Vitara body Lift - Does the floor pan crack?

Post by **rodw** » Mon Jun 25, 2007 8:51 am

Hi Guys,

I am thinking about a 50mm body lift on my 92 4 door Vitara. Graeme at Suzisports Springwood says "Don't do it, the floor pan cracks around the mounts." So what does everybody think? True or False?

Post by cj » Mon Jun 25, 2007 9:53 am

It will if the spacers are too small in dia.

Post by cj » Mon Jun 25, 2007 9:58 am

Also make sure the kit has the extra spacers to support it between the chassis and the floor, not just the bolt on body mounts.

Post by **rosie** » Mon Jun 25, 2007 10:25 am

I've done a 30mm on my LWB and didn't even bother with 4x50mm ones. just the 8x80mm ones which are bolted on.

I didn't have any trouble with the floor pan but i have just put the other 4 spacers in for peace of mind.

Just make sure that the bolt on spacers are 80mm in diameter like the stock ones and i can't see and problem.

Ben

Post by **Sally** » Mon Jun 25, 2007 10:43 am

I had a 3" body lift on my old Vitara, and had no problems with the floor pan, it held togther nicely when the poor girl was written off by having a Commodore hit her side on at 60km/h. The body was badlly damaged, pushed in all the way to the chasis, but the lift blocks held the body to the chasis, and did not budge.

DO NOT USE CALMINI, they are just crappy box sections, that are about 1/2" in width, and in my opinion would fail very easily, especially in the above scenario.

I am glad I had proper solid cyclinders as body lift blocks.

As others have said, replace the existing blocks with ones that are the same diameter, keep with the solid cylinders, and you should be fine.

Sally.

Post by **rodw** » Mon Jun 25, 2007 12:45 pm

Ben,

Am I missing something? I could only see 2 of the smaller ones.

Post by **Sally** » Mon Jun 25, 2007 3:19 pm

I assume the smaller ones you are refering to are the ones that are just rubber, that are not attached to the chasis, but simply bolted to the body.

On the 2dr, there should be only 2 spacers (non body mounts) in the middle of the rear wheel wells.

I can send you a pic of where you will find them if you want.

This may be different on the 4dr, because of the longer body.

Sally.

Post by **rosie** » Mon Jun 25, 2007 3:27 pm

Ah ok, i had 2 more behind the drivers seat but mine's a long wheel base 5 door.

Post by **rodw** » Mon Jun 25, 2007 3:35 pm

rosie wrote:Ah ok, i had 2 more behind the drivers seat but mine's a long wheel base 5 door.

This is a four door too. Looks like this one only has one small one each side under the rear foot well. How are they attached? Bolted or just some glue?

Post by **Sally** » Mon Jun 25, 2007 3:41 pm

From memory, I think that they are bolted to the body.

Sally.

Post by **rodw** » Mon Jun 25, 2007 7:37 pm

Hi all,

Just want to thank you for all your feedback. just cruizin' has been following this thread and there have been a few PM's flying around in the background. He has made a late modification to the specs for the batch of spacers he was getting made up as we speak. He was going 65mm but changed it to 80 mm because of the feedback on this thread. The price is right too!

So if you are looking for a set of BL spacers for a Vitara, send him a PM.

PS. Might be worth making this a sticky...

Post by **rosie** » Mon Jun 25, 2007 11:37 pm

there are another 2 over the rear axel, you really need to look to see them.

Ben

Post by **rosie** » Mon Jun 25, 2007 11:46 pm

Oh also, their bolted to the body only so you'll need to glue them to the chassis.

ben

Post by **rodw** » Tue Jun 26, 2007 10:02 am

Thanks Ben,

I had a bit of time this morning so I undid some mounts and jacked up the body to have a good look, You are right, there are four of the 50mm body mounts. Mine were just clipped to the body with a plastic body clip, the kind that push into a thread so there can't be much pressure on them.

So summarising this thread:
There are eight 80mm body mounts
two 50mm body mounts bolted or clipped to the 2 door SWB and;
four 50mm body mounts bolted or clipped to the 4 door LWB

Thanks for all the help guys!

Post by **rodw** » Thu Jun 28, 2007 3:59 am

Hi guys,

Just cruisin' has cruised by and checked out my rig. We have got this pretty well sorted now and he'll get the kits made shortly. His Sierra kits look awesome!

I have just one more question. When you installed the lift blocks did you put them hard against the floor pan and placed the rubber mounts under the lift block? That's what we had in mind but I thought I saw a thread somewhere that cut the exisitng mount in two and placed the lift block between the top 80 mm circle and the base.

Any thoughts appreciated.

Post by **Gwagensteve** » Thu Jun 28, 2007 7:58 am

I have always fitted the block hard up to the body and run the full rubbers in stock position relative to the chassis.

Having a reversible body lift that fits with the stock rubbers seems pointless if you then cut the stock rubber in 1/2 to me.

Steve.

Post by **just cruizin'** » Thu Jun 28, 2007 3:23 pm

With the Vitaras we will have to drill the rubbers out to 16mm, this means that they would be loose around the stud if the Bl was taken out the the cup shape of the chassis would prevent any movement and it shuoldn't cause an issue.

