LukeLewis
Member
- Joined
- May 7, 2021
- Messages
- 134
- Reaction Score
- 0
- Points
- 21
- #1
I've already installed a suspension lift kit on my truck which gave me about two additional inches of height. Because I'd like to buy larger and much more beefy tires, I now want to install a body lift kit. My goal isn't so much to add to the height of the truck, but more to add some clearance in the wheel wells. I need more room for the bigger tires, lest they may rub on the outer parts of the fenders when the truck is off road.
My question is, has anyone ever successfully installed a body lift kit on a 2015 Nissan Frontier? From what I've learned last week after trying to install one is that it's nearly impossible to complete this job without making major modifications to multiple areas of the truck. I bought the 2" lift kit, which is more dramatic than the probably more common 1" kit, but still, I'm assuming the same modifications need to be made with that smaller version. I'm convinced that so many of those who are writing on the forums and making videos on YouTube on this topic are just full of it. Either they've never actually installed a body lift or they're just trying to sell the kit themselves. This is a huge job that can't and shouldn't be done by the average back yard mechanic.
As I was walking around the truck last weekend, I first noticed that, if the body of the truck were lifted even by a small amount, the cooling fan would make contact with the fan shroud. Because of this, I removed the bottom part of the shroud. That's fine. But that was just the beginning. I then noticed that both the upper and lower radiator hoses would need to be replaced because two inches is a far distance for them to stretch. They're fitted hoses, so they really need to be addressed. I then began looking at the engine, which gave me pause. If the body is lifted by two inches on a truck like mine, the entire engine would essentially drop by two inches. This is because the engine is connected to the frame, not the body. So basically, because the engine will drop by two inches, anything that's attached to both the body and the engine will need to be removed and reconfigured. The part that stood out the most was the air intake. This is attached to the air box and the fuel injector. You can't just "stretch" this type of thing. The part itself needs to be modified. Any air conditioning components would also need to be dealt with, although I didn't look too closely at them.
At this point, I was fuming. No one ever mentioned any of these things in the videos I saw, forums I read, or instructions I didn't receive. I then thought about the steering rod or column or whatever you want to call it and realized that it needed to be extended. Then I looked at the front brake lines. The rigid metal lines up top are attached to the body as well as the frame down in the wheel well. If the front of the truck were to be lifted, those lines would need to be extended. The same is true for the fuel fill tube and fuel lines in the driver's side rear. Both the front and rear bumpers also need to be fitted properly after a lift, although I think they sell brackets or something to deal with that. Because yes, I want my bumper hanging on by an aftermarket bracket rather than the factory one. That sounds just about as safe as loosening, stretching, and then tightening the steering linkage to deal with a greater distance after the lift.
I'm highly irritated by all of what I discovered. I watched a video on the install in a truck like mine and the guy who did the install completely glossed over these important considerations. He said things like, "Yeah, there are some brake lines over here. You can loosen them if you want. You can also loosen the steering bolts if you want." What do you mean, "if you want"? It's either, you do it or you don't do it. Is it required? Will the steering work after a body lift if I don't loosen the bolts on the steering linkage? If I lift the body from the frame up front, will the metal brake lines be torn during separation? What the hell?
The guy in the video acts like this is a job that takes about an hour. I find this disingenuous at best and totally fraudulent and misleading at worst. And the comments on the video didn't help either. It's like they were written by 12 year olds. "Hey, I'm going to install this next week!" and "Boy, you guys do a great job!" The only real comment was by someone who asked the very same questions I asked above.
So my question is, has anyone ever actually installed one of these body lift kits on their Nissan Frontier? If so, I would totally appreciate seeing some after photos of the brake lines down near the front spindles as well as the brackets that hold the front bumper on. Actually, I'd like to see photos of it all, because right now, I'll calling B.S. on all of this.
Just to be clear, my primary gripe here isn't that I don't think this job can be done or that it's not a worthy truck modification, it's that I don't think it can be done in the way it's been presented on many websites. For some reason, in every instance where someone has claimed to have completed a body lift on a pickup truck, everything has been very casual and has been presented in such a way as to suggest that, "Well, you can do this or not. You can do that or not. It's up to you." I've never heard anything like this in my life. "Well, you can put that piston back in the engine if you want. If not, no big deal." It's just like that. Seriously.
