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Body Lift carnage, and how to avoid it!

20K views 42 replies 19 participants last post by  rpwils 
#1 ·
I have installed 4 or 5 of the Daystar poly mount lifts. Both of our YJ's have them, and I installed the others in YJ's/TJ's/LJ's for other people as well. There is no sign of any sagging (or other issues) in any of the kits I've installed. The only recommendation I have is that you use the black mounts. I have the "red" mounts in my '91 YJ and the rear corner ones have faded to an orange color. This appears to be limited to that ones that are colored, as all the rest are black kits & they still look like new.

From all I've heard, the Prothane kit is pretty much the same kit, and works equally well.

Here is some advice for installing your new body lift, regardless of which brand you choose.

Below is a "cut & paste" copy of a reply I've made in a few posts, concerning the body lift installation you're considering.

Regardless of whether you are installing a body lift, or just changing out the cruddy stock mounts that are broken, here is something that may help. It's something I've learned over the years, the hard way, naturally.:brickwall

I've installed a half dozen or so body lifts on YJ's & TJ's. I found a simple little trick using the PB Blaster that will save a lot of time & aggravation. Spraying just the heads of the bolts won't help. If you look at the 11 body mounts, there is one under the radiator support and then 10 (5 along each side) on the frame rails, starting behind the front wheels. The forward-most mounts can be sprayed near the threads by removing a plastic shield & spraying the nut area. Moving rearward, the next three body bolt nuts are in-accessible, under the floorboards. Inside the Jeep, locate the area of the floor right above each body mount & drill a tiny hole in the floor just big enough to get the spray can straw in, and spray generously. Lastly, the ones in the rear corners of the tub can be accessed by removing the plastic shield under the body's rear corner. Look above the mount and you'll see that the body nut area is boxed in with sheet metal. Again, drill a tiny hole & spray liberally.

Do this daily for about a week prior to the body lift install, and things will go much smoother! The holes can be filled with just a small bit of RTV sealer later.

I learned this the hard way, after breaking several body bolts in my '91 YJ.

If you have any reservations about drilling small holes in your floor, here is how big of a hole you'll need to dig out the body nut after the bolt breaks! ;)

Here are some pics of how I cut mine out, using a 2" hole saw. I dug the captive body nuts out, and then used washers & nuts on the body bolts.

In front of driver's seat


Behind driver's seat


Cargo area


Hope this helps! :thumbsup:
 
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#2 ·
Thanks for the write up.
its the little things that help a project go more smoothly.
 
#3 ·
That's awesome. I couldn't install mine because I was having trouble with the cargo area mounts. THe PO tried to install new bushings, and got some of them. When he broke the bolts, he sawzalled the tub to piece and re bolt then. He broke off the captive nuts in the very rear and didn't even re-bolt them!

One questions: The cargo area captive nuts, are those located at the same spot the seat belt is anchored?

Great pictures!
 
#4 ·
One questions: The cargo area captive nuts, are those located at the same spot the seat belt is anchored?
No, but very close to it. In that picture, the seat belt is still bolted to the floor, so you can see the relationship of the nut to the belt. It didn't show up in the picture too well, but if you look along the floor & the base of the inner wheel well of your cargo area, you will see that the floor of the sheet metal actually has a specific stamped area right above the captive nuts.

:cheers2:
 
#8 ·
I did, and I saw that you had done basically the same thing. It looks like it worked out good for you!

I wanted to get my pics up yesterday, but I didn't get it done until this morning.

:cheers2:
 
#11 ·
perfect pics and Very good info. Had to do this cut trick to mine as my bolts broke. PB for a week and even heat when removing... I have the 1" poly replacement kit from Daystar, best body lift i ever put in!
 
#12 ·
Wow i feel lucky now because mine all came out quite well all 3 times they came out. once for the poly 1", once for the frame swap, and once for the 3" bl. Oh i guess 4 times because i removed the 3" and put the 1" back on.
 