News on the kit, all parts ordered

should be only a couple of weeks. When they are available I'll post in the For Sale section. PM me if interested as I don't have many kits ordered, if I get the numbers I'll get more done straight away.

Greg

Post by **Gwagensteve** » Thu Jun 28, 2007 4:03 pm

Yeah, I know, from memory there is also a plastic plug that needs to come out as well, but this is a minor issue compared to cutting a block in 1/2 IMHO.

I sikaflex the block to the body to hold it in place and reduce some of the shock/vibration, but have never had a problem with cracking of the body.

Steve.

Post by **rodw** » Thu Jun 28, 2007 7:00 pm

Greg, Count me in!

Steve, the plastic plug is used to hold the small 50mm OEM blocks to the body. We worked out how to deal with this and the kit will include a pin to hold the larger block in place. I've got some body adhesive and some windscreen sealant floating around and I'll use one or both of these, to ensure that the pin won't become an annoying rattle rather than to glue the block to the body.

Rod

Post by **Gwagensteve** » Thu Jun 28, 2007 7:54 pm

No, the plastic plug sat around the threaded pin on the large diameter bolted blocks on the cars I have done.

Either way, it isn't a big deal.

Steve

Post by **just cruizin'** » Mon Jul 09, 2007 11:52 pm

Got the blocks and female bolts today, arranging the extra bits I need tomorrow and the Vitara Kit will hit the market

Those that have indicated they want kits I will send you all PM's

Post by **just cruizin'** » Wed Jul 11, 2007 11:18 pm

Vitara Kits are now available

Post by **SiKiD_01** » Wed Jul 25, 2007 7:58 pm

i don't k now if this is the appropriate thread, but what needs to be done for a 2" BL?

i know, i sound like a noob, and i've been through the vit bible looking at 2" BLs.

Post by **rodw** » Wed Jul 25, 2007 9:11 pm

Well, I just cruised by just cruisin' this arvo and picked up one of his body lift kits, which you can see the details here:
http://www.outerlimits4x4.com/phpBB2/vi ... p?t=115505
Greg had come around to my place and checked out my Rig before finalising this kit, but I hadn't had a chance to pick it up til today. We had a bit of a look at my Rig again and think it's pretty straight forward.

Here is two links to get you going:
http://www.granitepath.com/~kd7hcg/side ... index.html
http://www.k9rdj.co.uk/ProjectGV/bodylift.htm
but Greg's kit is way superior than these, the first is particularly bodgy. Note that Greg uses 80mm diameter blocks instead of 50mm ones to minimise the chance of floor pan cracking as discussed by cj in this thread. Also included are blocks for the small rubber blocks that just sit on the chassis.

After I do the lift I will build a couple of brackets to lift the rear bar 50mm, and modify my bull bar mounts so the bull bar is also lifted 50mm.

Post by **just cruizin'** » Wed Jul 25, 2007 9:14 pm

Rod picked up his kit off me today and said he will fit it shortly. He intends to do a bit of a write up about the install and given the quality of the rest of his vehicle I'm sure the information he puts together will be very comprehensive.

That said due to the confines of the engine bay air con hoses and misc. wires around the radiator will need to be watched. the steering shaft should be ok, brake lines ok, gear sticks ok (manual, not sure on auto linkages/cables). Intake pipe from air cleaner may need to rotated slightly by packing under the front bolts. Not sure on fuel filler but have been told it's ok. Front bar depending on what you've got and rear bar I will have to wait for Rod to complete the picture.

Greg

Post by **rodw** » Wed Jul 25, 2007 9:24 pm

Yes, mine's a four speed auto but that makes it even easier 'cos the shifter is cable driven. I might need to bend the transfer case lever or enlarge the hole and one suggestion was to turn the rubber flange on the floor pan upside down to make it easier for the lever to move. just have to wait and see. I have a dual battery and squeezed the radiator expansion tank in beside it. I might have to change the mount I made, but this is not an issue for the stock setup. Royce suggested I add a bit of foam at the top of the radiator to force the breeze through , not over the radiator so it won't overheat.

I'll probably use some body adhesive to glue the blocks to the floor pan as I have some on hand.

I was planning on writing it up, so I'll try and remember to update this thread with a link to the writeup. Should be pretty cool when I get it done even before I slip the Super Swampers on....

Post by cj » Wed Jul 25, 2007 9:28 pm

rodw wrote: Royce suggested I add a bit of foam at the top of the radiator to force the breeze through , not over the radiator so it won't overheat.

Definitely do it. I had cooling issues until I did that and then it was fine.

Post by **atari4x4** » Wed Jul 25, 2007 10:15 pm

i did mine at the same time the body lift went in, never had a cooling issue the stock rubber one either side of the radiator were also able to be re used.
I also made another set of flaps to close up the gap in the wheel arch, one day I'll get around to doing the gap behind the strut !

Post by **rodw** » Wed Jul 25, 2007 10:19 pm

Neat job Atari, Thanks for the pics, I was going to ask cj if he'd oblige, but no need now...

Post by **atari4x4** » Wed Jul 25, 2007 10:41 pm

did the rear also as it looked a bit funny

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Vitara body Lift - Does the floor pan crack?

Vitara body Lift - Does the floor pan crack?

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