Body lift install Questions

[Greg_B]

I have been working on installing the WH 1" body lift the last couple of nights. For years I have been reading about how to get those old mounts out and I guess I just thought those guys were exaggerating a little... Well I will now join the club and say WHAT A PITA... I dont have a sawsall and I didnt think I would need one since my Bronco isnt very rusty... WRONG!!! I was able to get them out with an air chisel and a lot of grunting and beating... The ones behind the drivers seat were the worse and the hardest to get to.

SO... I got everything out... set the body on 2 x 4 blocks so I could POR 15 the area where the mounts would sit so I didnt have to worry about rust under the bushings.... tonight I lifted it back up and placed the bushings where they go and made sure everything lined up well.

BUT... I didnt think I needed to insert the steel bushings in them before I set them in place. I can get them all in but those two behind the front seats...

Before I go and jack it all up again.... what is the trick to keeping in in the mount so it doesnt fall out before you can let the jack down and get in there and put the bottom bushings, washers and nuts on there? I have read about duct tape and welding the nut to a piece of flat steel so it cant fall in that hole... I am just wondering if there is a simple solution I am not thinking of... maybe even one that will let me get it all in without jacking it back up.

Another thing I want to ask... The WH kit comes with big washers to go between the bushing and body and medium washers for the bottom... But it has the tiny little washers for the top inside the cab... they look to light weight... I think I am going to get some larger thicker washers for those... something similar to the two thick washers provided for the front core support area. Any reason why I wouldnt want to do that?

Last thing I promise... I loosened up the steering column but didnt remove the shaft.... I have a 76 which has the teloscopic shaft but after the lift it seems to be in a bind... very tight feeling. I loosened the 3/8" bolt on both sides of the firewall and the bracket under the dash.... is there some other place I need to loosen and adjust?

Looks like a wrote a novel... Sorry...

Greg

 

[airbur]

Hi...I feel your pain. I was having the same issue with those mounts behind the seats. Some of the other mounts were easier as the sleeves were snug in the bushings. I was finally able to get those installed by using securing the nut in a smallish set of vice-grips. The vice-grips were small enough to slide under the mount. The metal sleeve basically sat on top of the nut/vice-grips and I was able to thread the bolt. It was a real PITA but it did work.

Regarding the washers, yea, they are a bit puny, but I used them as you don't really want to crank down on the bolts too much. On the rear mounts, they actually started folding into the holes and I knew at that point I had them too tight.

Sorry, can't help on the steering column. I have the collapsible shaft from WH.

Good luck!