M.O.R.E.
1 Inch Body Lift
by John K.
A one inch body lift is an easy modification you can do in a few hours in your garage or driveway. It is an easy way to gain clearance for you tires to move up into the wheel well, and gets the body a little further away from rocks and other stuff. As far as clearing the frame and axles away from harm it will only help you in the fact you can run a bit larger tire.
A few of the drawbacks are the radiator position is changed if you do not also lift the engine and the transfercase handle will need to be adjusted.
This is a simple guideline for a one inch to a two inch lift. All lifts are different and you will run into different issues while you lift your body. ALWAYS READ AND FOLLOW THE INSTRUCTIONS THAT COME WITH THE LIFT YOU ORDERED!!
This is a one inch M.O.R.E. body lift. It comes with seven aluminum spacers, new bolts, two front clip spacers, a steering shaft bracket, and a transfer case lever drop bracket.
Again, simple handtools, a jack, and confidence are all that is needed to do this.
First is to put the vehicle on a nice flat work area, set the E-brake and do all the other safety things we ALL do….
Go ahead and break all the body mount bolts loose. There are the easy ones on the sides, and on the back near the bumper. Don’t forget about the two in front of the gas tank up inside the frame. There is the single one under the front clip and is an easy one.
Loosen all the bolts on the mounts, then remove the one under the front clip. Pull up the carpet on the drivers side near the transfercase side and remove the bolts that hold the bracket in place.
Remove the two bolts on the steering shaft bracket, and let it hang. We will place the bracket there after the lift gives us more room.
Pull the shroud off the radiator and let it hang there, there are four bolts holding it on. We will deal with the replacement later.
Pick a side and remove all the body mount bolts on that side. (Note *do not remove all of them, the body will tend to shift and could possibly fall off) Now you can lift one side of the Jeep with a jack. Use a block or something like it to spread out the weight of the body so you do not bend the sheet metal. Jack up the body about at the midway point under the door. The frame will also lift as you relive the weight off the frame, so jack it up until you get about an inch and a half off the factory mounts. (for an one inch lift) . Some lift mounts replace the whole mount, others use metal pucks. For mine it was the pucks. I simply slid the new pucks in place on top of the original mounts. Then I put the new bolts in to hold them in place. I did not have much trouble, and I only put them in a few good turns. (you will have to back them out and lock tight them when the other side is done) Put the spacer on under the front clip rubber bumper and locktight the bolt down.
Let that side down and lift the other side, place all the pucks on that side and run the bolts in. Place the other spacer under the front clip and locktight the bolt down. Pl ace the the one spacer under the front clip. Lower the body down, and check the position of the body and pull each bolt and locktight them. Tighten all bolts to the specs in your instructions.
*don’t forget the body mounts in front of the gas tank*
Now the lift has moved the radiator up in relation to the engine. You can do an engine lift and a belly up to lift the engine back to position with the radiator. M.O.R.E. sells nice one inch engine lift brackets or bomb proof mounts for this. If you lift the engine and do a belly up you will not need to reposition the T case lever either. This is assuming you do a one inch body lift and a one inch belly and engine lift too. If you do a two inch body and one inch belly and engine you will still need to adjust the radiator and T case bracket one inch, and so on. Lifting the engine and case will put the driveshafts at more extreme angles. If you are running anything over a two inch suspension lift and do a belly up, consider a short shaft kit on the output shafts.
If
you do not like the new gap between the body and frame, you can find
beauty spacers that fill the gap in the wheel wells. M.O.R.E. makes
several front bumpers that are one inch taller to cover the gap at the
front clip.
The radiator shroud.
Some kits come with brackets, the one inch kit you can just move the shroud down, and of course if you lift the engine you just bolt the shroud back in place.
You can follow the instructions in your kit or for a possible easier way read on.
I took my Dremel and a hacksaw blade to modify the shroud. I cut the shroud at the top and bottom and was able to then pull the shroud out in two easy pieces. I then marked one inch down from the original holes on the radiator and drilled four new holes. I put the shroud back in and noted where it hit the output hose from the radiator. I used the dremel to trim the lower part of the shroud to clear the hose.
Place the shroud back in and mount it to the new holes. (This can be a challenge in its own right) For the part you cut in half, drill to holes on either side of the cut and use zip ties to hold the cut tight. It is bolted in anyway and will not go anywhere.
The cool part of this is that to change the water pump, clutch fan, belt, ect. You do not need to move the radiator. Just unbolt the shroud and cut the zip ties, you can pull the shroud in two pieces without pulling anything else. You can now change the water pump, fan, and whatnots easily
The Transfercase bracket.
Go ahead and pull the bracket out of the vehicle and attach the drop plate, to do this unbolt the pilot bearing and use the holes to attach the plate. Move the pilot bearing to the appropriate hole. (other lifts use different styles of brackets, some drop the whole factory bracket, others replace the factory bracket) Mine had three holes, for up to a three inch lift. Place the bracket back in place and bolt it in. It is easier if you put the shifter pivot shaft into the pilot bearing, it will hold it up and when you bolt the four bolts the shifter will be already hooked up. Put the carpet back. You may need to adjust the shift linkage on the t case, this is done with a 13mm socket and the little clip on the connecting rod to the shift lever. (if you do a one inch belly up and a one inch bodylift, you will not need to use this bracket)
If you lift the body more than an inch without the belly up kit, you may run into troubles with the manual tranny shifter. A proper kit will address this.
The lift will also pick up the steering shaft, my kit had a nice bracket to relive the angle caused by the lift. It’s a pain to put on but is necessary. I removed the front wheel to make it easier.
Like I said, you now have room for larger tires, or more room to stuff a tire under flex. You will not have any horrible driving side effects, as you did not mess with the suspension. Your center of gravity is higher, so be careful at first until you get used to it.