does it have a slip joint on the steering column>?

[Xearo69]

i want to install a 3 inch body lift but i think il hold off if the sterring column isnt a slip joint.. my freiends got a much older f150 and his has a slip joint. it was cake.. took us like 45 minutes to install the 3 inch body lift. anyone know how difficult it is to install one on a bronco.? on a pickup, all the bolts are easy to get to but since the body is one piece on a bronco, it might be more difficult. and that is bad =) :-"

 

[Justshootme84]

The steering shaft does have a slip joint that will allow it to expand. If you search for topics on "body lifts", you'll find out what all has to be done. Personally, I don't like lifting the body due to to safety reasons. JSM84

 

[Broncobill78]

I'm with JSM, body lifts are bad juju. Yeah the Bronco has the exact same slip-yoke steering shaft that the F150 does but just because you CAN loosen it and slip some of the shaft out of the yoke doesn't mean it's a good idea. If you're going to do this what you should really do is replace the shaft with a longer one and prefrably a stronger one. I've always used shafts & joints from Borgeson (usually reached at www.borgeson.com but for some reason I'm not picking up the link tonight) but Borgeson parts are also available thru people like Jegs or polyperformance: http://www.polyperformance.com/shop/produc...=557&page=1 You leave so little of the shaft in there when you extend the stock shaft that you're just tempting fate. Not to mention all the other bull$hit that goes into a body lift (extending the brake lines, modifying the tranny, 4x4, brake & throttle linkages, extending the fuel filler neck, modifying the fan shroud, bumper brackets, etc, etc, etc) not to mention the fact that you're left with that *ridiculous* looking gap between the body & frame that just screams *cheap body lift* Sometimes you have to add one to get tire clearance when you're already running the largest suspension lift available but in those cases I prefer to trim the wheelwells & run flares instead of putting the body up on stilts.

 

[Xearo69]

geese. lol. well i spotted a 6inch pro comp lift with extended radius arms for 500 big ones but my hours got cut down to 40 a week at work and i know i cant really afford it. i need to replace the tires because these 32inch widetracs dont get shit for traction in the snow. i figured if im replacing them i want to get some bigger tires with more traction. i dont need really aggressive tires since around here they would probably get stolen.

 

[Justshootme84]

Depending on your year model, tire brand and wheel choice, you may be able to fit 33's without a lift. But my advice, and I suspect many others, would be to save up for a complete suspension lift kit. JSM84

 

[Broncobill78]

Once again JSM is absolutely correct. Unless you're off-roading it you can fit a set of 33's on there just fine. An all-terrain tread should give you excellent traction in poor weather but not look so agressive that they get stolen but quite honestly who the **** steals tires anymore ? Get yourself a good set of locking lug nuts & forget about it (just DON'T forget where you put they key & be sure to register the lugs just in case you DO misplace the key).

I know the body lifts SEEM cheap but by the time you buy/fabricate the extra bracketry & linkages and spend all that time relocating parts it's just not worth it. Billy ******* spotted a nice lift somewhere for $450 and truth be told I'll probably buy it myself but *I* don't have the $$$$ either so I'm SAVING up for it. A suspension lift is really the proper way to lift the truck and (in MY humble opinion anyways) suspension lifts should ALWAYS be the primary lift with body lifts being reserved for those times when you just can't fit the tires you want under there even after installing the largest suspension lift available, and even then I strongly recommend cutting the wheelwells & using Bushwacker flares before using a body lift. As far as I'm concerned the body lift is really just a last resort when you've installed everything else and just don't have the clearance. A body lift may be cheap to buy but if it's to be done properly then it winds up being just as expensive as a suspension lift. You'll need longer brake lines (and they should be braided stainless, NOT rubber) and a new slip yoke & steering shaft, bumper brackets and a longer fuel filler neck. Add the cost of those and whatever the cost is to fab the brake, shift (tranny & xfer case) & throttle linkages and all the time you'll spend tracking down & solving all the bull$hit problems like fixing the fan shroud and all the silly $hit like that and I absolutely guarantee that the suspension lift will seem downright cheap when you're able to install it in a weekend and be done with it.