How-To: 2nd Gen AC 2" Body Lift!

[Rook]

Ok folks...here it is... 2" Bodylift How-to.

First off, a couple of things.

-This takes a long long time...like 8-12 hrs long or more...
-you will need friends or an incredible amount of patience and strength (to relocate bumpers)
-you will need Beverages...of the alcoholic variety....trust me...DO NOT ATTEMPT THIS WITHOUT A BEER ON HALD AT ALL TIMES!
-This Howto took me a LONG time to make...constructive criticism is appreciated, however, destructive criticism is not...thanks!
-GPAX rules!
-A big shoutout to everyone who helped me on this install, to Hoagie for returning my rig to Andover NJ from the jaws of the Wharton State Forest, and to Alex (Uppermake) for sandblasting my skids for free. Also, I wanna send thanks to Garrett for always being there to help me with my rig and for welding (professionally) my bumpers onto my rig ..there I said it. [/shoutout]

now onto the awesomeness.


Material List:

-Napa Part # 8978 - extended rad hose
-Welder/Mask (depending on your bumper situation or whether you are AT or MT)
-AC 2" Body Lift Kit
-FULL metric socket set (notably 8, 10, 12, 14, 17, and 19's for the most part)
-Socket extensions (preferable 1" 3" and maybe a 4 or 6" one....thats what she said)
-Floor Jack
-Pieces of Wood...preferably a little longer and norrower but fairly thick so it can support some weight
-BFH (even if you dont use it...every howto requires one...no matter what)
-Zip Ties
-Flat head screw Driver
-Philips head screw driver
-Bucket (to drain coolant)
-2.75 Gal of Coolant (to fill er back up)
-BEER
-BEER
-BEER

I am going to go thru AC's steps one by one (in BOLD) and then add in pics and commentary of how I did each (reg type). I find it to be the best way. Beware, this howto is LONG...I apologize in advance but it encompasses everything you need to know to body lift you rig.
ok now that we have that out of the way and you have all the crap you need to start this epic truck status lift...lets move onto the steps.

Step 1: Disconnect the Battery, both negative and positive.
This is fairly straightforward…stock terminals are 10mm…grab a wrench and go to town. Make sure nothing is shorted out in the process.

Disconnect any other crazy wires you have added in your modding endeavors as well and tape them off….. I had A LOT

Step 2: Remove the 6 clips holding the grill top to the radiator core support and snaps at the bottom of the grill. Remove it from it's mounts.

This picture isn’t quite that…but it shows where those clips are. And it shows BAF6 clipping more wires WOOT!

Better pic:

Step 3: Disconnect the fog lights if your Xterra is so equipped

Easy step…just disconnect them from the stalks if you have them…nothing crazy here…zip tie them up and out of the way.

Step 4: Remove the 4 Philips head bolts on each side of the front bumper. Remove 4-M6x20mm Bolts that attach the bottom of the bumper to the skid plate. Remove the 2 Philips screws from the corners of the bumper cover under the splash shield. Remove the 5 screws and snaps from the top of the front bumper mount. Remove the bumper cover.

These are also easy steps and very straightforward. The bolts on the bottom are easily found and can be removed with a socket wrecnh (10mm or 12mm??) cake walk. The 4 philps head bolts are bolted right into the fender on each side…they easily come with out with a good screwdriver. If you have an aftermarket bumper take it off at this point…but make sure all wiring is disconnected…seriously….

BAM!...like f*ckin emeril

Step 5: Unbolt the skid plate from the body and remove the front skidplate.

Again easy one you undo those 4 M6 bolts…just yank it off carefully…they may be a few more bolts holding it on… If you have aftermarket skids..you should be removing at least the front rad skid at this point in time….also I took this opportunity to drain my radiator…as it doesn’t matter really when you do it…but it must be done…I was down there anyway (that’s what she said)

SWEET!

Step 6: Remove the 4-M12x 25mm Bolts from the front crash bar and remove it.

