lwb t2 body lift

[elty001]

body lift

i had some 50mm blocks made for a tenner at work but i sold them for 40 quid as i didnt want something as heavy as that.just trying to make best use of what iv'e got at hand.only an idea i had while i was removing the body from the other one.what got me thinking was the polyurathane ones i had seen on other sites while i was browsing the web.have got the time at the mo but not the money

 

[Terranosaurus]

I've not seen polyurethane ones but nylon are pretty common and more than up to the job.

 

[elty001]

body lift

have found a website where the nylon bar at 75mm dia is around £35 a metre.they can cut it to what ever size you want(at a price)dont think it would cost too much to have 10 blocks at 50mm cut.just need to get them drilled at work.just the lack of spare cash at the mo thats stopping me

 

[zippy656]

hi, be great to see some pics of what you lot are talking about, ive seen a few lifted 4x4, but never a T2. ive a LWB as well, sounds intresting if i know just what i need to do,


id never even start as ive not got a cluse, but i can follow a to do list well enough



Zippy

 

[Terranosaurus]

Theres a download on how to body lift a T2 in the downloads.

My old purple one had a 60mm body lift that I did - took me about a full day working on my own to do it, though I did it over 2 haf days in fact.

 

[zippy656]

ive seen that, just not to sure i could do it

 

[extreme-4x4]

body lifts seem to always start off quite cheep,,, however the more often than not end up costing loads of money

extending steering bars
longer break hoses
messing with gear levers

plus anything that brakes or requires servicing while your there as you have disturbed everything

every time i have done it on suzuki's the kit starts of cheep then once your into it money just falls out of your pockets, just to get it back on the road

and your not actually getting any better ground clearance...

if mine don't go high enough im cutting the arches to get bigger wheels on its quicker and cheaper and done well you will get more height


my last sj had all new bigger arches

 

[zippy656]

yes thats true, you dont gain much

 

[Terranosaurus]

When I lifted my Mav which was by 60mm I dodn't need anything bar the spacers and the bolts. All the brake and fuel lines and wiring loom had enough slack in them and the steering column has plenty of movement on the splines (it barely moves anyway as it is only at abot 20 degrees to the horizontal. Admitedly I didn't have to rehang my fuel tank or extend the filler and breather pipes to it but thats about all. I didn't move the rad mearely slackened the water pipes and allowed them to settle where they were, the fan didn't line up with thw cowling properly but it still cooled adequately. It really was cheap I know on other trucks you need to extend alsorts but not on these. At 60mm the transfee lever was a bit tight, I'd recomend 50mm tbh for anyone els, but the gear lever was fine - sure it was a bit further away but I never found that a problem.

I'll be doing my new T2 sometime probably only 1 1/2" this time as sureterm only allow 3 1/2" lift and I'll have 2" of spring lift.

I'm no fan of cutting body work unless you really have to. A body lift is by far the best way to make room for larger tyres IMHO, spring lifts jus don't cut the mustard in that respect and cutting arches etc is rough (ok for a quarry basher I suppose) and still doesn't give you any more upwards space in the rear arches unless you're going to re tub them - which is far far more work.

 

[extreme-4x4]

When I lifted my Mav which was by 60mm I dodn't need anything bar the spacers and the bolts. All the brake and fuel lines and wiring loom had enough slack in them and the steering column has plenty of movement on the splines (it barely moves anyway as it is only at abot 20 degrees to the horizontal. Admitedly I didn't have to rehang my fuel tank or extend the filler and breather pipes to it but thats about all. I didn't move the rad mearely slackened the water pipes and allowed them to settle where they were, the fan didn't line up with thw cowling properly but it still cooled adequately. It really was cheap I know on other trucks you need to extend alsorts but not on these. At 60mm the transfee lever was a bit tight, I'd recomend 50mm tbh for anyone els, but the gear lever was fine - sure it was a bit further away but I never found that a problem.

I'll be doing my new T2 sometime probably only 1 1/2" this time as sureterm only allow 3 1/2" lift and I'll have 2" of spring lift.

