Body lift torque? CJ7...cant find

[Techlight]

Hey all,

Just put in a 1" day star body lift...no where can i find torque values for those body bolts. Not in any of my manuals or online. I torqued them to 30 with blue locktite...my manuals said 25-35 for my seat belt so I figured that was close enough to what others were saying online and if it's good for my seatbelt it's good enough for the body mounts.

Just curious for a second opinion...anyone want to chime in before my locktite sets up?

Thanks...

 

[Torxhead]

I would say that is good enough. I used that locktite on my b/l and they haven't come come loose after many years. I did have an issue with the front bolt under the radiator rusting so I replaced it with a stainless bolt. Water was collecting on that low spot on the frame.

 

[Techlight]

Thanks for the quick reply...just didn't want them overtight. Now if I can only get that grill bolt to stop binding before it's properly tight I'd be good. It's almost like it's bottoming out but I removed everything and it seems good. Maybe the PO had the bracket upside down...maybe google will have some pictures...

Thanks again

 

[Torxhead]

Could be rust on the nut. As I recall there is a lot of work on a body lift, like lowering the radiator, brake lines, fuel hoses, a few adjustments, and making sure the shift levers don't hit the cover. A lot of guys don't like them.

 

[Techlight]

The tac welds that held the mount on had broken...didn't see it until I took it apart to actually look. No biggie, I'll bolt it or get it welded.

On the daystar there was no modification on any of that stuff. I only did a one inch though.

It was actually helpful. I put in some prothane motor and tranny mounts and they were actually about one inch higher over stock. My clutch linkage was at an odd angle and my upper radiator hose was about 1/8 of an inch from my serpentine belt. The one inch body lift put my clutch linkage straight and fixed my radiator hose being too close as well.

Maybe I was just lucky in general. No broken bolts or anything else either on the body. Although liberal penetrating oil a few days before was helpful. I did order a new heavy duty clutch linkage which accounts for lift so I'll probably put that in there anyway since a 2.5 inch spring lift is going in sometime in the next year.

 

[Torxhead]

When the motor mounts in the 258s wear out the engine will move a bit to the rear. This can cause the valve cover to hit the firewall, the shifters to hit the shifter cover in the rear, and the clutch bellcrank to move back with the engine. This can cause the outer support bracket for that bellcrank to break from the excess load put on it.

 

[Techlight]

It was definitely a candidate for that...body is bent behind shifter a tad, scrapes on the firewall as well.

I'll look closely at the linkage and attachments when I put the new parts in. They seemed fine (albeit a little crooked) when I drove it around the block after I fired the motor. Which is why I ordered the new linkage...I didn't think the body lift would set it straight again, but it kinda makes sense since the prothane mounts were higher...

Thanks for the info.

 

[Torxhead]

That bellcrank assembly should be perpendicular to the frame in a perfect world. There are also a couple of plastic bushings on each end of that bellcrank that can wear out. There are a few aftermarket clutch linkage improvement parts available from the big box CJ replacement parts outfits like 4WPW, 4WD Hardware, Morris, Quadratec, and the like. On the trail I have seen a few of those outer support brackets break due to worn motor mounts and V8 add ons. A few days in on the Rubicon trail I made a couple of those plastic bushings out of the top of a Coleman propane can for a guy that had his fall out. On my CJ, I have installed the "Bomb Proof" motor mounts made by Mountian Off-Road Enterprises, they will practically last forever.