Body Lift / Mounts

Need new body mounts (mine are shot). Was thinking abot adding a 1" body lift. Do they sell tall body mounts or do you need to but the mounts and a lift? Which ones are the best? Guessing rubber over poly for vibrations. Will I need to do anything else for a 1" BL?

All of the vendors on this site sell the 1" body lift. I am a big fan of Wild Horses.
All of the kits have good instructions, and if you run into a snag there is plenty of help from the masses on this site.
You may run into fan/shroud issues. Clutch rod may be too short if you run a standard, and maybe brake lines at the master cylinder.

x2 for WH's 1" body lift with bushings built in.

You need the WH 1" BL kit... I installed it and wish I had done it years ago.

Greg

I think most kits come with poly urethane or something like that. The 1" lifts are integrated, meaning not a separate lift puck as the 2 and 3" are.
I ended up doing a 2" WH BL, in retrospect, I think if you can find rubber as opposed to poly, it may be the way to go, per your point regarding vibration. the poly bushings seem really hard.
You'll have to replace the rubber eventually, but it's not that big a deal.

I'm sure others may chime in on the pro's/con's of rubber vs poly.

I've never had a poly bushing of any kind last over 2 years. The limits of rubber vs poly are irrelevant to me. I use energy suspension.

I have never heard untill now that anyone had trouble with poly bushings lasting longer than 2years. I have had multiple broncos and replaced as much as I could with poly bushing for better performance and longevity. I beleive the bushings I installed ten years appear to be going strong and I have no plans on replacing them.

I do agree that rubber gives a better ride, but will wear much faster than poly.

+1 on the WH +1" BM's. Got 'em on Coco. Great kit!

GrillMaster said:

Do they sell tall body mounts or do you need to but the mounts and a lift?

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As the others have already said, the 1" is built right in to the new mount/cushion/insulator. No need for a separate spacer in this case.
The kits come with all needed hardware. Here's ours: http://www.wildhorses4x4.com/product/Custom_Body_Lift_Kit_1in

The traditional 2" and 3" lifts are still achieved with separate spacers.

GrillMaster said:

Which ones are the best? Guessing rubber over poly for vibrations. Will I need to do anything else for a 1" BL?

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To the best of my knowledge, there are no lifted rubber kits available. If there are, I simply haven't heard of them yet.
We were just discussing the whole rubber-vs-poly comfort thing the other day. Again.
While some have said they think the poly is too stiff, that's never been my experience. Or that of anyone I know personally. When I did the poly change-over on my EB and my '79 F350, they were both sharing duty as my daily-drivers. Adding poly spring bushings, body insulators and anything else you could change, I could tell ZERO difference in ride quality. No increase in noise, vibration or harshness (NVH in many discussions) levels at all. And I'm kind of sensitive to those things in my vehicles.

So anyway, it's up to everyone's individual tastes and feelings of course, but from my perspective, you won't notice a difference.

t120r said:

I've never had a poly bushing of any kind last over 2 years. The limits of rubber vs poly are irrelevant to me. I use energy suspension.

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Never heard of anyone else with your experience either, so I can't say what you'd find with poly body mounts. But I'm sure curious to hear more about your experiences. Might help to improve the breed, so to speak, if we know what's going on with them in your situation.
From my experience with poly though, you're either very hard on your equipment, your environment is very harsh and detrimental to poly, or you're doing something wrong.

What bushings other than trackbar and shock bushings have you had wear out and how? How do you wear out a poly body insulator? Mine are almost 20 years old and look fine.
My spring bushings are about the same and look fine.
My C-bushings are almost 30 years old (changed them a second time just to get more caster) and look just weathered.
The only poly bushings I've ever had to change more than once for wear were the trackbar bushings and a set of shock bushings. But once I went to an adjustable trackbar and used anti-seize on the surfaces, my last set has lasted almost 20 years.
Granted, the last 6 or 7 haven't had much use, but they're all in near-new shape.

