i want to know why people hate body lifts so much. i am currently getting one for my 88 f150, it came off my buddies truck because he no longer wants his. its only a 2 inch body lift, i my self dont really like them but being that this one is being given to me im going to put it on. i would much prefer a suspension lift but im only 16 and doing little odd jobs her and there for gas money. i have a couple hundred extra dollars in the bank and im going to buy grade 8 fasteners to put the body lift on with. i have herd many people say there un save but my truck isnt that tall, it only has a leveling kit and 33's right now. i have never seen a body lift fail accept when one guy in my town literaly used zip ties to hold his bed on with a 3 inch body lift. i want a ton of feed back from you guys!!! so start shooting me your thoughts, thanks!!!

 

Body lift is alot more work than a suspension lift. And alot of things have to be readjusted/aligned, like bumpers, shift linkages etc etc, and it shows to many gaps everywhere around the truck where the body should be sitting on the frame.

Not to mention, it makes it harder to work on the engine, cause the fenders and everything around the engine is alot higher now, so the engine looks like it sits deeper in the engine bay.

 

Well I'm not an expert on body lifts by no means, but I'll tell you what I know/think about them, and hopefully it will help you out a little. I do have one on my truck, but it is a 3 inch body lift. The truck used to be my Dad's so I did not put it on there, he did.

No do I body lifts in genereal: No. I don't think that they look good on most trucks and don't think that it is the best way to lift a truck, and maybe not the most reliable. I guess it could be less safe, but I've never heard of anyone having trouble personally, but ya never know. And I think it does possibly put more stress on certain body and suspenion parts. I think you should be fine as long as its done right and not done with taking shortcuts.

And like John, said a lot of things have to be reajusted/realigned. I know on mine I think my Dad had to adjust the 4x4 and possibly the gear shifters. He also might have done something with the steering as well. And it will definitely leave gaps in with bumper and frame gaps. The bumper will need to be reajusted, unless you don't mind the gaps. My Dad said that with the stock brakets at least the front bumper can be moved up about an inch, but that will still leave a gap. This will probably involve making custom brackets.

Now with all that said I actually like the body lift on my truck. I've never driven it with it, and neither has my Dad, since it is not road worthy yet, so I don't know how it affects ride quality or ability on the road. And I actually like the way it looks the as well. I don't really like some of the frame gaps, but I don't really mind them though. I like how you can see more of the frame/suspension, but thats because my Dad had all the frame and suspensoin painted, so it looks good. If yours doesn't look good you might not like it. I think you should be fine as long as you do it right. You just have to figure out if thats how you want your truck to look and if you are capable of making all the reajustments/realignments.

Here's a few pics of mine to give you an idea of what yours might look like.






Old pic of when it was still dirty, but it shows the body lift well.


Another older one. Shows how the frame hangs down more and the gaps in the back.

 

@RedDevil460 i agree with most of what you said, im not a supper huge fan of body lifts myself but its free and i wont complain about that. and it will give me a little bit more clearance for larger tires. I KNOW A SUSPENSION LIFT IS BETTER, but i simply dont have the money for one. im tryin to have fun on the cheep and sometimes we gota make work with what we have or can afford. i know there might be some ugly spots but i can always pressure wash the gap between the body and the frame and spray paint it black.

 

Yeah, it will give you some room for bigger tires. And I know what ya mean on money, I'm only 17 myself, you just don't have enough money for some stuff. I'm having trouble getting enough money for the parts I need to get mine back on the road. And I'm not saying that it will look bad if your frame doesn't look that good, even though you say yours doesn't look bad, it just depends if you will be ok with seeing the frame more. I was just saying why I like mine, maybe you'll like seeing the frame more too. Its just personal preference.

 

Other than the clearance for larger tires I see no gain in a body lift. The clearance issues I run into with my Bronco usually involve the front axle or rear bumper.

I also would never install blocks on a leaf spring to lift a pick-up truck.

These parts change the geometry of the body mounts and place greater forces on the body mounts. I would hate to ruin cab mounts or body mounts on a good truck.

I am also not a fan of cheap lift kits for 1980-1996 F series pick-ups. Longer springs alone will improperly change front end alignment. Drop brackets for the radius arms and the twin traction tube place more stress on the frame. They can also crack and break over time.

