Checklist / Prep for Removing 3” Body Lift? (Already has 4” Suspension Lift)

[eightynine4x4]

1989 4x4 Automatic 2.9l short bed
Has Rancho 4” suspension and also a single block lift in bed. Already removed one block in bed (they were stacked) and also already have removed the 3” body lift in bed.

I’ve taken a few ganders and think I have the general sense of how this is going to go.
Not referring to the actual labor of doing the lowering, since I think i have a good game plan. I’m just concerned about accidentally overlooking a cable or connection or something that needs to be disconnected or relocated and shortened or lengthened before returning to OEM.

I’ve only taken a couple quick glances at this but it seems like the previous owner had rerouted some things under the can instead of through the little hole in the firewall on drivers side. I will add pics soon. It’s hard to tell if the lowest edges of cab, when lowered, makes full contact with the frame/hardware below and that any lines/wires/cables down there would be pinched and busted when I lower it. I’m thinking they would and that I need to reroute through firewall.

How about the steering wheel and column? As far as the column, it seems it might be ok since the joints are flexible/pad types (can’t remember what they’re called) so could tilt down a bit and be fine. But obviously my steering wheel might want to jut further into the cab when lowered. Should be disconnecting some mounts in cab for this and then rebooting in a new position? Or disconnecting a joint in column and reconnecting after? Is there a length adjustment in the column itself?

How about the transfer case shifter? Should it just be fine and simply pop up higher into cab? The boot seems like it’s just there on its own, flexibly, and no hard mounting is connected to the shifter so it could just slide right up and be fine.
How about the transfer case shifter? Should it just be fine and simply pop up higher into cab? The boot seems like it’s just there on its own, flexibly, and no hard mounting is connected to the shifter so it could just slide right up and be fine.

Lastly, what about the automatic shifter in steering column? Does something need to be adjusted underneath the cab so that the shift positions are at the proper spot after the height change?

 

[Uncle Gump]

You will probably also have bumper relocation brackets to remove and also fuel filler extension. Could also have gap guards too.

I would look up a PA 3inch body lift complete kit installation instructions... then reverse engineer it off the truck.

 

[ericbphoto]

Some cables and hoses (brake lines) were probably extended or replaced with longer parts. After removing the lift, make sure there is no slack hose or wire getting into places where it could become pinched, kinked or even burned against exhaust parts.

 

[eightynine4x4]

You will probably also have bumper relocation brackets to remove and also fuel filler extension. Could also have gap guards too.

I would look up a PA 3inch body lift complete kit installation instructions... then reverse engineer it off the truck.

Ok I will check that out. As for the filler hose, I’ve already lowered the bed and the hose is connected “betternow than it used to be. I think they stretched the old one too far for it’s own good. It will need to be replaced some time soon.

Some cables and hoses (brake lines) were probably extended or replaced with longer parts. After removing the lift, make sure there is no slack hose or wire getting into places where it could become pinched, kinked or even burned against exhaust parts.

Yeah I will be looking for all of this specifically. The brake lines are brand new as of a few weeks ago. I didn’t plan for that to happen and would have waited until after the lift was gone to do this, but the shop I took it to very generously made the call on their own clock to replace them all and basically surprise me and charge half of what that normally would be, becuse they were making up for something stupid they’d done to a spot in the brake line earlier that week. Very cool of them! They look and work great. But, this means my lines are a bit longer than had they been without the body lift, I think. I’m hoping I’m able to just carefully bend them IF they need to be adjusted a little. Is there a tool for bending lines, or is it just done by hand very carefully? I’ve never touched them so don’t know how flexible they are. I could be wrong about this math too, and maybe they don’t need to be moved at all.

 

[ericbphoto]

Ok I will check that out. As for the filler hose, I’ve already lowered the bed and the hose is connected “betternow than it used to be. I think they stretched the old one too far for it’s own good. It will need to be replaced some time soon.



