Outer Limits 4x4 Board

hey guys,

i was wondering what are the pro's and con's of body lifts?
i cant decide whether to get one or not are they worth it on a 89' gq wagon? I have 33 inch tyres and 2 inch suspension lift with 1 inch coil packers. If so what is involved in putting it in? As in gear leavers, radiators, etc?

thanks,
gq stu

i say no but thats my opinion and every one has one
brake lines
radiator cowling
loosen steer shaft
remove gearstick boots may need some trimming around gearsticks depending on how high you go or bend gearsticks (remove and heat)
check for any earth wires or anything else attaching body to chassis

Mate everybody has their own opinion.
Bodylift are easy to fit. Forget all that rubbish about cutting floors ETC
not necessary. I have sold heaps of Kits over the past 10years. If you went to Fourby's or opposite lock you are buying my kits.
They may not be the cheapest,but they are the right kit & have the right bits.
Cheers

firstly, for what reasons do you want to lift it? body and suspension lifts both have differences, we need to know what you want to achieve to be able to give a decent answer...

im interested in this poll
i have an mq/mk swb and am lookin at doing 2" lift mainly for bigger tyres
not really wanting to spring lift maybe some shackles but not sure what to do

Body lifts to me depend on of you are prepared to chop the guards.

If yes the dont do a body lift if no then body away.

I like the idea of keeping the COG low.

Nick

macca81 wrote:firstly, for what reasons do you want to lift it? body and suspension lifts both have differences, we need to know what you want to achieve to be able to give a decent answer...

what he says.

my suspension is faily old and would like some more hight so i was just trying to workout if should get a 2" lift and 2" body blocks or get a 3 or 4" lift what are the pro's and con's? thanks

I had a Body lift in my old Maverick, 2" body and 2" suspension lift to clear some 35" tyres, was a good setup for the time.

Wasn't that hard to fit but very fiddly, and yes i did have to cut the floor pan to allow the transfer to go into low as well as allow the gearbox to select 2nd, 4th and reverse, but only a tiny bit, so it wasn't that bad at all

Overall i was very happy with the result, until my mate helped me put a 7" sus lift int it, and forgot the fact the 2" body lift was in there, though it was nice to see 35's under it, looked like the 7" i have now with 31's under it

I bought mine with it's current susp and body lift, would I fit a standard GQ with susp lift AND body left? - YEP! So i'm in favour...despite the fact that you have to sort or get used to the resulting floorpan 'clunk'.
And before you ask...do a search

GQSTU wrote:my suspension is faily old and would like some more hight so i was just trying to workout if should get a 2" lift and 2" body blocks or get a 3 or 4" lift what are the pro's and con's? thanks

if your suspension is old and rooted, replace it...
You get the bonus of a comfortable ride, and can will get the lift at same time. You wouldnt really need to go more than 3inch, as you will find it goes up 4 at least.

I fit a body lift, custom engine mounts and gearbox mounts to give 2" lift.

Pro's; engine mounts will not break, tranfer is inside chassis rails, extra clearance on cross members, everything is inline with engine/gearbox and body lift, exhaust is higher, can run a flat gearbox bash gaurd, better approch/departure angles, can lift fuel tank.

Con's; a little more stress on body.

Mate, go with the suspension lift, body lift isn't all its cracked up to be... I run 4" suspension and 2" body lift in my GQ... I'd take out the body lift if I didn't have to modify all the bar work to bring it back down.

Froon wrote:Mate, go with the suspension lift, body lift isn't all its cracked up to be... I run 4" suspension and 2" body lift in my GQ... I'd take out the body lift if I didn't have to modify all the bar work to bring it back down.

I'd suggest run a 2inch suspension and 2 inch body..
Benfits: 2 inch springs can still give a good ride on road and perform off road with an off the shelf product. Helps keep COG lower than a 4inch spring lift. You don't require Panhards, brake lines, caster correction and all the other crap that goes with 4 inch springs.

Personally i think 3 inch max spring is all that is required. Then go body if you want bigger tyres.
Dan

first thing is to have the approval from DOT to actually do the BL.... then get it inspected after you do it.

