Today we build and install a 1.25" aluminum body lift on the Budget Crawler in preparation for some future mods. A MUCH better alternative to building your own body lift: savvyoffroad.c...
I'm really enjoying your channel. I liked the attention to detail on this body-lift, the patience, the job being done in your way but in the safest way, and the constant reminders. There are things I hate in many video's, like silly music, skipping the break-downs before the install or replacements, and wing-nuts doing jobs in flip-flops. There is a right way to do things, and that is safely. These 'how-to's' aren't rock videos like so many others, you're doing a great job!
The Teraflex 1” aluminum spacer kit I bought was on sale for for $117 with free shipping, bolts included. I see you wanted 1.25” though. So with a 2.5” lift it should clear those 33’s
Good deal. Actually had a Savvy Off Road 1.25" aluminum spacer kit sitting on a shelf in the garage when I built these spacers, but it was more of a personal challenge to see if I could build a set with the limited equipment I have available. Suspension lift should be coming in the near future.
Your videos are very well done! I am learning a lot and I appreciate that you focus on the work area rather than on your face. I watched some videos where the camera spent more time on someone’s face than the work area! I have been a car guy all my life, but this is my first Jeep. I live in the Midwest where a lot of salt is used. I looked at a couple of Jeeps that the spring shackles were ready to break away from the frame. I will be real interested in your frame treatment. I found a Jeep that came from Texas and the frame looks good. I want to keep it that way! Keep up the good work!
Thanks, it's amazing how narcissistic the world has become. As far as salt, I HIGHLY recommend drilling drain holes in your frame (there are none from the factory; you can find another video on this channel about that) and coating the frame inside and out with Fluid Film every fall before salt hits the roads.
It's a lanolin-based rust preventative product and works very well. It doesn't dry, which is why it works so well, but be prepared to get greasy every time you crawl under the Jeep (sure beats chunks of rust falling in the eyes in my opinion). Can be bought on Amazon, eBay, or a number of other online retailers. The local Napa in my town even sells it.
Again, nice video. One other thing I thought about...time is our most precious resource...could you add up the man-hours you've spent in your tallies? Also curious, does the body lift change the driving dynamic?
Thanks. Totally agree with that statement, time is one of the few things money can't buy. I'll try to mention hours spent on the more time-extensive projects but it may be a little tough because life's fairly buisy and quite often I end up spending an hour here, 20 minutes there over the course of a few weeks getting a project done. I really haven't noticed a difference driving after installing a small body lift like this. The only noticeable difference I've found is it takes a little higher step up to get into the drivers seat, but stopped noticing that after a few days hopping in and out.
I'm generally not a fan of metal to metal contact like this since I do live in an area with road salt, but the Jeep will be parked during the winter. At this point I'm not too concerned about corrosion because the body of the Jeep is galvanized and painted and the aluminum spacers have a heavy coat of clear coat that should act as somewhat of a buffer. I appreciate the input though.
I was sad when I saw the motor😞 I think you can get more clearance out of fender modifications. Not a bad looking TJ though. Just get it over and do the LS swap and one tons.
Engine swap someday...for now it's sadly not in the budget. I have another TJ with a dodge 318 swapped in (currently in storage for the winter) so I'd likely go a similar route with this one since the dodge computer plays so nicely with the stock TJ electronics. I was VERY tempted to do tons but again decided against it for now because I want to prove that it's possible to build a very capable Jeep without throwing 10k-20k in mods at it. The total budget for this project is $5000, purchase price of vehicle included.
Yeah man, it is awesome! I took my truck from South Carolina to Michigan for three years, no rust! I use it on everything! Even wood, it coats and protects it. If you get paint of any kind on your hands, rub a bit of it on there, it will come right off! Man, I use it for everything!
Beautiful! Loved it! Just what I was looking for, and that poor mans lathe-brilliant! Thanks for the video!, I’ve been wanting to lift my work truck a bit since I’m fairly tall and the ranger is small but don’t wanna spend a whole lot of dough on something I just use for work and is an old piece of junk with dings and what not. How long do you think these will last on regular road driving? I imagine since they’re aluminum they might shrink a bit no?
Dirona awesome! Thanks for the reply, I appreciate it. Been wanting to do this for my truck a while but didn’t wanna spend so much on a budget build. Where can I source this material?
I bought the aluminum rod off of eBay, but given the amount of time I had into making this set I'd highly recommend buying a premade body lift if you can find one for the truck
No, the shifter still works as well as it did before the body lift (which to be honest isn't too great...lots of rusty pivot points). I've installed this same size body lift on several other jeeps and have always been able to get away without touching the t-case shifter. The only minor issue I've run into in the past is with the transmission shifter, sometimes in very cold weather the rubber shifter boot gets stiff and keeps you from shifting into 2/4/R because the shifter requires a little more throw where it passes through the body after the body lift is installed, on those cold days I usually just remove the shifter boot and everything works fine...hope that makes sense.
the body lift allows you to raise the gas tank skid and the transfer case skid higher (the 2 points that you’ll drag most often while on the trail) with minimal effect to the jeeps center of gravity. in essence you’ll gain clearance with making the jeep as tippy as it would be with an equivalent suspension lift. Each type of lift has its place and I wouldn’t go more than 1.25” body lift on a TJ. The body lift installed in this video allowed me to install a flat transfer case skid, which increased clearance 3”+ over stock
Absolutely not LOL. The amount of time they take to produce is not worth what they would sell for. I probably wouldn't even waste the time making another set for myself and would buy a set of aluminum spacers from Savvy Off Road instead.
Look up instructions for either JKS brand or Savvy Off Road brand 1.25" spacers, there should be a parts list at the beginning of the instructions with the bolt sizes you'll need.
Was waiting for this comment LOL. Hockey pucks weren't designed to handle the compressive and vibratory loads that the Jeep body would put on them. Not saying they won't hold up, I just wouldn't trust my life to them
It gives enough room to tuck the low hanging gear up higher in the frame (transfer case, gas tank, and oil pan), thereby giving more protection and more clearance without raising the center of gravity as much as a suspension lift. After installing this body lift I was able to put a flat skid plate under the transfer case and raise the gas tank 1.25”