Yeah I will be looking for all of this specifically. The brake lines are brand new as of a few weeks ago. I didn’t plan for that to happen and would have waited until after the lift was gone to do this, but the shop I took it to very generously made the call on their own clock to replace them all and basically surprise me and charge half of what that normally would be, becuse they were making up for something stupid they’d done to a spot in the brake line earlier that week. Very cool of them! They look and work great. But, this means my lines are a bit longer than had they been without the body lift, I think. I’m hoping I’m able to just carefully bend them IF they need to be adjusted a little. Is there a tool for bending lines, or is it just done by hand very carefully? I’ve never touched them so don’t know how flexible they are. I could be wrong about this math too, and maybe they don’t need to be moved at all.

There is a tubing bender for small tubing like that. I was mainly referring to the hoses. The ones going to the front wheels may need a slight adjustment to keep them out of the springs. But you are right in thinking that a hard line may need to be tweaked carefully.

 

[Uncle Gump]

The lines between the master and frame are all you need to worry about. Everything on the frame to the wheel would be suspension lift dependent.

I don't think you would need a tube bender... just a bit of hand bending (tweaking) will probably be required. Just don't try to do any tight bending by hand.

 

[Holden]

I'm also getting prepped to remove my three inch body lift on my 89, and subsequently am going to add a 4 inch suspension lift, tell me how it goes! for the steering column I have been reading some body lift installation guides and I've seen some where they have a thing that lengthens it, I would just disconnect it while lowering and see if it will still fit afterwards. Have you sourced the stock body hardware? are you replacing your body mount bushings? I feel like I'm starting to overthink everything but it'd be a shame if I did something stupid and the body came loose

(the article that mentions the steering column) https://www.therangerstation.com/tech_library/bodymount_lift.shtml
"The steering column needs to be extended. You take it apart before you lift, and put it together after. The adapter slid in just like it was made for it, which it was. This task was easy."

 

[Eddo Rogue]

A checklist is nice, but a job like this for me has a lot of bridges to cross that you dont see until you are there. Fortunately most of them are small, especially with a checklist guide map.

 

[Holden]

any news on taking it off? I started to prep and remove mine yesterday and everything is more rusted than I expected I'm having a lot of trouble with the bed mounts coming out as they all seem to be corroded to the lift pucks. did you have trouble with this too?

 

[eightynine4x4]

any news on taking it off? I started to prep and remove mine yesterday and everything is more rusted than I expected I'm having a lot of trouble with the bed mounts coming out as they all seem to be corroded to the lift pucks. did you have trouble with this too?

Been too busy with work to be able to make time for this task! I’m looking forward to it though.
Yes when i removed my bed 3” lifts they were absolutely solidified to the bolts and sorta also to the frame/bed. I hack sawed them all off and it worked but wasted a bunch of time. In retrospect, I would have bought my sawzall for that task and it would have all taken maybe 15 minutes. I would also have completely given up on the idea of keeping the bolts in tact, of course, since a sawzall means just cutting everything to pieces. I tried to preserve the first couple and wasted time.
I ended up spending 100$ on the sawzall for removing an exhaust manifold, and it worked. Great tool to own in general.
So for the front cab I will be also demolishing the lifts/bolts together and sourcing replacement bolts. It’s not hard to figure out their sizing and find them on sites like McMaster. Just have to make sure they’re a good enough grade for the high safety level of cab/person related hardware. FYI for some reason plenty of bed hardware/ bolt sets are for sale online but basically nobody except duff offers cab hardware. And I don’t trust that those will fit the bushings I bought so am sourcing my own cab bolts and washers and what not.

