body lift for safari do's and dont's

[PigFmr]

want to do a 50mm body lift on a swb saf,has got a 50mm spring lift and running 33's at the moment,have heard lots of do's and dont's but would like advice on it, and somone that has done it, i a have checked brake pipes to see if they long enough,and someone told me u have to take plastic cover off the bottom off the rad as the fan will catch??,also somewhere i can get some body lift donuts to lift it , and do u replace the factory rubber mounts with new ones, or just make the new ones longer and do away with factory ones??
and any problems i might run into lifting the saf
vince,,

[mudchuka]

nope easy as, just do it, sounds like youve done your homework
, the only thing i recommend as well as the above is to keep the original rubber mounts, get some 80mm nylon or similar ,some 150mm long bolts with washers,spring washers and wack a slot in the transfer case tunnel with a cold chisel..
2 hour job.

[MATT4U]

longer hose for your fuel filler to

[DieselBoy]

Nup, fuel filler hose is long enough.

Rear mount bolts need soaking in CRC over night if you can.

[MATT4U]

My flatmate had to do his, mind you I think he did a 60mm

[DieselBoy]

True, and i did a 40mm, so its a definate possibility in that case

[Mark]

There's heaps of useful info in this thread...

http://www.offroadexpress.co.nz/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=1341&highlight=coil+spacers

[PigFmr]

thanks for that,decided to do a 35mm or 40mm lift after reading through previous posts,just need to find some body blocks now any help would be good on where to get some,,
and hope to get them on the safari soon,,
thanks vince,

[Mark]

Try sending Stinky (Marty) a PM and ask him where to get the blocks. I'm pretty sure he told me where you can get them in Wgtn but I can't remember who it was.

Stinky's profile

And if you could post the details of where you got them and any issues you came across that would be great. I think I will look at doing the same soonish.

[Dak]

Question is also, why do a body lift?? No point at all unless you plan running bigger than 33" tyres. Most of the aussie comp trucks don't even have a body lift.

Cheers, Jeff.

[DieselBoy]

Good point, no reason to do a bodylift if your not going to run 35's

[Mark]

mmmmm, I was told that you needed to do a body lift to get 33's in without any rubbing at full flex... is that not the case?

[doddzee]

2" lift usually clears 33's either suspension or body lift will do the trick

[mudchuka]

body lifts are a easy lift for getting the body out of the mud,as the chassis, and drivetrain dont move it doesnt alter your centre of gravity much, and you can fit a intercooler under the bonnet, also you can fit 35" tyres. a bodylift is a cheap and easy mod.

[Dak]

Yes, but, no matter how high you lift the body the chassis will ALWAYS be the thing stuck in the mud, not the body.

Cheers, Jeff.

[mudchuka]

yes thats true, you can get less panel damage with a body lift, ive had mine lifted for a while now, i heard alsorts of conflicting stories before i did it, i have no regrets now. its easy to do and cheap, and with a 50mm suspension lift you can make a basic standard truck perform a lot better, fitting 35" tyres to a safari makes a huge difference off road. the carpets dont get wet now!

[PigFmr]

Try sending Stinky (Marty) a PM and ask him where to get the blocks. I'm pretty sure he told me where you can get them in Wgtn but I can't remember who it was.

Stinky's profile

And if you could post the details of where you got them and any issues you came across that would be great. I think I will look at doing the same soonish.

done a 50mm body lift in the end,its been 2wks of running the truck onroad and offroad with no problems
only had one problem whilst doing the lift was the passenger side rear cargo bolt was a real bugger to get out , took 4hrs all up
just pulled back carpet to get at bolts as mine is swb not sure about lwb for taking out seats?,removed lower radiator shroud,check all pipes for length.as mine is a auto just had to make the hole bigger for the 4wd lever.so if anybody is going to do it just take ur time and u will be pleased with the result,

8x50mm body blocks(swb)
8X150mm by 12mm bolts with nylocks(my choice nylocks)and the two in cargo area are fine thread bolts but i replaced them with 12mm bolts
can of crc spray and a mate to help!
not sure how to post a photo on here as i would show you?

body blocks came from rik at 4wd accessories in ch,ch
vince,,

[Mark]

Sounds good. Every time I go out I seem to get closer and closer to a lift... sick of lack of clearance. Need the bigger tyres on.

So, how much did the blocks and bolts cost you, if you don't mind? Just so that I can start to put together the budget and proposal to the handbrake?

[PigFmr]

blocks are $10 each 80 mm dia
bolts i got real cheap from a mate at mates rates $30
all up $110 cheap mod
vince

[PigFmr]

if you look under photos page 19 under the name vince look at the last photo with body lift,just saving up now for 35s and keeping 33s for the road
vince,

[mudchuka]

blocks are $10 each 80 mm dia
bolts i got real cheap from a mate at mates rates $30
all up $110 cheap mod
vince

i agree, cheap as chips to do and now you can run 35" tyres which make a huge difference to safaris.

[DaveM]

What about the price of a LVC?

[DieselBoy]

Waddaya need a LVC for?? The WOF manual doesn't say you can't put spacers between your body work and chassis

(opening a can of worms )

[ToYoda]

Emailed these guys and for 50mm dia 40mm height UHMWPE 12 pieces (two safaris was $45 all up
Just have to drill 12mm holes for m12 bolts

contact details


Len Matthews

Ph 09 6362922
Fax 09 6362901
Mob0275882967
email:l.matthews@ludoplas.com
website on http://www.ludoplas.com

[PigFmr]

What about the price of a LVC?

looked into this and was told i did not lvc fo a 50mm bodylift,need a cert for 35's for insurance,maybe i was told wrong about this,find out next month as i have wof due
vince..

[DieselBoy]

I got a WOF two weeks ago no drama. Checked with my WOF guy who's a scruitineer for the Hamilton Car club (rally cars) and knows the WOF manual backwards before i did the B/L and he said it was all legal. I don't even need a front number plate

[safari_mulisha]

I got a WOF two weeks ago no drama. Checked with my WOF guy who's a scruitineer for the Hamilton Car club (rally cars) and knows the WOF manual backwards before i did the B/L and he said it was all legal. I don't even need a front number plate

you dont need a front number plate? explain

[Mark]

only had one problem whilst doing the lift was the passenger side rear cargo bolt was a real bugger to get out , took 4hrs all up

I just went to take out the rear passenger side bolt on my LWB '94 to work out the size of the bolts I need and the damned thing seems to have sheared off the fixed nut welds or something?? Well that's what I assume anyway.

I was cranking it reasonably hard and it suddenly went bang and now it looks as though there is a nut underneath a little piece of metal that is turning with the bolt. Is that possible? I don't really understand what is going on under that cover piece. Here is what I'm talking about:



So you look down through the hole in the rear under the carpet and you can see a metal piece with what looks like a nut rotating underneath. Is that nut supposed to be fixed?

If so, any ideas how the hell I get the bolt out now?

[doddzee]

Been there, its a right pain in the arse!

I ended cutting the nut holding bracket off with a cold chisel and welding the nut to the floor on my dads truck, on mine i got out the gas axe and cut the floor out.

If you remove that nut bracket you may beable to smack an old socket on it to hold it.

[Mark]

Bugger... I hoped you wouldn't say that I was hoping that I was just being an idiot and that there was a simple solution.

I guess I should pull out the hole or jig saw and start chopping! That hole just isn't big enough to do anything through. Bugger bugger bugger!