Do IT! 17mm I believe!

Step 7: Unclip the front differential vent tube from the upper air intake cover and body.

There is is…find a new home for it and get it out of the way. It should clipped to the body below and behind the intake IIRC. I dunno I moved it like 100 times.

Step 8: Unbolt the 2-M6x30mm gold bolts holding the intake tubing to the engine and unbolt the hose clamp. Remove the intake.

I did NOT do this. It will be fine with aftermarket intakes…if you have a stock one…do as it says…they are easy to unbolt and can be found right in the middle front top of the engine. Again 10mm IIRC…maybe 8mm…

Step 9: Lower and remove the spare tire. Unclip the license plate light wire from the front of the rear bumper.

Very easy to do..if you cannot lower your spare tire you do not deserve the manly, chest hair inspiring, fantastic machine called the Xterra….simply go buy a pruis or juke or something ghey! :iconbiggrin:

Step 10: Remove the 6-M14x50mm rear bumper bolts and remove the bumper.

Easy peasy…19mm…if you have an aftermarket bumper get friends to help…or a floor jack and a piece of wood

Step 11: Loosen and rotate the grounding strap 180 degrees on the driver's side exhaust tube to provide more slack for the 2" body lift.

This sucker is located right at the flange on the 2nd cat (from front to back) on the driver’s side. Each to find…undo the bolt and swing it out of the way.

Step 12: Drain the radiator according to the manufacturer specifications.
I did this earlier…but you can do it now if you want.

Step 13: Unhook the strap holding the lower radiator hose to the side of the frame. Unsnap the lower radiator fan shroud guard located on the bottom of the fan shroud.

Comes right off. Just a few clips. No pictures cause it’s super easy without skidplates on. :drink:

Step 14: Remove the upper and lower radiator clamps and hoses from the radiator.

Grab a pair of needle nose pliers and apply pressure on the tabs of the clamp till you can wriggle it off.

Step 15: Remove the 1-M6x20mm bolt holding the ground battery bracket to the fender well.

Located behind the big HID relay to the bottom of the coolant overflow reservoir in this pic.

Step 16: Remove the battery hold downs and the battery from the truck.

Grab a 10mm box wrench and go to town.

Step 17: Unbolt the 3-M6x30mm bolts holding the power steering reservoir bracket to the fender and separate from bottle. Remove the bracket from the truck.

Step 18: Unhook the A/C line from the two clips on the side of the passenger side inner fender.

Step 19: Remove the 1-M6x20mm bolt holding the positive battery cable to the passenger side inner fender and unclip the positive cables from the relay/fuse box side.

Same area as step 15:

Then get the fuse box harness:

 

[Rook]

Step 20: Unbolt the A/C hose and the heater hose from the driver's side firewall

Right at the back of the engine compartment on the firewall….can’t miss it. Just unbolt them and let them hang there..you need slack for when you lift the truck up…even thought I found that reinstalling them with relocation brackets was not necessary on the mount in the second pic…(you will see later)

Step 21: Unhook the clip holding the brake sensor wire to the bracket at the top of the driver's side coil bucket.

Ok..this is the sensor wire being talking about…it goes down and sits right on top of the drivers side coil bucket…you can’t miss it. Clip it. And push it out of the way for now.

Step 22: Unbolt the power steering cooler line from the top of the driver's side frame rail.

That’s it right there…unbolt it…10mm IIRC.

Prob wouldn’t be a bad idea to remove fender liners at this point as well.

Step 23: Unclip the automatic transmission cooler line from the passenger side inner fender.

This is over in the battery area…it is hard to see.

Step 24: Unbolt the 2 nuts holding the brake line assembly on the lower driver's side firewall and remove the bracket from the studs. Unclip the two hoses from below.

Step 25: Unclip the wire harness cover just behind the passenger side tire. Unbolt the 1-M6x20mm bolt holding the wire harness to the passenger side frame rail. Unclip the two clips holding the same wire harness to the frame mount body bracket.

