the only way to go really high on the 97-03's while keeping the torsion bar IFS reliable is the 6+3. unless you want to switch to coilovers, or a SAS you're stuck with the body/suspension lift combo. the full throttle/whiplash lifts will fall apart if the truck ever leaves the pavement.

bushwacker does make cut-out fender flares that look similar to the pocket style ones. these cut-outs look good on our trucks.

f150monster232, do you have any pics of that accident?

 

f150monster232 did they get hurt in the accident? but that is sort of funny when you think about it.

 

ok guys GTRIDER is a freakin idiot.

Body Lifts are just as strong if not stronger than the stock parts you take out.

I work for the state i have been to countless accidents, some trucks with suspension lifts some trucks with body lifts and some with both.

I have never seen anyone sheer a bed bolt, crack a block or loose a bed or cab and still be alive.

Im sure it is possible to hit something hard enough to separate the bed/cab from the frame but you wont have to worry about the truck because you will be dead if you hit anything that hard to begin with.

In the accidents i have seen i have found one with a failed block/bolt. It was driver side under the rear seat. The guy was t-boned by a dump truck going about 60mph that felt he didnt need to stop at the red light. i wish i could take pictures of this but do to a fatality no pictures were taken. In this accident the frame was bent and the truck was totalled, it wouldnt have made a difference if it was stock or not.

Im on my 3rd PA body lift as well ive helped install a few. No problems here and i think my truck speaks for itself if it gets its abuse.

another thing, the bumpers are just a strong if not stronger than stock, i replaced my bolts to grade 5. A few weeks ago my step dad got stuck in alittle mud hole so i pulled him out, well the jeep was in there i started pulling in 4lo and all of a sudden i had no weight pulling so i was like what the crap broke. It was my reese hitch. The brackets bent and stapped. i had no other option but to pull him from my bumper, geuss what it worked no bends nothing broke everything is fine. (i would recommed snatching from the bumper though) The way he was stuck he couldnt help, the front d-side tire was crammed into the fender and so was the rear p-side tire. so i was pulling him out with no help from him.

Minimonster also knows how stong the bumper reloacting brackets are as i have pulled him out a few times with that bumper. Again i wouldnt recommend snatching from this. And if you have a hitch id use that, especially for towing were other peoples lives are at stake.

My point is this drawn out post is that if a body lift fails, its either defective (get a nambe brand PERFORMANCE ACCESSORIES) or installed incorrectly. kinda like gtriders brain.

now for helpful tips,
1. Get some hi-lift jacks
2. PB Blaster a few weeks before
3. Torx-bits you will need them
4. Grinder/ Torch will be nice, i ground off 4 bolts on mine.
5. A buddy or two.
6. Time dont rush
7. A drill

 

You have your opinion and have mine, and that makes me an idiot? Ok buddy, whatever you say. You coninue to half *** everything and I will continue to wait until I can do something right to do it at all.

Seeing as you are from Florida, I can only imagine what other philosphies you have on how trucks should be modded.

 

Well i have one more question...probably an important one but it just hit me as I was going over everything in my head...how will i lift the body up? i assume the cab is pretty heavy...im sure the bed can be done with a couple guys...but what can i use to lift the cab up? the only thing i was thinking is, we have a hydraulic jack and i was thinking about maybe useing a 2x4 and using that to push up the body...good idea? and do i have to do both sides at the same time or can i do one at a time? does it matter what side goes first? Thanks for the help.

 

I used a 4x4 block it worked great. Yes, you can do one side at a time. See if you can download the installation instructions. I read mine about 10 x before I did my own truck. Good luck.

 

No your not an idiot because you have opinions, your an idiot because you have idiotic opinions. A body lift isnt half assing anything. how do you figure? Just like stated above the 6" suspension + 3" Body Lift is the only way to get a 97-03 F150 high. This has been proven thousands of times to wrok well for a weekend wheeler.

Now alittle more custom, would be to swap in a d60 and 4 link or leaf sprung suspension. But you probably have no clue about any of that. And geuss what thats what im doing right now. The body lift will give me added room for my new power plant. But im not gonna get into it with you, keep your stupid uneducated opinions, but keep them to yourself.

