I recently installed a Performance Accessories 3" body lift on my 1997 F150 4x4. I got the entire kit form 4 Wheel Parts Wholesalers for $130. I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of the kit and the detail of the instructions. The instructions walk you through the entire installation step by step. The total installation took me a total of about 14 hours to complete. It is possible to complete the installation more quickly, but I was taking my time.

There are a few things that you need before you do the installation. First, you need a little confidence. Second, you will need TWO jacks to lift the bed and the cab at the same time. If the cab and bed are not lifted simultaneously the bed will bang into the cab causing a dent and possible paint damage. You will also need a T-47 Torx bit to remove the bed mounting bolts a good set of hand tools, a corded drill (to drill through the frame), and a set of large allen wrenches to install the steering shaft spacer.

The basic installation of the lift is pretty simple although there are multiple small items that must be moved or relocated that are time consuming.

The first thing you must do in the installation is disconnect the battery cables and remove the airbag deployment relays and fuses. After this is done you are ready to get down to business. You will have to remove the rear seat if you have a super cab and then remove the door sill trim and pull the carpet back to expose the cab mounting bolts inside the cab. Now you can loosen, but do not remove all of the cab and bed mounting bolts. Next you will remove the front and rear bumper. When all of the cab bolts are loose you will need to detach the steering column from the steering shaft. This is accomplished by removing the bolt that holds them together under the dash. Later you will install a spacer and re attach the steering shaft and the column. If you have the 4.6l or the 4.2l engine and an automatic transmission you will need to remove the transmission shift linkage and later re attach it with the supplied relocation bracket. The 5.4l does not require the linkage to be moved.

The radiator shroud needs to be removed from its mounts and the cab safety straps need to be removed. Now you are ready to lift the cab and the bed. Get some 2x4 wooden blocks and tape them together. You will probably need 14-16 inches of blocks taped together. Place the taped together blocks on the top of your jacks and position under jack under the cab and one under the front of the bed. You will lift the bed and cab one side at a time. Start to jack the bed and cab up at the same time. You have a little room to play here, but do two or three pumps on one jack and then move to the other and do the same. Once you have a little space between the bed and the frame, and the cab and the frame place the bed overload spacers under the cab and the bed. Placing these spacers under the bed and the cab will allow you some form of safety because if the bed or the cab falls it will not fall completely down it will fall on to the overload spacer and prevent the bed and cab from banging into each other. Once you have room to install the hard plastic spacers on to the body bushings do so. Then move to the other side and do the same. After all the spacers have been installed you can install the new mounting bolts that are included in the kit.

Now you can finish all of the small items that must be relocated. Install the steering column spacer. Move the cab safety straps to their new location. Remount the cab ground strap, install the bumper spacers and adjust the bumpers for proper alignment, and lower the radiator shroud.

A note on moving the radiator shroud. There are small plastic tabs on the bottom of the radiator shroud that must be removed. There are two ways to do this. Remove the cooling fan assembly and trim off the tabs or you can snap them off in place. I did the latter. I pulled the radiator shroud up as far as I could and then used a set of pliers to break the tabs off one side at a time. The radiator shroud material is pretty tough so it will break off in small pieces. It only takes about 5 minutes per side. I know this is not the best way to remove the tabs, but it is the easiest and fastest way to remove the tabs. Once the tabs are removed the shroud will be moved down with the brackets provided and it will be attached at the bottom with the supplied bracket.

Overall I am very impressed with the kit. It included all parts necessary and the instructions were well written. The kit on 4x4's allows the fitment of 36x12.50 tires with minor front bumper valance trimming. The Body lift allows you to run the same size tire as a truck with a 4-5" suspension lift and with the same size tire ground clearance will be the same. The only draw back to the body lift verse a suspension lift is that the body lift does not provide any more frame to ground clearance, but the bigger tires will give you the same ground clearance. If you have any questions feel free to e-mail me.