Lifting your truck or SUV can definitely do wonders to its appearance. An effective way of doing so is by installing a body lift kit. It is more affordable and has a simpler installation than a suspension lift, so it's really ideal for DIYers. You only need to arm yourself with the proper tools, and you'll be good to go. This procedure can take up to nine hours.
Required skill level: Intermediate
Needed tools and materials
- Jack and jack stands
- Wood block
- Ratchet and socket set
Preparing for the task
Remove the front bumper, fenders, and hood. Disconnect the battery cables. Make sure to disengage the negative cable first before the positive cable. Take out the airbag fuse from the fuse box. Unscrew the mount bolts that can be found underneath the core support and the cab.
Raising the vehicle
Position the wood block on the jack to prevent damages on the paint. Lift the passenger side of the cab.
Setting up the body lift mounts
Install the body lift kit blocks. There are body lift kits that need to be attached to the stock bushing, though. Check your kit's design to be sure. Lower the truck onto the new mounts. Screw the body lift bolts in, but do not tighten them yet. Do the same thing to the driver's side-jack it up, install the kit blocks, and loosely thread in the bolts. When both sides of the cab are done, you can already tighten the bolts.
Simply follow the same process when lifting the bed.
Reinstalling the components
Reconnect the battery cables, and put back the bumper, fenders, and hood into place. Don't forget to fasten all the bolts that you removed earlier.
Tips and warnings
- Check the body lift kit before starting. Make sure you have all the components you need.
- Because of the design of some trucks, the cab and the bed may have to be jacked up at the same time to avoid damage. So in this case, two floor jacks will be necessary.
- If your vehicle has an automatic transmission, find out first if its shifter linkage needs to be modified or not. This is to make sure that it will still function properly even after the lift.
- With the body lift kit installed in your vehicle, you may need to do other modifications as well.