I'm no fan of cutting body work unless you really have to. A body lift is by far the best way to make room for larger tyres IMHO, spring lifts jus don't cut the mustard in that respect and cutting arches etc is rough (ok for a quarry basher I suppose) and still doesn't give you any more upwards space in the rear arches unless you're going to re tub them - which is far far more work.

true my suzuki's where all quarry bashers, but the mav is really 80 percent road / work car ... but im already fitting the spring kit i bought from you. so thats 50mm up on the brake hoses. so if i do body lift i guess id have to re hose the brakes. but i can go 31" wheels now so how much more will i get if i 2"spring and 2" body lift

the catching points on the arches/tubs/cills is at 3 o clock on the back and 9 o clock on the front going up wont change that very much

so with 4" up you might get 32" tyres on depending on the offset of your wheels so thats only 1/2 " up on the axels......

seems lots of money and expence for 1/2 inch

 

[Terranosaurus]

Brake hose wise its different brake hoses pipes that are affected by each lift type.

A spring lift affects the flexies - the fronts run down the wishbones so will never need extending, the rears will only need extending if you fit longer shocks and dislocation cones as the shocks come up soild before the brake lines.

With a body lift its the soild pipes that need to extend but nissan handily put 3 or coils in where they cross from the body to the chassi and these just need pulling out to gain the extra height - thats why its so simple.


Yes what you sya about 3 and 9 o'clock is correct but I'm certain this can be dealt with with a little judicous cutting and welding, without chopping the whole arch about. I recalculated the size of what I've got on and they're nearer 33" than the 32" I thought they were. I'm planning to go to 35s next time, which will involve some cutting and welding but nothing too extreme - and that really wil be worth it I'm sure.

I've got to say even if you only gain 1/2" that is a big difference in the real world - don't sound too impressive in th ebar but it will make the difference between getting over a certain rock or not or getting through a set of ruts or not - sure you can still get hung up on some stuff - but theres always something you can get stuck on even if you had 50" tyres and portal axles.

 

[extreme-4x4]

yes so its the wheels that give the real lift (the getting stuck lift)

i dont see the body lift making any difference...

when you max the wheels out to 35's if its possible and your trimming the sills/tubs/arch area at 3 and 9 oclock with a sring lift and no body lift your talking about 10mm extra off (max) if any, than you would without the body lift

the suspension only goes up and down and up and down with the sprig lift there's loads of room

beleive me id do anything you say, you have done it before and much more experienced than me with these trucks... i want to max mine up and out as much as i can ... but i can only see a body lift lifting the body for looks but it will trow the centre of gravity out more and make it loads more un stable on road.... then you just have a quarry basher if you cant drive them nice on the road

 

[elty001]

body lift

1/2 inch :? dont see really what you mean.at the mo im on stock size tyres with a 2"spring lift which has increased the approach,break over and decent angle.with a 2"body lift and bigger tyre i will increase the clearance under the diffs(the lowest part of the motor)so diff clearance of 1"+2" spring lift give an overall 3"gained on all aspects.gotta be better than nothing.

 

[extreme-4x4]

Re: body lift

1/2 inch :? dont see really what you mean.at the mo im on stock size tyres with a 2"spring lift which has increased the approach,break over and decent angle.with a 2"body lift and bigger tyre i will increase the clearance under the diffs(the lowest part of the motor)so diff clearance of 1"+2" spring lift give an overall 3"gained on all aspects.gotta be better than nothing.

yes in your case with the steps, a bar and tow bar they are all low points so yours is at a loss already as is mine for now but mine all come off for off road.

so if your tyres are 28" now and you put 31" tyres on you only actually lift the lowest point 1.5 inches ... yes you can spring lift as i am and body lift if you like but unless you throw it out sideways your center of gravity is greatly effected ( on the road)

the only way to get more clearance up (at the getting stuck point) is bigger wheels and they rub at 3 and 9 o clock .....so bigger wheels means cutting metal... 35" tyres will give you 3.5 " higher than standard (on the diff's) if you can get them on

as for decent angles etc you have to trim the plastic bumpers etc and loose the toys

mine would be better without the rock sliders im making so she don't ground out in the middle..... but i want to protect the bodywork there. as i did trimming the bumpers etc, its better to trim them now so they look nice rather than have some tree stump or rock ripping them off later

you have to make your truck to suit your needs... only you know where your taking it and your own limits.

but if you want it to drive nice on the road like i do. that does restrict your options

lots of suzuki owners go for reversed rims if they go too high, so massive offset to counter balance the centre of gravity. probably illegal and very unsafe

 

[elty001]

body lift

that was the main reason i fitted wheel spacers to widen the track to counter effect raising the centre of gravity.with the wheel offset and spacers its a 65mm increase in width.my reason for wanting to do a bodylift is so i can fit bigger tyres but try and keep the truck as stock as possible with out the need for cutting away too much.

have now fitted the plastic arch trims from the mkII terrano to cover the tyres.but they still catch on full lock in reverese on the mud flaps but i can live with that.

