4Crawler Body Lift installation by bulldog and expat This write-up covers the installation of the 4Crawler 1.5” body lift kit with heavy duty hardware and radiator brackets on the 2003+ 4Runners with Shrockworks bumpers and Hanna sliders. Owners with other brand bullbars and sliders will find a lot of the information directly compatible, but there may be some different steps or approaches required. The installation is probably a 5 out of 10 banana job. It is best to do it with 2 people (one working above, one below) and plan on 4-5 hours. It will take less time if you have a very good understanding of what is required or if you have done it before. It might be best to plan on a whole day if you are a basic DIY'er. It took us 11 hours to do 2 trucks that includes a few trips to the hardware store, taking photographs and creating procedures. This write up should save you some time! The 4Crawler 1.5” body lift we used consisted of the following kit components and can be ordered at http://4crawler.com/4x4/ForSale/Toyo...ft.shtml#GenIV * B - Ultimate lift blocks * HD – Heavy Duty hardware * CLR – Custom color (Black in our case) * RAD – Radiator drop brackets * DOC – Documentation for good measure Preparation is very important to make the installation proceed smoothly. Please read through the entire write up before starting. Understanding all the steps taken and special tools or equipment required will make the process less time consuming. In our case we found that removing the bolt on sliders and front bumper made it a lot easier to get the work done. Trucks with running boards should not need to have them removed but those with weld-on sliders will have to find a safe way of lifting the body from the frame. (We used a space normally taken up by sliders to use as the lifting point.) We found that as we lifted the body off the chassis, it pushed into the rear chassis frame rail and also into the bullbar. The rear bumper was not really a problem. It simply flexed enough to accommodate the lift, however the front fenders would not clear the bullbar so we removed the bullbar completely. This made other aspects of the install easier so it was not an issue. Also it made access to the radiator brackets much easier. Your mileage might vary, but make sure you have easy access to the radiator brackets before starting. After the sliders and front bumper was removed the steering slip joint was loosened to allow it to extend outwards when the body is lifted. Only the top nut needs to be loosened. See pic below. The radiator fan shroud needs to be loosened and laid over the fan temporarily. This avoids the fan binding on the shroud later when the body gets lifted and makes moving the radiator a lot easier. The fan shroud is held by 3 bolts at the top and then 2 clips at the bottom. Once the 3 bolts (pictured below) are removed, the shroud can be move upwards to unclip and then placed over the fan assembly. It will also help to remove the radiator top trim piece by unclipping the 11 plugs that hold it place. Pics below. Next drop the spare tire to allow access to a centering bracket on the body. The centering bracket is meant to help you guide the handle into the winding mechanism (pulley) that raises and lowers the spare. Once the lift is complete the centering bracket will prevent easy access to the pulley to lower the spare later. This is because the pulley is mounted on the frame and the centering bracket on the body. Once the spare was lowered, we bent up the centering bracket with a few hammer blows. See pics below. Now the interior trim can be removed to allow access to the body mounts. Rear cargo area trim removal and body mount pics.
Add that to the list of how NOT to install your body lift. I was sore for days from the contortionist act I had to do on the frozen concrete. 1st gen 2nd gen 3rd. Toyota 4Runner 3rd Gen Installation Instructions. Tube Steel Type Finish: Body Lift: Diamond Top Plate: Clear. Body Lift: Stock, 1 Inch. Diamond Top Plate: None.