I've seen multiple leaf spring eye bushings (not mine however) get deformed and replaced on rigs that see a lot of action. A lot of those users go back to rubber with good results.
Shock bushings (especially the stem mounts) get a lot of action too. But can also get worn out from coming loose and also from over-tightening on the stems. Never known any to go back to rubber here though. Might happen, just haven't seen it.

I've personally never seen or heard of a body bushing wearing out. Again, doesn't mean it's not happening out there. Just never heard of anyone complaining about it.
Poly is more weather and chemical resistant than rubber, so if oil leaks are a way of life with your vehicle, poly is usually a better choice. Where flex is at a premium though, rubber can be a good choice.
About the only way I know of to over stress poly body insulator is to over tighten it. Hard to do, but not impossible.

Good luck with yours though t120r. Luckily that in many of the places you don't have good luck with poly, there are still rubber alternatives. But if you're wearing out both, I know I'd like to hear your experiences and theories on why and what-for.

Thanks

Paul

1" BL,, so easy a girl could do it,, hehehee

;D,, well I'm trying.

I've been installing a 1"BL from WH and I loosened the fan shroud and let it flop, disconnected the clutch rod, removed the heart shaped steering support bracket, (it was attached the firewall and clamped to the steering column shaft. Took out the battery,& tray, and removed the horn so I could see the front bolts,, removed the drivers seat ( the passenger seat would flip forward).

I started removing my body mounts last Saturday Oct 26th. About 2 hours on Saturday, 3 hrs on Sunday, 2 1/2 hrs on Monday and 2 hours Tuesday. Took me that long to just get them out. I know,, I know Grandma was slow but she was old,,.

I started on the drivers side left rear as a test,, soon as I touched the bolt head with the socket and it popped off. Had to sawsall the cr@p out of that one. I just didn't have any idea what I was trying to take apart or how it came apart so I was just hacking at it, beating on it whatever. I was thinking how did they come up with such a devious way of connecting together.

Then went to the right rear and down the passenger side. Got all those bolts out using the " loosen a little bit, tighten a little bit method" with liberal amounts of PB blaster. Wore my arm out.

The mounts still would not come out. Had go back and read up some more on what I was missing. The key was run the bolt back in a few turns and wail on it with a BFH. Worked like a charm and all the mounts came apart. I jacked the passenger side up ( floor jack, 3 ft 4x4 under the door / body rocker on the flat part) and removed all the rubber mounts with flat bar and pliers. (put the tires back on the opposite side I was jacking up just for extra added safety)

So to the drivers side,,,,,,,left rear was already out.... Then went to the one behind the driver’s seat. It came out using the “loosen a little bit, tighten a little bit method" but it took forever. I listened to that bolt cry for help a long time. I said this is not good. Drivers side floor pan bolt head was rounded off. I’m not sure if someone had tried previously and did that? I couldn't get a socket or wrench anything to grip it. I go to the drivers’ side front. “Loosen a little bit, tighten a little bit method" work until the very end then the rubber mount started spinning. That was new. I reach for BFH and wailed on it (had to use a long chisel) and the mount came apart enough I was able to get the vise grips on it and finished loosening it.

So that left drivers side floor pan. I'm not screwing around on this one,,,, no mercy as I didn’t have any more “be calm take deep breathe” in me. I went straight for the sawsall. By the way no one ever mentions the stinking burnt rubber smell,, it was so bad I had to get a fan blowing on it. So covered in dirt and grease,, smelling like burnt rubber, PB blaster, WD-40, 2 bent saw blades, and some curse words the bolt and mount gave up.

So the bolts and the mounts are out on the passenger side and all the bolts are loosen on the drivers side. (the mounts are still in) and I took 2 of the bolts and cleaned the up and put them back in so the body would not be totally free to move around. Then I got the new mounts in on the passenger side but it took me a while. Just slow I guess. I was looking for the notorious "nut swallowing hole" on the mount behind the passenger side seat but I could not find it? I'll look for it on the drivers side when I start installing those mounts, and I have my tape ready.