Step 26: Mark the lower steering shaft and rack with a line going up and down to make sure it is re-assembled exactly the same. Remove the bolt and lower steering shaft from the rack and pinion 1-M8x30mm bolt. Loosten but do not remove the nut on the upper bolt holding the steering shaft to the shaft that goes through the firewall.

this one is a bit fo a PITA...those bolts are lock tited so tight it's almost like nissan hired gobblezilla to keep em from moving...EVER :tard: never know with those crazy japanese.....huh? :scratch: moving along...

Step 27: Unbolt the 5 self tapping screws and the 4 push clips from the rear splash guard behind the rear driver's side tire, just below the gas filler.

Grab a Philips head and a flat head screwdriver and you are ready to take care of the "situation" (and no not that a**hole from Jersey Shore ) The Philips heads screws are pie…pry the push clips up with the end of the flathead screwdriver.

Step 28: Unbolt the 3 bolts that attach the two brackets holding the gas filler lines to the body. Push in the filler neck, away from the body and remove the gas cap.

The other two are under the rig above the rear axle. Unbolt them with a 12mm socket…these are a b*tch to get to! You will need some finesse…and I ended up breaking one (finesse FAIL!)..so one didn’t go back in…EF IT.

Step 29: Unbolt the grounding strap on the driver's side going to the engine. For trucks with manual transmissions: Unbolt the shifter; extend the shifter with the 2" x 1/2" solid steel rod. The shaft will need to be cut at the base and the shifter extension will need to be welded in between top and bottom making sure the shifter has the same orientation.

The grounding strap goes from the top of the drivers side of the engine to right on the body where the Air Intake Box sits. You can’t miss if if you look closely. Unbolt it.

Step 30: Remove the 5-M12x 120mm x 1.25 bolts from the passenger side body mounts.

Baf doing his thing. These bolts are 17MM.

Step 31: Loosten, but do NOT remove the 5 body mount bolts on the driver's side.

Easy..do it..just like the passenger side..but DON’T remove them. Use a cheater pipe if you need to…and USE ½” DRIVE ON THESE! Smaller may break.

 

[Rook]

Step 32: Unclip the ABS sensor wire from the top of the passenger side coil bucket bracket and unclip the brake line from the firewall on the passenger's side.

Just like the drivers side…sip tie them up and out of the way.

Step 33: Disconnect the grounding strap from the top of the top of the engine on the driver's side.

The grounding strap goes from the top of the drivers side of the engine to right on the body where the Air Intake Box sits. You can’t miss if if you look closely. Unbolt it. Same one as in step 29….i think...if not then oops…

Step 34: Unclip the wire harness from the top of the engine mount on the passenger's side.

Over near the fuse box.

Step 35: Place a hydraulic jack and a block of wood at the mid side of the truck on the passenger's side and gently lift the body of the truck no more than 2". Lift your Xterra just high enough to slide the 2" body blocks between the lower part of the body and the stock bushings on top of the frame mounts. Hand tighten the 5-M12 bolts included in the kit. Do NOT tighten completley.

Placing wood:

Jacking up the rig:

Half BL’d….

Not gunna lie a little odd looking :tard:


NOW! The part they DON’T tell you!

What you need to do is cut/grind/chew down the blocks a bit for the mount directly in front of the rear tire on EACH side. That means you will be machining down two body lift blocks total and you may as well do it now you can just install said block once you lift the other side.

HOW TO MACHINE THE BLOCKS:

Take two blocks and put them in a vice or something. (one at a time)

Grind them down:

Till they look like this.

Then install them…the machined side will face toward the inside of the truck…that slope from the seating area up top is too much for the pucks to work unmachined….you will see what I am talking about when you get to it.

Step 36: Remove the 5-M12x120mm bolts from the driver's side.