 

[Holden]

Been too busy with work to be able to make time for this task! I’m looking forward to it though.
Yes when i removed my bed 3” lifts they were absolutely solidified to the bolts and sorta also to the frame/bed. I hack sawed them all off and it worked but wasted a bunch of time. In retrospect, I would have bought my sawzall for that task and it would have all taken maybe 15 minutes. I would also have completely given up on the idea of keeping the bolts in tact, of course, since a sawzall means just cutting everything to pieces. I tried to preserve the first couple and wasted time.
I ended up spending 100$ on the sawzall for removing an exhaust manifold, and it worked. Great tool to own in general.
So for the front cab I will be also demolishing the lifts/bolts together and sourcing replacement bolts. It’s not hard to figure out their sizing and find them on sites like McMaster. Just have to make sure they’re a good enough grade for the high safety level of cab/person related hardware. FYI for some reason plenty of bed hardware/ bolt sets are for sale online but basically nobody except duff offers cab hardware. And I don’t trust that those will fit the bushings I bought so am sourcing my own cab bolts and washers and what not.

I ended up buying new hardware and bushings from Duff tuff, hopefully they all fit well. I was able to drill the heads of the bed bolts out pretty easily and now I’m getting ready to just take the whole bed off and cut off the remains of the bolts, unfortunately that also means dropping the gas tank, but I’m gonna take the opportunity to seal the frame from rust. Also as a side note the parts for my 4 inch lift are showing up, so the pressure is on to get the body lift off

 

[eightynine4x4]

I ended up buying new hardware and bushings from Duff tuff, hopefully they all fit well. I was able to drill the heads of the bed bolts out pretty easily and now I’m getting ready to just take the whole bed off and cut off the remains of the bolts, unfortunately that also means dropping the gas tank, but I’m gonna take the opportunity to seal the frame from rust. Also as a side note the parts for my 4 inch lift are showing up, so the pressure is on to get the body lift off

How’s yours coming along?
Am finally tackling this soon. I just assessed all the wiring obstacles underneath firewall and determined that the only thing i need to prep before lowering cab is the brake line. There’s plenty of slack for me to hand bend it an inch or so to the side, towards the inner side of frame, so that the frame doesn’t pinch it. I will take good care to Ike sure it’s not going to end up anywhere dangerous in any way.
Then I’m going to unbolt some spot in the steering column linkage just to be safe, then reattach after lowering, just so I know I didn’t bend something. Fingers crossed I don’t have a major issue with this. I’m going to probably just choose the spot that looks easiest to access and unbolt. Will do a few rounds of penetrant spray a couple days in advance.
I already have the bushing for cab mounts but still need to acquire the hardware. So I think this is a project for late this week..

 

[Holden]

How’s yours coming along?
Am finally tackling this soon. I just assessed all the wiring obstacles underneath firewall and determined that the only thing i need to prep before lowering cab is the brake line. There’s plenty of slack for me to hand bend it an inch or so to the side, towards the inner side of frame, so that the frame doesn’t pinch it. I will take good care to Ike sure it’s not going to end up anywhere dangerous in any way.
Then I’m going to unbolt some spot in the steering column linkage just to be safe, then reattach after lowering, just so I know I didn’t bend something. Fingers crossed I don’t have a major issue with this. I’m going to probably just choose the spot that looks easiest to access and unbolt. Will do a few rounds of penetrant spray a couple days in advance.
I already have the bushing for cab mounts but still need to acquire the hardware. So I think this is a project for late this week..

Sorry for the late reply! Everything went about as smooth as working on rusty trucks can go . I ended up cutting every single body mount off, they were rusted solid to all the weird flanges and stuff. The kit of hardware that I got from duff tuff didn't really have instructions on how everything is supposed to go but it was easy enough to figure out, although I had some extra hardware at the end of it . The people that did the body lift on my truck probably did the most lazy job possible so nothing with the steering was changed, nothing with the shifter, nothing with the radiator, which just made it easier for me luckily. I think the only thing they did was lengthen the ground strap on the battery. After that I got right into the suspension lift and am finally pretty much finished! just gotta get some tires and an alignment.

 

[Eddo Rogue]

So then removing the body lift and bringing unstretching all those parts should make it drive better too....Thanks for the update and post some pics when finished please...

 

[bobbywalter]

Just need a sawzall if it's old....

I prefer at least a 1 inch body lift....3 is better . .

Working on the truck is much easier. Trans...engine....cake. keeping frame clean behind cross members and shackle hangers ECT.

Usually first thing I do to an rbv.