Body lift on a genII 4dr.

[DougH]

Hey,

I have my body lift waiting to install, and next week is totally free from school (my spring break) so I want to make sure I get it done.

I wanted to see if any of you guys have installed a 2 inch body lift on a genII.

I have the lift blocks, and the bolt hardware already.

What are the issues that need to be addressed?

I am going to have to deal with the radiator. I thought about removing the lower shrowd, but I dont like the idea. I have a warn 8274, so my cooling is already going to suffer from having that monster infront of the grill. So I think I am going to just redrill the four holes on the radiator to allow me to drop it the two inches.

Brake lines, I just have to pull extra through the wheel wells in the front. Are there any other brake issues, such as mc clerance or something?

I will have to get new heater line, I am pretty sure of that.

What about the shifter for the tcase? What exactly happens to the shifter when you do the lift? What is the solution?

I really apreciate any info you can provide, I dont want to get stuck with my pants down on this. I have to get it done in a timely manner so I can get back up to school.

[redrocket]

bitsa is da man to talk to. he probably did the most recent lwb bl here.

[DougH]

OK well Frank how about it? Come on don't ignore me, the board gets slow when I stop asking continual pesky question.

[Bitsamissin]

Yeah I just unbolted the fuel filler bracket off the chassis, removed the radiator shroud completely but haven't done anything with it as yet. No cooling issues even with those big spotties in front of the grill. Also loosen the clamp on the steering shaft to allow it to slip on the spline (plenty of length) while raising it, once lifted you can clamp it back up.
Pulled the brakelines through the guards a bit (plenty of length here) and found all hoses and electrical cables had enough slack for the lift.
The front bar had the standard mounts cut off and much stronger 2" extended ones welded back on to match the lift.
The rear bar was left as is except I removed the end caps.
The biggest problems I had was with the t/case lever both gearstick and t/case levers were extended 2" and heated with an oxy and bent every which way to get them in the right spot. The gearstick ended up fine but I still had to grind a bit of the console away to stop it popping out of low range. Also we had heaps of drama's getting to the body mount bolts behind the front headlights they are in a sort of cavity and were full of mud and crap. We had to weld tangs to the new bolt heads to stop them spinning when tightening as you just can't get a socket in there. All the other bolts are fairly easily accessible.
Yours being an auto shouldn't have those problems may just need heating and bending a tad. The 5sp t/case has 5 positions the auto only 4 (no nuetral position). I still have to fix some gaps up around the guards to stop mud getting in by replacing the rubber flaps.
One big plus is there is much more room to work underneath the vehicle and you can raise the fuel tank 2" as well.
I think a 3" b/l would require a lot more work as Lloyd found out.

[Noisey]

Frank,

You don't need to notch the console to stop the t/case lever popping out.

We bent the lever with no luck - kept hitting front or back.

Cut a small "V" shape into the lower part of the lever where the metal flares into the larger shape and joins to the ball (by memory we did this on the side facing the front of the car). Bend the lever so that the notch closes a little - this creates a slight "s" bend. Takes a bit to get it right, then tack weld the notch.

Biggest problem with the gear levers popping out is the rubber boot that stops water and mud getting inside the car being stretched and pulling the lever backwards. Cut the very top most part of the boot away and pull the boot down as far as possible. Secure it to the levers with the ever trusty "Zippy ties".

It's a bit of stuff'n round but worth the effort

[Bitsamissin]

Thats a very good solution Blair and your right about that thick rubber boot. I've got some thinner rubber from Clarke Rubber and will make a better fitting one that doesn't put too much tension on the t/case lever in low range (when I get some farken time).

[DougH]

Is the tcase lever maybe an manual issue only.

What exactly is the problem.

I am all done torqueing the bolt... radiator shroud is modified, but I left the shifter alone.

I was able to shift into all of the ranges....

And I drove around the street in 4low and it didnt pop out.

It didnt seem to have ANY issues at all being left stock?

[sascot]

if ur gonna go to the extent of heating the t case shifter, why not just widen the hole in the floor pan north and south of where it hits on the pan. cheaper and easier.

[redrocket]

i think it is a manual only problem with the tcase shifter. grantw just did his bl and didn't need to modify his(he has an auto obviously).

[Bitsamissin]

The problem is the 5sp t/case has 5 positions the auto only has 4 (no nuetral position) so there is less space for the t/case lever to move in the 5sp.
The auto t/case lever only requires slight bending to be fine the 5sp needs a lot more mucking around.

[Grantw]

Thats right. On my auto there was no mods required. It all works and looks 100% after the 50mm b/l.

[DougH]

Shweeet. One more reason AUTO is MO BETTA.

[Noisey]

The prob with the manual gearbox was that the transfer case lever was hitting the centre console where the radio is mounted - not being limited by the size of the hole in the floor.

As I said; it was a lot of stuffing round and just meant that I did not have to notch all me pretty trimmings in the car.