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body lift

P

packratt

Active Member
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Location
near Richmond, VA
I know its dangerous but I had a thought today.

I've read where there are problems installing a body lift on our trucks due to the radiator and fan shroud being lifted while the engine stays in place.

Why wouldn't this work.
  • Lift the rear trans mount. Use a short piece of 2x4x1/4 tube or 2x6x1/4 tube.
  • Modify the metal engine brackets by cutting and inserting a piece of 2" bar stock on each side of the bracket with appropriate reinforcement.

That would keep the engine in the appropriate relationship to the radiator.
 
Then you change your driveline angles possibly creating vibration but at the very least shorterning ujoint life.
 
Poor Mans Lift ?s

Anyone ever use Pro Comps 4dr Tahoe lift 51095B?? Whats stoppin me for a 2Dr use??

What would be a longer shock to make a "add-a-leaf" kit work??
My tahoe sits 1'' lower in rear.
 
packratt said:
I know its dangerous but I had a thought today.

I've read where there are problems installing a body lift on our trucks due to the radiator and fan shroud being lifted while the engine stays in place.

Why wouldn't this work.
  • Lift the rear trans mount. Use a short piece of 2x4x1/4 tube or 2x6x1/4 tube.
  • Modify the metal engine brackets by cutting and inserting a piece of 2" bar stock on each side of the bracket with appropriate reinforcement.

That would keep the engine in the appropriate relationship to the radiator.
Click to expand...

That's way more work than you need to do. There are guys here who have just separated the fan shroud in the middle and dropped the lower half of it. Gota mess with air box too I think. The rest is the usual, shift, trans case and steering linakge.
If your not towing the shroud mod probably won't affect the engine temps. Then again I did everything under the sun to mine and it still overheated towing. I sold the camper.
 
Acesneights1 said:
That's way more work than you need to do. There are guys here who have just separated the fan shroud in the middle and dropped the lower half of it. Gota mess with air box too I think. The rest is the usual, shift, trans case and steering linakge.
If your not towing the shroud mod probably won't affect the engine temps. Then again I did everything under the sun to mine and it still overheated towing. I sold the camper.
Click to expand...

Not planning on doing a body lift and they don't make suspension lifts for 1 ton duallys that I know of. Just an idea that popped into my head at work the other day.

It would seem to me that if the trans and motor have been raised an amount equivalent to the body there would be no need to mess with air box, trans and transfer case linkage, and shroud.

The change in driveline angles would be less than that of a 4" suspension lift.
 
I put a bodylift in mine, wasn't a big deal. Kit came with the parts to split the shroud and keep the bottom half. Obviously it is not as effective as it was stock, but it works. Only thing I noticed was about a 5-10 degree increase when towing heavy. Probably going to throw a big auxiliary electric fan on it before camping season to keep it within reason.
I'd rather have my motor and tranny sitting in their normal locations, it's just not the right place to raise it. You'd mess up driveline angles too much. And the lower you keep the weight the better.
A suspension lift for an eight lug will work on a dually too. Nothing is different, all you're doing is lifting the truck, the wheels have nothing to do with it.
The bodylift was the best way to go in my particular situation. With the torsion bars cranked 5 turns and 33 inch rubber, my plowframe and receiver hitch are already a little bit higher than is ideal The bodylift allowed me more clearance for the front tires, without modifying either frame mounted accessory.
Lastly, if you want to do all that work, why not try this with a bodylift instead? Completely remove radiator and radiator support. Cut the bottom of the radiator support and fabricate a 3 inch drop to it somehow, then put it back together. Then your radiator will stay at the same height it was, lined up with the fan.
 
I'm trying to piece to a simple lift kit probally 2'' mabey 3''; torsion keys, add-a-leafs, and 4 new shocks( longer in rear)...so u wont have to worry about all that and it would be a suspension lift.
 
3500s and hd2500s(8 lug) are different as far as suspension lifts go. That is his problem. Most companies don't make a kit for the 8 lug old bodystyle. RCD suspension does. It's a little pricey but then again any IFS kit pretty much is.
 
If I could, I'd look into a suspension lift. Seems like fewer problems... The body lift on my Tahoe DID cause cooling problems, which were solved with an electric fan. However, the amount of CFM with the electrics is far lower than the stock fan. Good thing I don't tow.

-Rob :)
 
TurboTahoe- nice 2DR, its very clean.

Do u have the part number or dimensions on the shocks?
And do the hellwig sway bars make a big diffrence?
 
DMDK said:
TurboTahoe- nice 2DR, its very clean.

Do u have the part number or dimensions on the shocks?
And do the hellwig sway bars make a big diffrence?
Click to expand...

Thank you for being so kind.

Rancho Shocks: RS9000XL - I believe I got the shocks that permit up to 4" lift. Looks like Rancho changed their part numbers, so I'm not sure what the new numbers are.

Do the Hellwig Sways make a big difference? YES YES YES. They make a HUGE difference. I used to get that 'white knuckle feeling' whenever I would take a hard corner with the stock setup. It is VERY stable at speed now, tracks really well on the freeway, corners really well. In fact, during a snow storm, I went to a parking lot and threw the old girl around a bit, just to see how well it would track. The body sway was mostly due to the big tires, the suspension really was stable. I did install the urethane (i.e. very high durometer) grommets and end links. Simply superb!

Since the Tahoe is mostly a pavement pounder, I would hesitate putting the sways on if you do a lot of off-road, or if you encounter weather that would make a 'sporty' suspension dangerous. At a minimum, plan on getting the 'quick disconnect' sway bar end links for off-road. The shocks would still be OK, as you can dial them way down to be very soft.

Overall, a really desirable upgrade to the handling and safety of the Tahoe. Love it!

-Rob :)
 
Thanks for the info TT.

Do u know if the lower ball joints are Press-In type, just double checking.
 
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