I dont want to hear any more about how body lifts are dangerous, body lifts suck, dont do body lifts untill you or someone else has photo or documented proof that one was installed correctly, failed, and the person was not killed. Geuss what i have seen the accidents with my own eyes i work on the interstates and respond to multiple accidents a week. Ive seen trucks that have rolled multiple times and still have all the body lift blocks still in place.

your worries are good but when it comes down to it they are UNPROVEN. If a body lift was that unsafe like you say it is they would be illegal. DOT is stingy as hell with their requirements, i work with them every day.

and ive spent just as much time in GA as i havce in FL. I have no clue what that has anything to do with anything. Ive actually have family right there in Augusta so lets not be a total idiot.

I think ive had this same arguement with you before.

 

Trimble,

Your short story still won't change the fact that some people, myself included, were taught to be "anti-body lift". It doesn't mean that peoples opinions are idiotic.

 

anti-body lift is one thing but throwing reasons out there that arent proven means nothig and shouldnt even be said.

If you can prove that a 3" gap between a frame and body is dangerous, or that the blocks are dangerous, or if the bumpers are dangerous. then post how you got to this? Not just because thats not how the truck was made. Cause that would be a mute point.

Like i said, his opnion is stupid its the reasons he believes this is stupid. You can have your own opinions and i wont give you any grief for them but when you are believing false pricincipals and trying to force them onto other people then you are an idiot.

Like i said, show me proof...
1. Body Lift installed properly
2. Body Lift failed when in accident
3. Driver/ passanger survives accident.

NUMBER 3 is the most important, due to the fact that i have stated multiple times, if you hit something, or something hits you hard enough to separate the cab/bed from the frame then you wont have to worry about it because you will be dead anyway.

If someone can show me FACT i will take my body lift off and never recommend one again. But geuss what you never will beable to prove that the body lift was at fault. To many factors.

Just think, all these people that run their mouths about body lifts being dangerous is normally due to them seeing body lifts installed improperly. But geuss what that 2k dollar suspension lift you are riding on, if its installed wrong then you are just as dangerous if not more than a body lift.

Plus if you put a lifted truck in the wrong hands its dangerous, body lift or suspension lift.

 

ok guys...maybe it is just me not understanding the instructions, but with the radiator, does it go up with the body and the fan shroud has to be adjusted down cause the engine stays in the same spot....or does the radiator come down also? if so, does the kit include those brackets? Thanks for the help guys.

 

the radiator stays in its regular brackets, and lift up with the cab.... so, you have to lower the shroud to stay centered with the fan. the kits will come with the needed brackets.

 

the fan shroud mounting tabs that hold it to the body are ground off, and the fan shroud is mounted w/ brackets to the engine.

to jack the cab up, unbolt everything, including the frame safety straps and ground, and get four jacks. stack up blocks of lumber needed to achieve the needed clearance for the jacks to get the cab off the frame. preferably, you want big 6x6 pieces, and you don't want to stack little lumber pieces like a jenga tower. be careful not to move the cab while it is unbolted, as you don't want to mess up the cab to frame alignment, which determines your bed and bumper alignments. you'll need a T-55 bit for the front seat bolts, a T-50 for the Supercab back seat bolts, and a T-47 bit for the bed bolts.

also, as an alternative to jacking the cab and bed up simultaneously, pull off the rear bumper, and slide the unbolted bed back along the frame rails. this way, the cab won't smash into the bed, and you won't be juggling like eight jacks at once.

there are countless 97-03 F-150's out there on the road w/ a body lift, and many stacked with a suspension lift and body lift. i personally have witnessed the abuse that one has taken that sits on 38x15.50 MT's, and he has more problems with his lifted independent front suspension than his body lift.

 

thanks mattd17 for that clarification...but with the radiator being farther away from the engine and all that, will i need new tubes and all that? or will they still work with the 3" of lift?

and minimonster17, would i have to do the whole cab at once? or could i do it one side at a time? someone before said it could be done one side at a time...is there a difference? cause i really dont want to have to go out and buy more jacks.

thanks for the help guys.

 

*****, you get your BL yet? let me know if your wanting help when ever you get around to installing it. and i agree with trimble if BL's weren't safe they wouldn't be sold.

 

no i havent gotten it yet...i havent even ordered it yet...still trying to do some convincing but it should be soon...i hope.

and i have another question about the install...what do you do about the gas tank filler tube...i assume that has to be extended...does that come in the kit also or do you have to buy something to extend it with? these are just the things that come to mind when im thinking about it

thanks