to agree with the majority here, 6" body is just too darn risky. I'm glad to see you dropped it to 3".
Second (and this really bothers me) SaddleUp is right! The one thing I can't stand is some snot nosed rookie cop that thinks just because he has a badge and gun he is god. It's cops like that that give all cops a bad name.
Second (and this really bothers me) SaddleUp is right! The one thing I can't stand is some snot nosed rookie cop that thinks just because he has a badge and gun he is god. It's cops like that that give all cops a bad name.
90 Bronco Full Size
Police Package
351W
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31" Tires
Going through a complete restore
http://fullsizebronc...ail.php?id=1650
Police Package
351W
E4OD
31" Tires
Going through a complete restore
http://fullsizebronc...ail.php?id=1650
#15
Guest_nainoa10_*
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Posted 10 April 2004 - 10:56 AM
OK 6" is just to much body lift to be safe. I too am a Law Enforcement Officer and know for certain that a 2" body lift is the legal limit here in Hawaii. Here anything that you add to your vehicle that is considered after market you need to apply for a Reconstruction sticker from the State. The size and weight of your vehicle determine how high you can lift your rig ( ground to bottom of bumper without dropping the bumper.) Because of this, most off roaders choose to go with as much suspension lift as possible. Although three inches was legal at one time, it was changed to two, no sure why.
Oh and my 74 is legal, not because I am a Officer, because it's the law. I had several off road vehicles in my time even before I was a Officer and they too were legal.
Oh and my 74 is legal, not because I am a Officer, because it's the law. I had several off road vehicles in my time even before I was a Officer and they too were legal.
#16
Guest_Gunner_*
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Posted 03 May 2004 - 10:15 AM
ok people i was just only kidding. my being an officer has nothing to do with it i just got an inspection sticker the only thing i cant pass is emissions and here in massachusetts my bronco is 22 years old so i dont need to pass emmisions. and flash69 take a joke. jesus. i think everyone that can read and has common sense would see that when i put "who needs morals when it comes to broncos" would see that it is a joke. but if you still really want to know i am 24 years old and probably have more life (and war) experience than most people on here. hell i have shit in more countries than most men will ever see in their lives.. basically KNOW SOMEONE IS JOKING BEFORE YOU GET ALL PISSY. God Newbies. i should just delete this whole thread i only started it to get the how-to section going anyway. i reccomended the section and no one was posting so i started this topic just to get it off the ground and get people using it. but i guess you wouldnt know that huh.
#19
Guest_Flash69_*
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Posted 17 May 2004 - 09:21 PM
Joke..Ok if you say so.As Far as newby goes I have owned several broncos,Did complete Frame ups where every bolt has been touched and i have kids older than you.Some things arent joking matters.I love a GOOD joke.You made it look as if you was an arrogant police officer.SORRY if i was wrong.I was also in the army several years.
#20
Guest_Gunner_*
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Posted 18 May 2004 - 03:26 AM
well like i said i started it to stir up a little controversy i just didnt think it would go that far. but at least now everyone knows it is just bull. now what isnt bull is one f the guys i work with just bought an old cj 7. he asked me to take a look at it to see what all needed to be done to get it going again. you will never guess what the person used for a body lift. HOCKEY PUCKS. not even kidding they still have the NHL logo on them. i almost fell down laughing when i seen that.
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