I took mine out after a defect, cause it wasn't approved.

I voted no for two reasons....

1) Doing a body lift is only compensating for a persons lack of fundage to invest in a correct suspension setup, thus getting extra lift for very little outlay.

2) I see so many dodgy bodylift jobs its not funny. Like the feller selling the GQ ute with a 3" spring lift and the 4" body lift... . Just dodgy.

The only real reason i would use a B/L these days would be to accomodate an engine swap for under bonnet clearance etc.

I've put B/L under two of my past 4x4's (a patrol ute and a sierra), and just didn't like them at all. To much body movement, plus the inconvenience of gear sticks/brake lines/radiator cowlings etc.

Coxy

go the body lift, dont believe the rubbish about having to cut out floor pan and what not waaah waaah waaah whinghing etc, just move the gear boot and it fixes your problem, unbolt it, fit your kit, then use self tappers once your done and wullah you can now clear those fancy new tyres you ordered and with enough spare change to actually get out and use it

GQSTU wrote:my suspension is faily old and would like some more hight so i was just trying to workout if should get a 2" lift and 2" body blocks or get a 3 or 4" lift what are the pro's and con's? thanks

i reckon you should go see the bloke who gave you his old suspension and buy his 3 inch lift so he can get something better

2 inch spring and 2 inch body lift will give you more tyre clearance than a 4 inch spring lift will, unless you drop your bumpstops as well.
The bodylift will also help more with maintenace jobs as you have more room under the vehicle to get theings done.

Personally, if it was going to be driven hard and body damage is likley, I would go a small spring lift for improved flex and control and remove sheet metal (neatly) until I had enough room to run the rubber I wanted.

I can see that everyone here is putting in there opinion so I will put in mine.

I have 2.5" spring lift and 2"body lift. The reason for the 2.5" spring lift is that I can put this in and not really worry about having to fix up castor. Yes, the castor will be out slightly, but not enough to cause and real damage or induce the crazy death wabbles that coils are infamous for.

So, why did I put the 2" body lift in? Well, it allows me to fit my 35" simex centipedes which measure up to be a little more than 35" and have lugs you don't really want to wast on scrubbing your gaurds. You could cut the gaurds, but you need to ask yourself if it is worth the hassel. Are you going to use it for competition peuposes? Do you think you will get tyres bigger than 35" in the future? If you want to do either of these two, then I would concentrate on getting my suspension set up properly for castor correction on bigger than 2" springs and ready myself for the gaurd chop to fit those big tyres in.

Remember, your aim should be to achieve the best articulation you can while keeping your centre of gravity as low as you can.

Cheers
GFN

JOHNZ wrote:Mate everybody has their own opinion.
Bodylift are easy to fit. Forget all that rubbish about cutting floors ETC
not necessary. I have sold heaps of Kits over the past 10years. If you went to Fourby's or opposite lock you are buying my kits.
They may not be the cheapest,but they are the right kit & have the right bits.
Cheers

so whats the difference in your kit when you do a 2" body lift
that u don't have to notch the floor for the 4wd shifter?
do you supply bent levers

Hoonz wrote:

JOHNZ wrote:Mate everybody has their own opinion.
Bodylift are easy to fit. Forget all that rubbish about cutting floors ETC
not necessary. I have sold heaps of Kits over the past 10years. If you went to Fourby's or opposite lock you are buying my kits.
They may not be the cheapest,but they are the right kit & have the right bits.
Cheers

so whats the difference in your kit when you do a 2" body lift
that u don't have to notch the floor for the 4wd shifter?
do you supply bent levers

I suuply instructionsy kits.
hammer the floor down a little & the gearlever is no problems
Transfer lever needs to bent forward approx 15 degree to work ok.
I have none this on approx 20 GQs & no problems
Cheers

I just gave myself an unwanted 1 inch body lift in the hummer replica by replacing MK sized aftermarket poly bushes with stock soft GQ body rubbers, All i had to extend was the 4wd selecter rod. haven't noticed any difference except the side steps are an inch lower, but still at chassis height. I heard that a Navara 4WD has a 2 inch body lift compared to a 2WD Navara, could be a rumour though.
Hoppy