The only proper way I see to lift a Ford is to buy modified twin traction tubes and different leaf springs for the rear axle. They are cut and modified to use lift springs and still maintain proper alignment. Also a ladder bar would be ideal for the rear axle.

Just because a part is free doesn't mean you should install it, and not all performance parts increase performance.

 

......or even simpler, buy a 4x4 F350 86 or newer, and you got a solid front axle, all suspension lift problems solved!

 

RedDvil460 i under stand what your saying about being able to see more of your frame being kinda cool being you have custom paint job. on the other hand i don't care to see more of the under side of my truck cause its just not pretty there's no rust or anything bad its just simply not pretty.

jonmark1985 i see what your saying also, fords twin traction wasnt that great of a design for low speed wheelin as it has very stiff front springs and can break fairly easily. and i also understand what you mean when you say Just because a part is free doesn't mean you should install it, and not all performance parts increase performance." i know exactly what your saying. in my opinion the best way to lift a ford with the twin traction beam, is to cut all the crap out and do a straight axle swap with leaf springs and high steer and be done with it.

IDIDieselJohn I agree!!! but where can i find one with 146xxx miles (like mine) a standard cab with the zf5 transmission and the 300 straight six? i think the odds are pretty low. so im just gona stick with my f150 aka "Lil Blu" that's already payed for. ya know what i mean?

 

There really isn't a need to get a 1 ton. If you really want a solid axle, get one from the front of a 78 or 79 bronco or f150 4x4. It's a Dana 44 solid axle. It's kind of involved, but I did a similar thing with my truck (pretty much the same swap but with leaf springs being a 3/4 ton). You can keep your current set up of driveline and the body, and come out with something that's capable of wheeling. If you look into the 4x4 forum on here there's a good thread by a user alpha/omega on doing this to a half ton.

But on the topic of body lifts, they are absolutely garbage. Don't waste your time, put the lift on craigslist and sell it.

 

Body lifts raise your center of gravity which will make the truck feel like it is rolling more while turning. Because of that, your handling is reduced. Like already mentioned, body lifts are more work than suspension lifts. It all comes down to whether you want to have good handling or be able to fit a little bit bigger of a tire. If you want bigger tires and not sacrifice your handling, save up and buy a suspension lift.

 

This is also true of suspension lifts and putting on larger tires.

 

If you want to raise your truck a bit, consider leveling the front with Superlift leveling coils or Moog replacement F250 coils. If your set on lifting the whole truck get a suspension lift with radius arm and I beam drop brackets. Definitely do not stack rear leaf spring blocks, and avoid them if possible.

Just about everything about a body lift is not good.

1. They just don't look good with the frame hanging down and the gap between the frame and the bed.

2. The radiator and fan shroud is no longer in the correct position to line up with the engine.

3. The bumpers have to be raised up to make the truck look right.

4. They shifter is will probably have to be altered.

5. The brake lines and some wiring harnesses will have to be altered.

6. The vehicle is raised without having a stiffer suspension, so its more prone to body roll.

7. Usually the bolts are not as strong as the OEM bolts.

8. Who likes the idea of the body being supported by composite plastic spacers?

The word cheap and lift do not belong in the same sentence. In my opinion, body lifts really should not be allowed on the road. They belong in the landfill.

 

and if you are in a warm climate, you will have cooling problems because the body lift moves the fan out of the center of the radiator, making it necessary to remove the fan shroud, causing more cooling problems.

 

If you have a 4x4 I say yes. you can have more upward flex without having to raise the 4x4 to get the same amount of wheel travel,as big suspension lifts create instability in their own way. If not a 4x4 its a fair bit of work if down the track you are going to do a suspension lift any way.

 

Just because it is FREE does not mean it should go on your truck.

Body lift have their +'s and their -'s.

+'s
Cheap
pretty simple to install

-'s
Every thing Texas said....

1.They just don't look good with the frame hanging down and the gap between the frame and the bed.

2. The radiator and fan shroud is no longer in the correct position to line up with the engine.

3. The bumpers have to be raised up to make the truck look right.

4. They shifter is will probably have to be altered.

5. The brake lines and some wiring harnesses will have to be altered.

6. The vehicle is raised without having a stiffer suspension, so its more prone to body roll.

7. Usually the bolts are not as strong as the OEM bolts.

8. Who likes the idea of the body being supported by composite plastic spacers?


If you look REAL closely, the -'s outweigh the +'s