Step 37: Lift the driver's side with a jack and a block of wood only high enough to slide the 5 2" blocks between the body and the stock rubber body mount bushings. Keep all of the rubber mounting body blocks in their stock locations and use them with the 2" blocks.

Step 38: Install the 5 driver's side 2" body blocks and the 5-M12 block bolts included with the kit. Lower the jack and tighten all of the 10 body block bolts included with the kit to 45 ft/lb. Apply lock tight to all 10 bolts.

Same deal as the other side…make sure it’s all lined up before you tighten it all down

Now at this point I installed my aftermarket bumpers….

The front was prepped:

And welded onto the frame mounts (not the trucks frame):

The rear was installed on the predrilled BL mount Shrock Holes:

Welded to brackets (can still be removed from frame)..but not finished yet…

Had to make notches in the shrock to make it fit.

Step 39: Install the steering shaft below as it was before and apply Lock Tite to the bolt. The upper mount of the shaft will slide apart. After the lower shaft mount is secure, tighten the upper steering shaft mount.

Step 40: For Trucks with manual transmissions: Reinstall the extended shifter and the shifter Boot using the 2” long shifter extension.

I did not have to do this…sorry MT guys.

Step 41: Clip the power harness on the passenger’s side in its location.

Step 42: Slide apart the brake line on the passenger’s side so it can be positioned in its original mounts.

Step 43: Using the ¼” bolt and nut, attach the Z bracket with the two holes as an extension block to the grounding strap on one end, going to the battery terminal. The other end bolts to the stock location of the ground terminal bracket. Make sure both bolts are tight.

I didn’t do it by the book…by the book is dumb….and I don’t like it…so it got Rooked…..

Step 44: Cut the power steering bottle bracket in half as shown and drill the hole into the side of the upper bracket.

This step is a WHORE. Just because it takes a while…

Cut it like so:

then make a hole in it.. a little lower.

Step 45: Attach the 2” x 2” x 1” bracket with 3 holes to the side of the bracket with 3/8” x ¾” bolt and nut provided. Attach as in picture.

 

[Rook]

Step 46: Remove the upper bumper cover support bracket by removing the 6-M6 nuts and drivers side foam separator shield fastened to supports with two push in tabs.

Did not do this..or any steps till step 60….I just used NAPA part number 8978 as an extension for the TOP rad hose to the engine. Works just fine…and didn’t have to mess with any of the radiator reloc crap. No issues at all and running nice and cool

Step 47: Cut the 3” line just below the A/C condenser bottle, about 2.5” wide as shown in the picture.

Step 48: Release the 1-M6 bolt holding the power steering cooler to the core support.

Step 49: Unclip all the hoses and wires from the radiator shroud.

Step 50: Unbolt the two bolts holding the radiator shroud to the radiator and remove the shroud.

Step 51: Unbolt the electric fan to facilitate removal of the fan shroud.

Step 52: Remove the two upper radiator support bolts.

Step 53: Position the lower radiator support into 1 of the 2 holes in the 3” x 2” 1” blocks Bolt the upper 3/8” hole of block to the stock lower core support with the large washers and 3/8” bolts and nuts provided in the kit.

Step 54: Secure the upper radiator mounts with 2 of the 2”x 2” x 1” square blocks provided in the kit along with 2 of the 3/8” x 1” bolts and nuts and two of the washers, also included.

Step 55: Install the upper bumper cover bracket with modified center mount as shown using the 5 stocks nuts.

Step 56: Reattach the power steering cooler/ radiator to the stock bracket

Step 57: Reattach the horn power harness with clips as it was before.

Step 58: Reinstall the left and right air diffusers in front of the radiator with the 4 stock push in clips.

Step 59: Install the electric fan and fan shroud as before.

Step 60: Reconnect the upper and lower radiator hoses as before.

Do this..but the top hose is now NAPA part number 8978…and you can bypass all these steps

Step 61: Clip back in place the automatic transmission hose going to the radiator on the passenger side inner fender as before. Route all upper and lower radiator hoses as before.

