Body Lift worth it?

[Lpannell25]

The list of things to do on this B2 continues to grow!!! Noticed the body bushings between frame and body are worn out! Found replacement bushings for 80 bucks come to the conclusion that this is how you do body lifts as well would it be worth it to go ahead and put a 2 inch body lift on it? anyone have pics of a b2 with 2 inch body lift?

 

[Capt Jay]

It all depends on what you want to accomplish?
If your just going to stuff stock tires under it then no. If you want a little bigger rubber under her then yes.

 

[RICO9]

Go for it. With 2" there is nothing that needs to be extended and it will give you the room to run a set of 31's that you were talking about in your other post.

 

[unoleisu]

Adding a couple of inches of body lift can give you enough extra room underneith to work on everything more comfortably. Especially trans swaps, and engine swaps. It Looks better than stock (In my opinion).
I am really glad I did mine, just before my M50D swap.

 

[Lpannell25]

still havent fully understood the body lift... the little plastic blocks that are the "lift" they go between the body and body bushings? so my body bushings are toast im going to have to replace them regaurdless?

 

[unoleisu]

If you're gonna do the body bushings anyway, I say go ahead and do the lift at the same time. There are only benifits to doing it.

 

[Lpannell25]

guess that answered my question lol... doesnt seem to terribly bad either... access to all the bushings doesnt seem to bad... what about the the whole parking brake cable i have noticed how tight it is! it is as simple as just moving it a little or does it need to be disconnected and rerouted or anything... looked in tech library not much there other than saying you might have to move it

 

[unoleisu]

The entire body is held onto the frame with bolts that go thru the body bushings, and mount plates/brackets. I think 10 on a BII...

If your body bushings are toast, you do need to replace them. Depending on how bad they are, you might be able to go awhile before doing so. In my experience, the steel tubes inside the bushings tend to rust out, and may contribute to the mounts themselves rusting out. I had two mounts rusted out, and ended up welding a steel plate on top of each to replace the damage. I did try very large thick washers to cover the rusted out holes, but they didn't really work.

Sometimes you will have to either brake the bolts, or cut them, as they tend to rust solid in my experience. (even with liberal amounts of penetrant oil)

A decent body lift kit should come with extended bolts, an extension for the motor ground wire, and an extension for the steeringwheel shaft. You may need to make or buy extension mounts for your radiator. (I just used a couple of pieces of heavy gauge steel strapping with holes drilled to mount.)

Almost all the work envolved in adding the body lift, is being done while replacing the bushings.

 

[unoleisu]

I had to make a short bracket extension for my parking brake, (lifting it higher, I think) but then ended up swapping in a 8.8 rearend w/ disk brakes right after, so had to custom build a cable connector for the parking brake setup.

Different people have dealt with this issue in other ways. Maybe someone will chime in on it.

 

[Redneck_Ranger]

I love my 3". Running 31s under it now, and it doesn't look bad at all.

 

[4x4junkie]

Moving the p-brake bracket up higher on the frame is all I had to do with mine (2" BL). IIRC all that is needed is drilling another single hole to remount it.

When i did my 8.8" swap (disc brakes), I did have to fab up a custom linkage to connect the Explorer p-brake cables to the BII's pedal cable, however I did not have to do anything further with the bracket on the frame.

 

[TexCaliBII]

Could not agree more with putting in the body lift. I MUCH prefer working on anything under my 88 w/ a 3" BL than my stock 87. ESPCIALLY when doing anything exhaust related.....

 

[HVAC_Rat]

Love 3" lift. It makes everything easier. Plenty of room to work on anything. Made trans swap a lot easier. You won't be sorry.

 

[trail B2]

I put a 2" lift in tranny swaps are easier.I got my exhaust up tighter changed my radiator bracket and got my winch to fit flush with the stock bumper.That way it doesn't change my approach angle.

 

[RICO9]

My BL allows me to change the it tank fuel pump with out dropping the tank.