The only conclusion I can draw is that much of the information being released out there is derived from sellers of body lifts. They'll sell you the lift kit for $250 and completely misrepresent what it takes to put it in. You know, the $3500 in labor and parts.
My question is, has anyone ever successfully installed a body lift kit on a 2015 Nissan Frontier? From what I've learned last week after trying to install one is that it's nearly impossible to complete this job without making major modifications to multiple areas of the truck. I bought the 2" lift kit, which is more dramatic than the probably more common 1" kit, but still, I'm assuming the same modifications need to be made with that smaller version. I'm convinced that so many of those who are writing on the forums and making videos on YouTube on this topic are just full of it. Either they've never actually installed a body lift or they're just trying to sell the kit themselves. This is a huge job that can't and shouldn't be done by the average back yard mechanic.
As I was walking around the truck last weekend, I first noticed that, if the body of the truck were lifted even by a small amount, the cooling fan would make contact with the fan shroud. Because of this, I removed the bottom part of the shroud. That's fine. But that was just the beginning. I then noticed that both the upper and lower radiator hoses would need to be replaced because two inches is a far distance for them to stretch. They're fitted hoses, so they really need to be addressed. I then began looking at the engine, which gave me pause. If the body is lifted by two inches on a truck like mine, the entire engine would essentially drop by two inches. This is because the engine is connected to the frame, not the body. So basically, because the engine will drop by two inches, anything that's attached to both the body and the engine will need to be removed and reconfigured. The part that stood out the most was the air intake. This is attached to the air box and the fuel injector. You can't just "stretch" this type of thing. The part itself needs to be modified. Any air conditioning components would also need to be dealt with, although I didn't look too closely at them.
At this point, I was fuming. No one ever mentioned any of these things in the videos I saw, forums I read, or instructions I didn't receive. I then thought about the steering rod or column or whatever you want to call it and realized that it needed to be extended. Then I looked at the front brake lines. The rigid metal lines up top are attached to the body as well as the frame down in the wheel well. If the front of the truck were to be lifted, those lines would need to be extended. The same is true for the fuel fill tube and fuel lines in the driver's side rear. Both the front and rear bumpers also need to be fitted properly after a lift, although I think they sell brackets or something to deal with that. Because yes, I want my bumper hanging on by an aftermarket bracket rather than the factory one. That sounds just about as safe as loosening, stretching, and then tightening the steering linkage to deal with a greater distance after the lift.
I'm highly irritated by all of what I discovered. I watched a video on the install in a truck like mine and the guy who did the install completely glossed over these important considerations. He said things like, "Yeah, there are some brake lines over here. You can loosen them if you want. You can also loosen the steering bolts if you want." What do you mean, "if you want"? It's either, you do it or you don't do it. Is it required? Will the steering work after a body lift if I don't loosen the bolts on the steering linkage? If I lift the body from the frame up front, will the metal brake lines be torn during separation? What the hell?
The guy in the video acts like this is a job that takes about an hour. I find this disingenuous at best and totally fraudulent and misleading at worst. And the comments on the video didn't help either. It's like they were written by 12 year olds. "Hey, I'm going to install this next week!" and "Boy, you guys do a great job!" The only real comment was by someone who asked the very same questions I asked above.
So my question is, has anyone ever actually installed one of these body lift kits on their Nissan Frontier? If so, I would totally appreciate seeing some after photos of the brake lines down near the front spindles as well as the brackets that hold the front bumper on. Actually, I'd like to see photos of it all, because right now, I'll calling B.S. on all of this.
Just to be clear, my primary gripe here isn't that I don't think this job can be done or that it's not a worthy truck modification, it's that I don't think it can be done in the way it's been presented on many websites. For some reason, in every instance where someone has claimed to have completed a body lift on a pickup truck, everything has been very casual and has been presented in such a way as to suggest that, "Well, you can do this or not. You can do that or not. It's up to you." I've never heard anything like this in my life. "Well, you can put that piston back in the engine if you want. If not, no big deal." It's just like that. Seriously.
The only conclusion I can draw is that much of the information being released out there is derived from sellers of body lifts. They'll sell you the lift kit for $250 and completely misrepresent what it takes to put it in. You know, the $3500 in labor and parts.