JOHNZ wrote:

Hoonz wrote:

JOHNZ wrote:Mate everybody has their own opinion.
Bodylift are easy to fit. Forget all that rubbish about cutting floors ETC
not necessary. I have sold heaps of Kits over the past 10years. If you went to Fourby's or opposite lock you are buying my kits.
They may not be the cheapest,but they are the right kit & have the right bits.
Cheers

so whats the difference in your kit when you do a 2" body lift
that u don't have to notch the floor for the 4wd shifter?
do you supply bent levers

I suuply instructionsy kits.
hammer the floor down a little & the gearlever is no problems
Transfer lever needs to bent forward approx 15 degree to work ok.
I have none this on approx 20 GQs & no problems
Cheers

why is it when the shifter doesnt work the first things that come to mind are hammers or heat or a saber saw???? for god sakes just try moving your gear boot first

coxy321 wrote:I voted no for two reasons....

1) Doing a body lift is only compensating for a persons lack of fundage to invest in a correct suspension setup, thus getting extra lift for very little outlay.

2) I see so many dodgy bodylift jobs its not funny. Like the feller selling the GQ ute with a 3" spring lift and the 4" body lift... . Just dodgy.

The only real reason i would use a B/L these days would be to accomodate an engine swap for under bonnet clearance etc.

I've put B/L under two of my past 4x4's (a patrol ute and a sierra), and just didn't like them at all. To much body movement, plus the inconvenience of gear sticks/brake lines/radiator cowlings etc.

Coxy

well if you didnt like them you think you would have learnt the first time

i put a boddy lift im my 89 wagon about 12 months ago and havent looked back. it took me and a mate about 8 hours to install but we f@#$ed around a bit. all i had to do appart from the ovious was pull the steel brake lines on the drivers side of the tunel becouse when it stretches it hits it. get a good kit becouse the thread on the two rear mounts are diffrent most people drill them out but i was not to keen on that idea and heat them before you try to undo them they have locktight on them. to solve the problem of the shifter all i did was pull the carpet up and arunud the boot there is a steel plate all i did was undo it and moved it back about 15mm and that was all it needed not cutting. goodluck and i hope this helps you and i went nolathane blocks not steel persional choice

Chopz wrote:

coxy321 wrote:I voted no for two reasons....

1) Doing a body lift is only compensating for a persons lack of fundage to invest in a correct suspension setup, thus getting extra lift for very little outlay.

2) I see so many dodgy bodylift jobs its not funny. Like the feller selling the GQ ute with a 3" spring lift and the 4" body lift... . Just dodgy.

The only real reason i would use a B/L these days would be to accomodate an engine swap for under bonnet clearance etc.

I've put B/L under two of my past 4x4's (a patrol ute and a sierra), and just didn't like them at all. To much body movement, plus the inconvenience of gear sticks/brake lines/radiator cowlings etc.

Coxy

well if you didnt like them you think you would have learnt the first time

They were fitted at the same time, which would make that a bit hard to do.

With a 2" suspension and 2" body you lift you will still be legal and able to fit 35,s on for weekend work. You will also save $1000 + by not going to a big lift.

Cris

Higher up on this thread I stated that I would definitely do a susp lift AND body lift.
NOW x-amount of months later....NO, I would not do a body lift. I haven't had any probs or anything, it's just that I have read alot more on body lifts. And I don't like the idea of the body mounts clunking etc, mostly when wet for obvious reasons.
But as far as getting starter motors out or top mount intercoolers etc etc then body lifts are good for giving extra room or clearance.

twodiffs wrote:Higher up on this thread I stated that I would definitely do a susp lift AND body lift.
NOW x-amount of months later....NO, I would not do a body lift. I haven't had any probs or anything, it's just that I have read alot more on body lifts. And I don't like the idea of the body mounts clunking etc, mostly when wet for obvious reasons.
But as far as getting starter motors out or top mount intercoolers etc etc then body lifts are good for giving extra room or clearance.

Clunking body mounts is not to do with the body lift. If it clunks it is loose.

Just because you read it on the internet does not make it true. Forums are the biggest sourse of bull shit next to the nightly news and other mainstream media.