I ordered a Performance Accessories 2 inch body lift from 4 Wheel Parts Wholesalers for $99.95. The install notes here are from my 1997 Highrider. Since that time I have traded trucks and have put a similar kit on my 2000 Highrider. The kits for the two different years were very similar. I did have to do some drilling on the front bumper brackets for my 2000, but other than that everything went smoothly. Both kits seemed to be high quality. Unfortunately, the instructions in both cases left a little to be desired, but I got it all figured out after a little time.
I'll just list the areas where I ran into problems:
The gas tank filler extension is a pain to get on. The instructions tell you to cut the main filler hose and install a section into the existing hose. We just used the longer piece of hose they gave in place of the stock hose and it worked fine. The stock vent hose is actually long enough if you adjust the clamps and tighten them again.
The instructions tell you to drill a hole in the rear bumper for the spare tire carrier bar to come through. Instead of wrecking the paint on my bumper, I went to the hardware store and bought a cheap 3/8" drive universal swivel, a threaded eye hook that the bar would fit through, and some washers and nuts. I took the bar off of the truck and cut about 3/4 of an inch out of the middle of it in the area where the frame cross member goes over the bar when it is in place. I had the swivel welded in place at a local shop and put the bar back on. The swivel allows the bar to exit in the stock hole. The eye hook is used for support for the jointed bar. There is already a hole in the frame cross member so just run the eye hook through that and mount it with the nuts and washers. You might have to shave away some of the rubber grommet where the bar exits because the angle is different, but it should work without much trouble.
If you have nerf bars that mount on the body mounts (like my Backcountry's) you will have to get different bolts because the ones they give you aren't long enough. I had to go to Fastenal to get mine because they are such an odd type that regular hardware stores didn't have them. You'll need 4 of the M12x1.75x160 grade 8.8 or 10.9, whichever you can find.
The front bumper is a pain to get back on by yourself because there are so many parts to keep in place. Try to have a helper when you do that part.
The brake lines are long enough, but the coil between the frame and master cylinder will have to be expanded. I just put a needle nose pliers between one of the coils and opened it up which spread the coil enough to keep it clipped to the frame after the lift.
The oil filter mounting brackets are a little hard to figure out. There are bolts up behind the rubber piece that need to be located and taken out. You might also have to do a little bending on the lines to make things fit right.
The instructions tell you to adjust the shift linkage, the steering column, and some other things that I never had to touch on my 97. However, on my 2000 I did have to elongate the holes that held the steering column to the fire wall. Before taking things apart, check carefully so that you don't do anything unnecessary. Lift the body and bed slowly checking periodically for anything that might be getting tight or hanging up.
Everything else went fine. The problems make it sound worse than what it was. It took two of us the equivalent of one day to get everything done on my 97 and my 00 took me about 12 hours to do by myself. I would strongly suggest having a friend for the install. One person can do it, but it's hard.
Here are some pics of my finished 97 with the PA 2" body lift and Daystar Shackles installed. You can see that there is a gap between the body and frame on the back, but unless you are at just the right angle, you don't notice it. I had bought some Lift Lips ($54.95) to hide that space, but I didn't mind the space so I left them off.
2000 ZR2 1997 ZR2 1994 Z28 1989 ZX750R 2000 NHRA Trans Am
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Last Updated 06 September 2002 12:53