I read every thread I could on body lifts here about 5 times... I had extra coaching from a few people using PMs and the extra feedback was appreciated. I got some help from Jim Beam too,,(after I was finished last night). He said I was doing a good job,, slow as hell,,,,, but ok. %)

This is just my exprience so far and is not a fair representation of how long this takes. Do the reading on the other threads,,, and you will probably see every possible scenario.

No I'm not done yet,, as I still have to get the drivers side mounts in and then put all the other stuff back together. Then I hope to earn my Bronco body lift installation badge,,,

Merit Badge earned already.
Now you only have to earn the "get out of Dodge alive and with all of your fingers and toes" badge! ;D

That mischievous hole is probably only on the driver's side then.

You can run the nuts partially up on the passenger side bolts just to secure things if you want. No reason you can't get them up semi-tight before tackling the driver's. Should work well and lower the Jim Beam Scale stress levels a tad (an official unit of measurement on that scale by the way).

Sounds like it's coming along though. Did you get a chance to try the drill-method for removing some of the more resistant mounts? Sounds like you got the rest out with the BFH method, but I was wondering.

Hang in there. You got a nice weekend to play with now.
Good luck.

Paul

Oh, and sweet looking Bronco too, by the way!

Paul

trekgurl said:

;D,, well I'm trying.

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Nice post, thanks for sharing. I hope I do as well as you have. I got my 1" kit from WH yesterday. Good luck on finishing it.

Much to my disappointment, they didn't stick Paul in the box to help me install it.

I got a new cheap sawsall, and some good new blades, hoping I don't burn it up but it's better than the sawsall I didn't have at all.

Oh, I get the pleasure of cutting holes in the patched in floor pans the PO welded in over the old, fun!

The WH 1" Body Lift is great. Have this kit on all the Broncos I have done. Helps with clearance issues and I like the look better compared to stock. At just 1" you may not have to do the steering column mod either.

The sawsall is a wonderful thing for old body mounts. Don't skimp on blades and get plenty.

well I hoping to finish it tomorrow, but it's raining here now,,,,

Paul you were definately a big help with all your input. Six bolts came out (one snapped off) which I used the sawzall. That was before I read about the drill method. The last one I just went plain "mid-evil" on with the sawzall as I had no patience. The putting the bolt back in a few turns and the BFH was the best idea.

The feed back is great appreciated.

I also did the 1" WH kit. Wish I had done it years ago. So glad I did it.
Got my pep talk here at CB and went after it.
Best advice I got was from Viper. He said to not waste time with the wrench. Sawzall every damn one. Sage advice. I finished in 5 hours entirely by myself.
All hale the sawzall!

Oh and by the way, like Paul, my poly c-bushings are 24+ years old.
Just had to pull the axle. They are still fine.
Color faded alot after about a decade. They were bright Duff blue.

Never stayed at a Holiday Inn Express, but I did install a 1 " BL on a early Bronco

yes I did,, I think ;D. I'm soooo wore out.

grillmaster here are the after pics. I have all the mounts tightened down but still have about half dozen things I need to do to finished this out completely. Need to install longer clutch rod, longer emergency brake cables, figure out how to adjust the fan shroud, install the new fuel hose from the metal filler neck to the tank, put the steering plate back on and I think I'm going to need longer brake lines from the mater cylinder to the proportioning valve.

Some people don't have to do all this stuff, but I'm told every bronco is different and sometimes nothing is needed and sometimes in my case looks like I'll have to do some more adjusting before I'm completely done.

I did not have the dreaded "nut swallowing hole" behind the seats,, go figure. I even included a pic as mine did not have it?

I love my floor jack and just happen to see the "cross member" at Harbor Freight last Friday.. $ 39 for the cross member and it worked great.

Ok it's your turn now,,,

I'm sooooooooooooo done for a while.