TechN9ne

Question here...I'm looking into buying a lift kit for my truck. I found a kit at 4x4 parts.com. Now it is my understanding that the kit just lifts the chassis from the frame. And since the engine is mounted to the frame...and your radaitor is connected to the chassis along with other components...wouldn't you need to buy new hoses and things of that sort? I've heard rumors of radiator hoses leaking and just plain breaking from being stretched too far and wouldn't you also need an extended intake boot? Should this be a concern or am i just paranoid?

jadcock

You're talking about a body lift. A real lift (a suspension lift) lifts the suspension, so the entire VEHICLE is up farther from the ground. The only time I would even consider a body lift is if I lifted my suspension as far as it could go, and I STILL needed more clearance for large tires.

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Jason Adcock
Always Tread Lightly!
1995 4x4 XE King Cab - 189,000 miles
1997 Cadillac Seville - 141,000 miles

TechN9ne

How can i tell what tires will fit with my suspension? What site would you recommend for off-road tires?

abomb1

I've had a 3" body lift on my Pathfinder now for about a year and have had no issues with the radiator hoses. Some have chosen to replace the hoses with a longer one on top, and shorter on the bottom to solve the problems you are talking about, but my hoses still work fine in their stock setup. If you are really worried about it, you could buy the radiator dropdown kit which keeps the radiator at stock height with a body lift, but then you would have some metal cutting to do to remove the stock lower piece that the radiator currently sits on. The body lift includes extensions to the fuel filler hose and vent hose and says in the directions to remount the power steering reservoir to a lower position to keep from needing a longer hose there. Other than that, everything is included in the body lift kit.

I chose the body lift because of its low cost and that it will fit a bigger tire than a 3" suspension lift will. Also, I've heard a lot of people complaining about their steering components failing sooner with a suspension lift since all you are doing in the front on most of them is tightening the torsion bars.

ahardb0dy

you don't have to do anything with the radiator hoses, when we did the body lift (3") in my 87 SE-V6 pickup, we didn't even use brackets for the top mounts we just flipped the mounts upside down, on the bottom we used the drop bracket that came with the kit ( trailmaster kit), later on I flipped the top brackets back over and installed the drop brackets on top, either way worked fine, try not to cut the lower part of the fan shroud

jadehardbody

not familiar with nissan suspension lifts but know the front suspension does not lend well to an easy installation, or at least not at first glance. But i have had experience through involvement with Jeep buddies. My suggestion is to go suspension. It looks better and will allow you the things a lift should liek increased flew and travel of suspension. Body lifts, which do fit larger tires, are cheaper, easier, and in some cases do their job well, do tend to develop squeaks in time, but what doesn't. Right...I hope I had a point, but go for the suspension if you are wanting actual increased offroad performance. good luck.

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ahardb0dy

you would always be better off if you had the choice to do a suspension lift, I've heard stories about the plastic body lift blocks breaking etc, I used the trailmaster kit in my 87 which came with aluminum blocks, never had a problem with the body lift (I had both a body and suspension lift) and I drove my 87 VERY hard off road, to the point of breaking parts that you wouldn't think would break

TechN9ne

Alrighty...thanks for everyone's help!

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