Ghetto Lift

OK, I just "ghetto lifted" my 07 Taco and need some input from you all please... am I going to damage something???

Background...

My truck was head-on hit by a semi truck and after the substantial repairs it left one front quarter panel about 1/8" lower then the other side.

I then swapped out the factory front bumper for an ARB sheet steel one with Warn winch.

Then, after a dozen+ vehicle pulls and self recovery with the winch the bumper "settled in", tilting down slightly - pushing the sides up against my quarter panels (especially bad on the side that is 1/8" lower). It rubbed off all the paint on quarter panels at contact point and is rusting now. Also, when off-roading there is a load "bang" "bang" "bang" from bumper movement slamming into quarter panels.


Solution 1...

I decided to R&R the bumper and try to shim it so it sits lower. This unfortunately was not possible given the way it mounts to the truck's frame structure.


Solution 2 (Ghetto Lift)...

So, I'm laying under the front end rather exasperated that after all that work the bumper is still pushed up tight against the front quarter panels. I see these two bolts, one on each side that have rubber bumpers and connect the body to the frame. So, I unbolted them. I slid a pry bar up there and "jacked up" the truck body off the frame some 1/4" and wedged a few scrap washers in there. Then re-inserted the bolt with just enough thread to get the nut back on it. On the other side the truck made off cracking sounds as I wretched it us with the pry bar - so I only got maybe 1/8" of washers in that one... but it did the trick. For now anyway. The bumper sits just about 1/16" below now and all is good. Won't save my off-road "bangs" but for everyday driving is big improvement.


Your Advise...

Is this acceptable? Am I damaging anything, like bending the body?

Should I consider a small body lift to solve this permanently?

Are there other ideas I should consider?

 

I MAKE-A-DA-POO-POO

 

Is "ghetto" an offensive term? Seriously. Are we that politically correct... It seems an apt and appropriate adjective to describe the type and nature of the "lift" I gave my truck.

No offense was intended.

But if I must get "slammed" for it then bring it...

I stand by my choice of words.

My sincere hope would be that y'all could look past the verbiage and focus on the question at hand.

 

I think he was saying people are going to say it is a dumb idea. Ghetto is not offensive.

 

LOL i meant for the body lift my friend. Lots of BL haters on here. I was just warning you to prepare but apparently you are one hostile mofo. you are ready!

 

This thread has potential

 

the bumper mounts aren't loose or anything... the fact that an ARB bumper settled down and hits your quarter panels is rare...

 

IBTL. Doesn't sound very safe. You should probably not cram washers into places they do not belong.

 

Yeah. I have a 3" suspension lift (OME). But unfortunately it keeps the frame and body together as a unit. I need to lift the body off the frame (if necessary) of lower the bumper, or cut off some of the quarter panels. Those are the only 3 option I can think of to solve it.

Suspension lift won't help.

 

Just get a small body lift and be done with it. Pull the washers out for now though.

 

Yeah, I thought something must have loosened up, so I took the whole thing off and then put it all back together.. but it didn't change a thing.

My guess is the reconstructive body work after the accident left the vehicle more prone to bending and "settling".

I don't think it is the bumper at all - It's my truck unfortunately.

I need a better solution. Washers are freekin me out here. Help!

 

Did you even read what the issue is? How is a suspension lift going to solve the problem of the quarter panel hitting the ARB bumper.

OP, it sounds like your truck has had pretty extensive repairs done to it and I'd guess the frame might still have a little bit of a tweak to it. The cracking you heard might have been because you didn't remove all the bolts and it was twisting the panel? If you only shoved 1/8" of washers (2 washers?) then I wouldn't be terribly concerned about it as long as there was enough thread to properly tighten down the body bolts again. How's the alignment where it meets the hood? Also, if you used cheap, crap washers, I'd put good quality ones in that won't rust and fade away leaving a gap between the body and the frame. Also, a single washer thick enough to do the trick would be better in my opinion.

 

Get some 886 if you don't already

 

No worries.

Yeah, I think you are correct. I may be looking at the body lift option. I never thought I'd be a bl kind of guy. Most everyone I know on TW hates them and here I am looking strait at having to go that route, sigh.

Hoping someone has a clever idea I haven't considered.

 

And most of them are just followers on the BL hating thing. They are just fine if kept at or under 1"

 

This guy just installed a 1" and it looks good. I wouldn't go any higher, though.

http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/2nd-gen-tacomas/195316-how-1-body-lift-install.html

 

Yes, about 20k in repairs.

Yes, I probably missed a bolt and that was the sound of cracking..

At the hood, one panel is 1/8" lower then the other side. The body shop tried twice to correct that but was unable to. I was compensated fairly for the issue so can't complain.

Need to get those washers off of there. They solve the on-road rubbing but do not fix the off road issues. Still bangs slightly. Very un-fun to hear the sound of a hammer whacking the sides of your truck constantly. Scares my dogs!

Guess I'm looking at a body lift, right? Please say you have a better idea?

Oh, and I need to keep the ARB bumper. It rocks. Can't imagine how I lived pre-ARB. (but the soft-plastic factory bumper was obviously no issue).

 

Body lift would be the easiest solution but not necessarily the best. All a body lift really is is a thick metal washer and longer bed bolts which is why I said you'd most likely be fine as long as you have enough of the bolt threaded in the nut and you use a single, thick washer that's made from high quality material (if it were me I'd use stainless so it wouldn't rust out).

Is trimming the body panel an option? How about using that rubber stuff that's used on the outter edge of a door on the bottom edge of the panel where it hits the ARB bumper? It would at least make it so it's not metal on metal but would mean you'd need a bigger gap to fit the rubber in there.