 

[Terranosaurus]

yes so its the wheels that give the real lift (the getting stuck lift)/quote] - yes lifts just let you fit bigger tyres though they do impriove all the angles (approach,departure,breakover) and help to keep vulnerable things out of the way.

when you max the wheels out to 35's if its possible and your trimming the sills/tubs/arch area at 3 and 9 oclock with a sring lift and no body lift your talking about 10mm extra off (max) if any, than you would without the body lift

By making the room with a body lift I hope to avoid needing to touch the tubs as they will be lifted up and away from the tyres (without compromising suspension travel - see below)

but i can only see a body lift lifting the body for looks but it will trow the centre of gravity out more and make it loads more un stable on road.... then you just have a quarry basher if you cant drive them nice on the road

Its quite the reverse of that. A bodylift leaves all the heavy things, chassis, engine, gearbox, frot diff etc at the same height and only lifts the relatively lightweight body so it actually keeps the C of G lower and makes for a more stable truck (height for height) on the road (and off).



There is another complication especialy for these trucks with IFS.
It doesn't matter what you do to the front end there is a limit to the amount of suspension travel. I'm not sure off the top of my head what it is but lets assume its 8", 4" up (bump) and 4" down (droop) on a standard set upat correct ride height. If you lift the truck 2" you change this to 6" bump travel and 2" droop travel. So if you were to lift it 4" you would have no droop travel which would not be good on the road or off. By doing the same lift as a body lift or splitting between the 2 you can retain droop travel.

There is a converse problem when you fit larger tyres, because of the larger tyres you may need to limit bump travel (larger bump stops) to prevent the tyres touching the body or suspension members. Say perhaps you have to fit 2" larger (in suspension travel terms, because of the ratio in the wishbones it may only need 10mm bigger stops to limit the suspension by 2") bump stops. This applies to all spring lifts on IFS or beam/live axles. WIth a body lift you create real space above the tyre to be taken up by larger tyres.


I think the reason that spring lifts are more popular is there relative simplicity, especially on a truck without IFS. Even changing shocks and brake lines to longer ones too, seems a relatively easy job compared to undoing the body mounts and lifting the body. And in fairness it probably is, but it is usually cheaper to do a body lift and the result is better, but most people aren't prepared to tackle such a project when for a little more money they can do a spring lift. Of course if you are paying someone else to do it a spring lift is far cheaper. 2 hours labour versus probably 8hrs - the cost of the parts starts to pale into insignificance.

 

[dinky]

Well after following HB on roads and off,can honestly say at the speeds he does on the road ,with all he carries inside and on the roof .His old Mav handled pretty well,to say it had been bodylifted.leant a bit due to no arb fitted bet kept on track.

 

[elty001]

body lift

i suppose at the end of the day it all depends on how much work you are prepared to put in to achive the result that you want.for me its the challenge of doing the body lift that is appealing.nothing is free no matter what you do but if you are a resourcefull and practical sort then most problems can be over come with a bit of time and thought.glad to see ive given you something to chat about. :smile: may never even get to doing a body lift but it just keeps popping in my head that i need to do it :wink:

 

[jims-terrano]

All this body lift business is fine and really does look great. If I had the money and the know how I would actually quite like it. However the main draw back that I can see is the insurance company. I think Direct Line would spank my backside. I'm pretty sure most comany's would do the same surely, no point them having a license to print money and not use it is there.

Jim T

 

[Terranosaurus]

If you go with the specialist insurance comanies they don't bat an eyelid at a lift.

Sureterm allow 3" total lift for new customers and 3 1/2" for existing, not sure about adrian flux but they'll be similar and I'm told NFU are very good too.

After all it doesn't really make your vehicle anymore of a risk to them in fact the balance of opinion in insurance (i am told) is shiftting to the attitude that if someone has spent time and money modifying a vehicle they are more likely to drive carefully and thus less likely to have an accident.