#16 ·
Is there anyone still in the fourm from this thread??? I have the same issue. I tried take bolt out from in front of passenger seat and nut plate spun off.

Do you really need a 2 inch hole to remove it.


I have 10 bolts to go. Guess I will drill small holes and spray crap out of them. I don't want to cut 6 tabs in tub.
 
#18 ·
I just started on my 1" prothane install yesterday evening... using a breaker bar and 1 month's worth of spraying. out of the 6 I attempted 3 were removed easily... on three of them the bolts sheared in half. I am going to be needing this idea. You could most likely use a smaller hole saw - just enough to get a socket in there. I'll be continuing with the breaker bar, for whatever bolts shear - i'll just drill right through them until they deteriorate. I'll also be using lock nuts and washers on them. Seems easiest. (edit: with PLENTY of anti seize).

Mean Max has some tremendous offerings in the write-up department.
 
#20 ·
Same... thing is - I would prefer the nut plate to break loose from the tub and then just use a hardened washer and lock nut. Regardless i'll be getting a 2" - 2 1/8" hole saw to cut holes everywhere basically (at the body mount locations). Then use:

http://www.amazon.com/Flush-Mount-Black-Plastic-Sheet/dp/B011HBY3BW?tag=viglink20266-20

so that they are always serviceable in the future if need be. Flush mount plugs.

As for the rear corners - I may actually hole saw it from the outside of the tub to get to it, then find some LED markers of respective size to my hole and wire them up.
 
#25 ·
You should replace all the inserts whenever you do this. There is no reason to do it half way. The inserts are likely rusted to begin with. There is a kit that does include all the inserts. If you don't have that kit I would recommend getting it before you start. It is a good time to get a 1" body lift kit but nothing more than the 1".
 
#26 ·
This is why the prothane BL kit is preferable. No need to re-use anything.

I haven't stepped any further forward in my progress. Been up north for Victoria day long weekend up here in Canadia.

Will dig in this upcoming weekend and post up. Thing is with a blown motor, I have bigger issues currently and nothing but time.
 
#30 ·
you don't need a very big hole to get i there.

the "nuts" are little more than stampped steel about 1/4" thick and about an inch square. They are held in place by a tin cage to keep them from spinning and of course that cage blows out if the nut gets stuck very hard.
 
#31 ·
An old thread dug up... I will play.

I have dealt with caged nut for cradles, body mounts, etc. over many carlines for many years. I live in the salt belt. They are a b!tch.

First off
https://www.summitracing.com/parts/...1596235248256&utm_content=GSAPI+5b9ad2f1f15f0

This penetrant is far superior to PB blaster. Shop around for it. We get it for under 7 bucks a can at out shop. There is nothing better.

When a caged nut spins it may be accessible from the underside. A lot of them are a square piece of steel inside of a "tin" or sheet metal cage. Sometimes when the caged nut spins, you can drill and put a good self tapping bolt in it in from the bottom side and hold it in place enough to remove the bolt.

You can cycle heat through the bolt from the head of it with a torch. It is a longer bolt. Do not just make it red and go for it with an impact gun. Heat it. Let it cool. Rinse and repeat.

First hand experience tells me though. That if your body mounts are this seized up through the middle part of your jeep, your seat anchor points inside those same torque boxes, floor supports, whatever you want to call them are worse off. It was a wakeup call when I dug into this part of the Jeep.
 
#32 ·
I used a 1” hole (7/8” hole saw) to access mine on the 89. Standard plastic floor drain plugs fit that.

Others I’ve cut three sides of a square and peeled it open, welding it shut after.

I’ve cut a 1” hole in the peeled-open ports a few times after welding them shut just so I had access and could periodically shoot fluid film in there. I position 1” holes for side access cuz you can use a wrench. It’s a good method. Electrical tape or a spot of super glue holds the nut in an offset box wrench through the hole for install.
 
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