i have a 81 f-150 custom with a 6' suspension lift and may down the road put in a body lift, maby a 2 or 3 inch one, i have heard of people running into problems with to big of body lifts and i was wondering if any of yall have had any of these probs with your truck.

if it matters it has a auto C6 tranny

if you need more info just ask me

thanks
Robert

 

my truck had 6 and 3 i never had any troubles with my body lift
i know of one person who had trouble with his boddy lift the guy who owned the truck before him used 2x4's for the lift LOL ROFL

 

We put a 3" body lift on my buddies 86 F150. It already had 6" suspension lift. The only problem was finding the brackets to bring the bumpers back up to the body. Everything else worked out fine.

 

I had a truck with 3" body lift on it and 6" suspension. This truck was sprung very stiffly and used hard, as a truck. The thing I noticed about the body lift was that the body sheetmetal bent and cracked all around where the lift blocks were, to the point that the back of the cab was about 2 inches lower than the bed, the radiator core support was barely supporting the radiator and the front of the truck, and the bed floor looked like an ocean, you could see the waves peaks where the bed mounted at and the valleys in between. Also, the back section of the bed floor was angled downward alot, like the back of a dove-tail car trailer, because the rear bed mounts were never used, apparently the lift blocks didnt fit there so they just didnt use anything and it sagged with hard use.

Other problems were: wiring, lots of wiring problems in that truck because of all the splices; and shifting, the auto trans and transfer case shift linkages were always problematic; and the lower steering column section slider joint wore out because of being extended so far.

After owning that truck, I decided it wasnt a good idea to put a body lift on a truck and I have avoided buying any more body-lifted trucks.

In the other post above someone mentioned having used 2x4's as body lift blocks. I actually think that using long pieces of wood, or steel, that extend all the way accross the truck would be better than using the tiny plastic blocks that only support the body over a 3 square inch area. That may reduce some of the cracking and bending of sheetmetal.

If you do the body lift, be sure and check the bolts for tightness once in a while, or use locknuts, because they do come loose sometimes.

 

only problem with the wood is it rots just as the guy i mention up top had that problem the wood rotted on him if ya want a killer body lift just stack 2 frames gives ya lotsa strength too

 

>I had a truck with 3" body lift on it and 6" suspension.
>This truck was sprung very stiffly and used hard, as a
>truck. The thing I noticed about the body lift was that the
>body sheetmetal bent and cracked all around where the lift
>blocks were, to the point that the back of the cab was about
>2 inches lower than the bed, the radiator core support was
>barely supporting the radiator and the front of the truck,
>and the bed floor looked like an ocean, you could see the
>waves peaks where the bed mounted at and the valleys in
>between. Also, the back section of the bed floor was angled
>downward alot, like the back of a dove-tail car trailer,
>because the rear bed mounts were never used, apparently the
>lift blocks didnt fit there so they just didnt use anything
>and it sagged with hard use.
>
>Other problems were: wiring, lots of wiring problems in that
>truck because of all the splices; and shifting, the auto
>trans and transfer case shift linkages were always
>problematic; and the lower steering column section slider
>joint wore out because of being extended so far.
>
>After owning that truck, I decided it wasnt a good idea to
>put a body lift on a truck and I have avoided buying any
>more body-lifted trucks.
>
>In the other post above someone mentioned having used 2x4's
>as body lift blocks. I actually think that using long
>pieces of wood, or steel, that extend all the way accross
>the truck would be better than using the tiny plastic blocks
>that only support the body over a 3 square inch area. That
>may reduce some of the cracking and bending of sheetmetal.
>
>If you do the body lift, be sure and check the bolts for
>tightness once in a while, or use locknuts, because they do
>come loose sometimes.

what condition was your truck in before the body lift? what kind of "wheeling" did you do? did you install the body lift yourself? what year/type is the truck? what kind of wiring problem did you have? i do agree however if your going to actually jump your truck off 10 foot drops body lifts might not be a good idea. if you run your truck like a bat out of hell something is going to break. but IMO if you do moderate offroading and have a truck that is in good shape (body isnt rusted through) than a body lift is a good,cheap way to go. i beat the living hell out of my truck and my body lift has been great. i like to think that the lift isnt going to eventually settle on me like suspension. the most important part of a body lift is INSTALLATION. you install it crappy it may be crappy. thats the #1 rule for anything else you do to your truck. this is just my opinion.

 

The truck was a '77 Chevy K20. The body lift was on there when I got it. I did all types of 4wheeling in the Arizona deserts and mountains and used the truck to haul/pull anything I needed to. The truck had been used very hard and I used it hard as well. I posted this as an example of what can and did happen when a body lifted truck is put to years of hard use. Body lifts always look great when they are new and the truck is new or in nice shape and everythings tight and straight. This truck is the other end of the spectrum. Im not saying every truck will end up like mine did, but it was enough reason for me to decide that body lifts are for the birds and I dont want it on any more of my trucks.

 

i have a 3" body lift on my 250 i never had any problems.in the spring im adding on a 6" suspension lift.:-X12

 

Ford Fans-
One important thing I wanted to share is about the factory steering shaft. My trucks been bodylifted for a number of years now. Although you can force (by really yanking on it) the stock shaft to hook up DON'T DO IT.
The rag-joint section will rip within a couple of months leaving only the saftey cage to steer the truck. This is accompanied by a chintzy clicking sound when you steer. (This is the bottom part of the shaft that has the plastic cover on it- you know, by the sector shaft). Anyway, I went and replaced the shaft with used OEM ones 3 times that first year. Then one day I was working under the hood and had a friend turn the wheel with the motor off. When I say I saw the left side framerail flex that's an understatement. I made a new crossmember out of 1" squaretube right then and there, then I cut a new-used(lol) steering shaft at the solid section, fit a 3" pipe into it with 1/4" grade 8's and also welded it around. I swear that day the whole truck felt different going down the road. I then got back that can't feel the road, steering through a bowl of Jello feedback we all know and love about the TTB frontend.
These are my personal experience/opinions, maybe your truck reacted differently than mine. I will say that my truck gets hammered, and that if you don't abuse yours as hard maybe you'll think this is all crazy.