Scratching my head on body lifts

ShawnM

Member
Joined
May 21, 2020
Messages
93
Location
Oliver BC
Kinda thinking, what’s the point? I’ve got a $150+ body lift sitting in a box. I broke the first bolt I tried removing and after a month of PB Blasting I could tell the next (and probably all) would break. Decided I didn’t want to cut the shit out of my floor to install something that wasn’t really going to provide anything to the ride, handling or functionality. So just asking: other than “looks” does a body lift really get you anything?
 
Looks, that's all. If you're really going to wheel, you want lift in the suspension and tires; the body lift only raises your CG, which is bad. If you street your Jeep but want it to look all offroad without a bunch of hassle, that's what body lift is for. Mine came with 2" body lift, and the ride and handling both improved a lot when I ditched it and installed new, stock mounts.

But if your body mount bolts are that corroded, the mounts themselves are probably worn out. They make a lot of difference in the ride and feel of the rig. Sounds like replacing them isn't going to be fun for you, but it might be worth the effort.
 
Body lifts are of tremendous use if you want to do something like tuck the underside up into the body. For instance, on my TJ I wanted a completely flat belly (for crawling over rocks), so I tucked the transfer case entirely into the tunnel which allowed me to run a flat skid plate, and I also tucked the gas tank up several inches as well.

This dramatically improved my ground clearance, and I no longer have anything under the vehicle to easily get snagged on rocks.

This wouldn't be possible without a body lift, hence the purpose. The catch however is that going over 1.25" of body lift is not advisable and unnecessary. I was able to do all this with a mere 1.25" of body lift.

Another positive of a small body lift is added wheel clearance which makes room for additional up-travel before the tires crash into the fenders.
 
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