Body lift removal

midget · Mar 9, 2009

Ok Ive never done a body lift I never understood a use for them but I bought a truck that has a 3 inch body lift on it. The truck is an 88 ranger ext cab with a 5 speed. What are some things Im going to need to do like clutch linkages ect... I have 0 experience here. Im just dropping the cab and the bed is gone. Will the longer bolts work?

Viva*the*Ranger · Mar 9, 2009

No. The longer bolts will not work. I would contact a Ford dealer and get the sizes of the bolts and then get them at your local fastener supply. It's probably a lot cheaper.

Body lifts make things a ton easier to work on, and give you room for bigger tires. That's why people install them. They also don't affect your center of gravity.

Bray D · Mar 9, 2009

Viva*the*Ranger said:
Body lifts make things a ton easier to work on, and give you room for bigger tires. That's why people install them. They also don't affect your center of gravity.

How do you figure it doesn't affect your center of gravity? You're lifting the whole body and bed 3 inches. Granted it won't affect it as much as a suspension lift, but there will be a difference.

I also despise body lifts. I'm sure it'd be nice for engine swaps and such, but I'd rather stay as low as possible and do the necessary work to make things fit.

ranger_mclaren · Mar 9, 2009

thats a nice truck you have there i would leave it. but if you do remove you'll probly have to lose those tires and go with someting smaller than a 31x10.50 if theres no suspention lift. i didn't look to closely before posting. the body lifts i've seen for that year (correct me if i'm wrong guys) is just the longer bolts, the spacers, and steering rack extention. but it could go as far as filler neck extender, and longer pitman arm.

edit: yea it looks like its got some type of lift you should be able to fit 31x10.50s with out body lift it looks like 32s or 33s on there now.

Bray D · Mar 9, 2009

Or trim the fenders :dunno:

I'd look for steering and shifter extentions. Never installed or removed a b/l though, so I don't know exactly what's involved.

Viva*the*Ranger · Mar 9, 2009

Bray D said:
How do you figure it doesn't affect your center of gravity? You're lifting the whole body and bed 3 inches. Granted it won't affect it as much as a suspension lift, but there will be a difference.

I also despise body lifts. I'm sure it'd be nice for engine swaps and such, but I'd rather stay as low as possible and do the necessary work to make things fit.

I stand corrected. Yes it does affect it. But the affect is very little, pretty much unnoticeable.
I know a lot of people that don't like body lifts, and alot of people that do. It's a good way for a poor man like me to fit 33's. A 4" lift for my truck is about $1,600. Different strokes for different folks I guess.

4x4junkie · Mar 9, 2009

A body lift + suspension lift gets you up higher without near as many issues as a suspension lift alone (like with the steering geometry, etc.).

A 6" suspension lift + 2-3" body can actually be somewhat manageable vs. having an 8" suspension lift. A 4" susp + 2" BL has many advantages over a 6" susp lift as well.

Most of the people that don't like bodylifts complain about how they expose the frame underneath. I've found little evidence that they create structural issues however unless the body is already seriously compromised by rust (My BII sees more than it's share of twisting & flexing forces and I've had no issues with it).

As for CoG, it raises it probably about half the amount of what a similar size suspension lift would.

JohnnyU · Mar 9, 2009

I just pulled the body lift off my truck this past weekend. You'll need 3" (if it's a 3" BL) shorter bolts, there's probably a steering extension that will need to be removed from the column, and you'll want to watch the brake lines, heater hoses, fan shroud, shifters and wiring harness to make sure that nothing gets pinched or kinked as the body is lowered. Otherwise, it's fairly straight forward.

A body lift does have an affect on the vehicle center of gravity,as does ever modification that is done. Add a heavy tool box, that will slightly raise the COG, add a suspension or body lift, that will raise the COG as well, heavy axles/rims/tires will help lower it, but being unsprung weight, its effect is calculated slightly differently.

midget · Mar 9, 2009

Its got a suspension lift on it as well and 34's also its a trailer queen so hacking the fenders up doesnt bother me a bit lol. Idk though the trails around here are alot of short steep hillclimbs and I wouldnt know how much the 3 inch body lift is going to increase the chance of me going on my lid. I dont really want to roll it over until I get the full exo on it but it does have the half behind the cab finished.

midget · Mar 9, 2009

After talking it over with some fellow club members Im just gonna leave it b/c the work wouldnt be worth the gain overall but thanks for the help anyway.

Body lift removal

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