I have a 94 F150 2wd 5s L6. I'm planning on putting a 2 or 3 inch "hockey puck" body lift on it. I've seen it done before several time, but never on a Ford. My questions are these...

Will everything under the hood (hoses, wires, etc) stretch that far?

Will I run into problems with the steering column and brake lines?

Also, has anyone seen this done with hockey pucks before? If you're from minnesota i'm sure you have and does anyone see any down falls to using hockey pucks?

Thanks for your advise,
truogj

 

If you are set on doing a body lift (which is a mistake in my opinion, but I'll leave that alone for now), why not just buy a kit? They're cheap.

 

Why is a body lift a mistake in your opinion?

Thought I don't know much about the subject I agree that you should just buy a kit I've seen them for as low as 150 bucks.

 

I put a 3" body lift in my truck with no major problems. I used some steel pipe with washers welded on.

Some things to take notice:

- You don't need to, but will want to make an extension for your shifter.

- You will have to cut the bottom out of your fan shroud for the fan to have room to spin

- Make sure to remove fuel fill hoses when lifting box, and you need to stretch them to re-install

That's about it I think. As for everything else, my truck seemed to have enough slack in everything (steering, brakes, etc). Raising the bumpers was a bit of a pain, but not that bad.

It took me and 2 buddies a whole day, and a case of beer to complete this job. Be patient with removing the bolts and look around to make sure your not ripping wires apart by accident, and the job should go pretty smooth.


Laka

 

Body lifts do nothing for suspension travel and look ugly. You have to mess with everything mentioned above and it's just a crappy/cheap way to lift a vehicle. Some have better luck than others. Most people who do it don't care what it looks like and don't care about the minor things involved with a body lift and don't go off road (unless they already have a suspension lift and want more tire clearance).

 

My concerns/dislikes about body lifts were pretty much covered by Laka and Justin. Yes, it's cheap and will let you put bigger tires on. But, I think it looks cheap, and was just used to put bigger tires on.
I had a friend with a 4X4 toyota (it's OK, he has an F-150 now), who put a body lift on. He was very surprised the first time he got stuck and couldn't shift into 4 wheel drive because the t-case shifter wouldn't move far enough.

 

Well this is a good debate and I would like to add my thoughts. Body lifts are by far the cheapest way to gain tire clearance, aside from a sawzall, and I have seen some trucks that really look like crap with one installed. Mostly chevrolets and gmc's because so much of the frame becomes exposed. But as far as our Fords, I don't think it takes away from the appearance at all. There aren't a bunch of exposed things under the truck that look offensive or out of place. And the aggresive look in addition to some taller tires are pleasing to the eyes. Easy to make an f150 stand up tall and proud like a stock f250. Now I am an advocate for purchasing a quality kit as opposed to just making one at home with stuff laying around. The kits are engineered to deal with any and all brackets, shifter extensions, steering shaft extensions, fan shroud, bumper brackets etc, so it is a clean and safe job. I am also strongly suggesting you get help if you have never done it before. It is not a hard job, but the cab and bed are heavy, and you don't want them to bump into each other. Ok well after all that, ya'll know how I feel about it. If youre going to do it, buy a kit and don't skip steps. Good luck and let us all know how it turns out. Later, Hippie.

 

I haven't seen a kit for a 92-96, but, all the kits for 87-91 truck's I've seen were just spacers, washers and bolts, and that was it....
Evan

 

They sell them everywhere. Summit has them for $99.

http://www.performanceaccessories.com/catalog/ford.html

This should help you find anything you need..

The kit I put on my 95 came with everything except brakets to raise the rear bumper. My kit was Performance Accessories #823.

Good luck. Later, Hippie

 

Interesting, the 92-96 kits come with everything, while the 80-91 kits are just the spacers and bolts(just put on on my buddy's 84), which explains why both those kits are only $75 compared to the 92-96 kit at $99
Evan

 

I bought the Performance Acessories kit from JC Whitney for about $95. The install is much easier if you have access to a die grinder, impact wrench, and a torch. I wouldn't try the hokey puck approach. By the time you buy the pucks, hardware, and fabricate adaptors you would be better off buying a kit. The lift itself is not very difficult. the problem as usual is removing rusty bolts. When you are done, little frame actually shows, and if you fill your fenderwells it is very hard to tell that you have the lift. Working under the truck is also much easier.

 

Thanks guys, I'll be going with the kit. Now, 2 or 3 inches? I'm doing it for visual purposes only and can't decide....anyone have pics of a 92-96 short bed with a body lift?

 

How big of tires are you putting on. I put a 3" lift in my '90 F-150 4x4, and I have 31's. With a 3" lift 33's would look a lot better. Maybe for a 2" use 32's or something equivelant?

Laka

 

When I bought my 90 it had a 3 inch body lift in it. It didnt look all that bad. The 33's that came on the truck looked just right for the 3 inch. I took that lift out however as I needed a different set up for the heavy off roading that I did with the truck. Only big complaint I had with the looks was the gap between the bed and the frame, it looked kinda tacky through the wheel wells. Other than that no complaints from me. It worked good for light off roading and street driving.