Body Lift ('97 GQ)

[taity]

hey guys. im just after a few answers on this one. i have a 97 gq and have 2 inches of lift with a set of 33" micky thompson mtz on and i find that the tyres rub. i have thought of maybe a 2" body lift but have heared that the gears might pop out some times. i just want to know if anyone has done it and how was it done and what needed to be moved etc

any help would be great. cheers, adam

[Peter @ Aawen4x4]

If you do a 50mm body lift, you are very likely to need to modify the 4WD selector lever or it's hole thru the floor pan to allow it to pull back far enough to get into low range properly. Some also need to do the gear lever, but they are usually vehicles that have had a little bingle at some stage, and it's not common! So yes, there is a bit of a problem for you there; solution; Do a 45mm body lift! A 40-45mm body lift doesn't have that problem, the selector lever clears the side of the hole and you just hafta do the lift, no cutting or modding! And you need to make sure that the OE body blocks are in good condition, 'cos the new blocks will need to sit on them or it won't work!

To do a lift, buy the kit with all the blocks, bolts, and spacers. You will likely find that the rear bolts are stuck in the captive nuts inside the rear floor and you stand a good chance of stripping the thread or breaking the captive nut free, so start early with the Penetrene on those nuts. Go in thru the floor in the rear and soak them a week before hand. If the captive nut breaks free, you hafta get something in there to hold it, and that means that you've gotta move the little metal cover over the top, so immediately before you try to undo them, hit the bolt end itself, above the captive nut, with a bit of local heat, just a second or two is enough to free the locktite and the nut!

OK, when you are ready to do it all, get yourself a level section of ground and something to do the lift. Some do it one side at a time, some do it front to rear or vice versa, with pairs of body blocks being done together across the vehicle. Take the bottom panel of the radiator shroud out, there is a little strip 50mm wide and 300mm long that presses into the bottom engine side of the radiator shroud, loose it, you won't need it once the lift has occurred anyhow! Stretch the curly pipe sections of Clutch and Brake line under the master cylinder. While you are there, undo the bolt on the splined slip joint of the steering shaft just behind the flexible coupling, just to let it slide into its new position as you lift. Hit the joint with WD40 or similar to make it easier. Pull a little extra length into the gap between body and chassis for the front diff breather. Ready to undo all the bolts, you'll need to lift the carpet inside both doors, and get at the nuts inside the rear door with the heat, then undo every bolt, leaving them in place (except the very rear) and I think that's about it. Ready to lift.

As you lift carefully, make sure that you've spread the load over sufficient floor area so as not to dent it or push holes in it! Lift and put the blocks in place, sliding the new bolts in and putting the nuts on finger tight. When they are all on make sure that the body is still square on the chassis, and tighten them all up! Tighten up the steering shaft, and if it's a 40-45mm lift, you are ready to go!

Anyone notice that I missed anything? Enjoy the lift!

BTW, I'd be checking that something isn't odd with your lift, my 33's didn't rub with a 2" lift except up front on full lock, and that was only while I had the OE mudguards on! Lose them and no rubbing! But if your 2" lift has sagged, that might be it. Maybe you should look at 20-30mm spring spacers! Or it might be that you just need to put in the washers to push the front Trailing arms forward, returning your wheelbase to spec and pushing the wheels clear of the mudguard when turning.

Enjoy!

[sudso]

Yeah do what Peter said, put about 15mm spacers in the rear of both radius arms to push the front axle forward 15mm. I gather its rubbing the rear of the front guards when turning?
Spring spacers wont help much IMO, my mates got 3" springs and 30mm spring spacers (so about 4" of spring lift) with 33 x 12.5 tyres and they still rub on full lock. I told him to put in radius arm spacers but he cut and chopped the flares and removed the mudflaps instead :D.
Your rim offset might play a part too.
cheers

[taity]

geez peter i couldnt thank you enough mate. i really apreciate that. as SUDSO said does it rub on the guards at full lock... yes they do so the mudflaps might come off. i'll see how i go and see what happens after that. and when it comes to the body lift i have no idea how to go about doing it so i might send it to the pros. thanks again guys

[mudclub]

Dont bother with body lift just remove mudflaps and get bigger coils
not worth the effort IMO

[TonyH]

I done it to my old wagon, and it's a piece of piss. Among my mates, about 50% of the time you'll need to deal with the low range lever getting knocked out. I believe Patrolling Paddy has invented and sells (?) a new gate to relocate the lever a bit. I any case, as I said, you may not even have to worry about it.

If you're a bit rough, you can just make the hole a bit bigger. It's not that rough, I mean, it's no worse than a dent, but it's in an unseen spot.

You'll need to cut the fuel tank filler hose and lengthen it by sliding in some 50mm(?) s/steel pipe and hose clamping it in position. There's a breather pipe that needs the same treatment too, but I can't remember the diameter of that one.

Having done it, I will say it is worth the effort. It's not even really that big of a job, and can be done in a lesuirely 4 or 5 hours.

Doing a two inch body lift will also enable you to lengthen your front shock mounts should you choose to fit some long travel suspension down the track.

[taity]

Dont bother with body lift just remove mudflaps and get bigger coils
not worth the effort IMO

yer just took them off. im going for a night drive tomorrow ill see how i go with that

[BOG33D]

yeah taity, i dont get any rub in the front on my truck, except for the back when its all crossed up, the inside top(of the tyre) just touchs the inside inner arch of the body. confusing?? yep.

i also have a 30mm spring spacer and no guards at all,
take ya guards off and let the mud spray i say

[thedakka]

hey fellas i dont know if this will help u much but if a little bit does then hey good to hear. i have a gq with 4 inch spring lift and 35" micky tees i had to do a body lift to mine to fit the 35's on and i still get some rubbing on the inner gaurd i dont get any rubbing at the front. when i did my 2 inch body lift my joey stick(4wd lever) hit the floor all it took was a case of cutting approx 20mm slot into the floor pan. now my car has a floor pan that i can unbolt from the car its not actually the floor itself. as for the rear bolts spinning on its self i simply got the mig out and just put enough tack on the bolt to hold it still then with a light knock with a hammer the weld cracked and bolt was free.

like i said i dont know if this will help but just thought id let u know what i had to do

dakka

The Shed – Australian 4WD Action - the dakka bus - NISSAN - PATROL - The world’s biggest community for custom 4WD, 4x4 and off-road vehicles. Browse thousands of photos, videos, comments, tips and build-ups! (http://www.4wdaction.com.au/shed/index.php?id=4176&im=1&s=on)

[ChoppersGQ]

First of all I troll through these forums and actually ENJOY reading Peters' posts - always informative and always thorough.

I just put body lift in a couple of weekends ago and lo and behold 50mm DID stuff my transfer lever. Easy adjustment with the oxy heat and bend forward the tiniest bit or i have seen people take the lever out and weld a 15-20mm piece in but then if you don't do it to the gearstick they sit almost the same height, looks a bit dicky.

Also 45mm body is heaps enough lift i mean who can really see the 5mm difference? It means you dont have to stress about cutting floors or welding pieces in or anything. Good as gold. My two cents anyways.