Spacers

[Pathrat]

I have heard a few different opinions on the use of spacers for a mild (3 inches or less) lift. When are they appropriate and when are they a bad idea?

[Brody]

The ideal situation is a low center of gravity with plenty of wheel travel which you can get on a custom buggy, but not on a regular rig. As Dave says-anything over an inch is usually trouble, raises the center of gravity up higher, and creates a host of other problems: extending shift levers, brake lines/mounting points, radiator supports, etc, etc. Best to go with spring/suspension lift.

I have had body lifts on 3 different rigs, mainly due to economics, and solved the many problems that came up. They worked and all of them were home made. I actually wish I had done about a 2 inch body lift on my current heap before I did the cage. This would have allowed me to raise the fuel tank up about 2" which I can't do now.

Still, suspension lifts are the best answer. Body lifts do work, especially if they aren't huge, work as a quicky fix, and are made out of better material than the OEM stuff.

[Patrolman]

I think we were referring to spring spacers, not body lifts? Correct? And not wheel spacers, right? I agree with Brody, generally body lifts create more problems than they solve.

In regards to spring spacers, 1" is usually acceptable, but I wouldn't go any higher, especially with blocks on leafs.

[Brody]

I haven't heard of spring spacers unless you are talking about the ones used to adjust the pinion angle, which I have always called shims. These come in 'degreed' angles, the most common being 3 and 6 degrees, and go in between the leaf spring pack and the axle. They 'tweak' the differential back up to where it should be after a lift is installed, straightening out the driveshaft/pinion line, thus eliminating a lot of vibration and binding problems.

Most SOA (spring over axle) conversions eliminate the need for these as the axle is rotated to the right degree before the new spring perches are welded on.

I recently helped Bear install a set of these (along with both differentials) on his rig to get rid of some vibration. I picked these up from High Country 4x4 for around $6 and they were good quality steel shims.

[Pathrat]

I asked because I was browsing lift options for both the Ford and the FJ. For the FJ, I think I will be going with the coil-overs for the front and heavier-duty springs for the rear. The Ford options for 2001 Rangers are limited to full suspension lifts that run around $1500, and it largely seems that is because of all the low-set parts and things that need to be shifted around. They advertised spring spacer blocks, the shiny round aluminum things from 1 to 3 inches, but all that does is lift the body a bit and anything over an inch seems like it would do more harm than good.

Thanks for your answers. :)

[Patrolman]

Basically, there are the 3 types of spacers.

The body lift, which I think everyone is familiar with...

The leaf blocks. Many lift kits for rear spring over vehicles include a complete front lift kit, but the rear has a set of blocks that fit on top of the axle. The allow for axle wrap which is considered a bad thing in offroad. They also only provide lift and no additional wheel travel.

There are coil lift spacers that are similar to the leaf spring blocks. They are a spacer that fits on top of the coil over setups. They do basically the same as the leaf blocks. Provide lift, but no additional wheel travel.

[Patrolman]

Link to lift blocks
http://www.autoanything.com/suspension-systems/60A2639A0A0.aspx

Link to coil over spacers
http://www.rockcrawler.com/techreports/orgs_acos/index.asp
http://www.rocky-road.com/xjbudget.html

[Pathrat]

Link to lift blocks
http://www.autoanything.com/suspension-systems/60A2639A0A0.aspx

Link to coil over spacers
http://www.rockcrawler.com/techreports/orgs_acos/index.asp
http://www.rocky-road.com/xjbudget.html

Patrolman...thanks for the links!

[Chris]

I'd stay far away from those lift blocks :tsk:

[Pathrat]

I'd stay far away from those lift blocks :tsk:

Thanks, and don't worry, I have heard about what a poor idea it is to use blocks with springs, off road or not.

[Patrolman]

My opinion on body lifts is basically the same. There are only a couple reasons to have a body lift. Larger tires and such are the most common reason. On the 4Runners with rear heaters, you have to run a body lift if you want dual t-cases and you have a rear heater. The coolant lines won't clear the cases otherwise. This is a pretty rare exception to when a body lift should be used, and even then, it is only 1".

[Pathrat]

It seems like it will be a much bigger deal getting clearance on a 2001 Ford Ranger with some wheel travel than taking care of the suspension on my FJC. Good thing the Ford is going to be more of a daily driver than anything else.
Thanks for answering all the questions on blocks. Makes sense now that most of the 'lift' options were fitted for 2WD Ranger models. When I read that, I thought that the options were not for function.