Just as you did before…clip it back in…under where the battery would go.

Step 62: Fill the radiator that was drained previously with coolant.

Filler up with whatever good crap you go…may need to park on a hill at a later date to burp the system! WOOT!

Step 63: Install the lower radiator shroud.

If you installed NAPA part number 8978 and did not relocate the rad…do NOT do this..it will not fit….it will live without it.

See how many steps im saving you guys….I’m lookin out


Step 64: Reconnect the ground strap on the top of the engine on the driver’s side.

Easy just grab your wrench and do this.

Step 65: Install the stock intake tube and box. Reconnect the mass air flow sensor plug. Reattach the front differential vent tube to the upper intake box cover.

Again..simply…install just as it came off…I had a Volant so this was super easy…only had to reconnect back onto the airbox itelf using some flathead screwdrivers to tighten down the clamps.

Step 66: Using the bracket included with your kit, attach the heater hose to the firewall as shown.

Step 67: Using the bracket included with your kit, attach the A/C line to the firewall as shown.

On of these hoses should NOT be touched….even though it says to do so…it put too much strain on the hoses to attach them.. (at least on my rig) this is how the whole area looked when finished.

Step 68: Install the engine cover as before. It may be necessary to trim the engine cover slightly.

Didn’t need that shiat..it’s not real…

Step 69: Install the extension bracket on the passenger side frame rail with the ¼” nut and washer, included. Install the cover and clip harness on top of the body mount extension.

Over behind the passenger tire on the frame rail….easy to do…I ziptied it back on..and then clipped the covering back onto the tabs.

Step 70: The clip holding the power steering cooler hose to the top of the driver’s side frame rail needs to be moved 1” and reattached using the stock bolt to the stock location.

I installed a 2” lift block there…figured I may as well..i have a TON of them. Lol

Step 71: Using the bracket included in your kit and the 1/4 “ nut, drop down and secure the brake line assembly on the driver’s side firewall as shown.

Clip everything back in if you disconnected anything else over there.

Ziptie all brake lines and sensor wiring back up out of the way in the coil bucket area.



Step 72: Unbolt the 2-M6 bolts holding the gas filler and the vent hose plate to the frame. Using the 2” x 2” x 1” square bracket, included with your kit, and the ¼” nut and bolt, attach the plate back with one stock bolt and the bracket, included with your kit, to the frame mount. Install the bracket that holds the filler hose to the body with the stock M6 bolt using the stock location. Press back the filler opening in its stock location. Reinstall the stock splash shields.

DIDN’T DO THE BUMPER STUFF! SORRY

Step 73: Using the 2 front bumper relocation brackets and the 4 – ½” nuts and the 2 ½” bolts and the washers, raise the stock bumper 2”. It may be necessary to notch the back side of the stock bumper/crash bar approximately ½” for the bumper to sit flush with the stock M12 upper bolts as shown.

Step 74: Install the bumper cover and grille as before.

Step 75: Lower the mount on the crash bar that the bumper cover attaches to. It will need to be bent forward to allow for the lower cover bolts to clear the top of the lower bumper extension bracket.

Step 76: Using 2 of the 2” x 2” x 1” blocks, and 3/8” x ¾” bolts and nuts, extend the front skid plate extension bolt bracket.

Step 77: The rear bumper bolt holes will need to be redrilled 2” lower so the rear center bumper can be reinstalled properly.

Step 78: Make sure all components are secure and have plenty of operating clearance.

Step 79: Reconnect the battery. Refill the coolant and test drive the truck.

Step 80: After the first ten miles, check all bolts wiring and fitments to make sure they are securely fastened and operating correctly.

DONE

Any questions… hit me up.

-Rook

P.S. I don’t care if you didn’t like it.

glad to be a part of this community..and even more glad I can give back to it.

 

[civicjoe]

Nice work, now if plan to do this i will charter a plane and fly out a bunch of people to accomplish this

 

[emtmark]

Eyeballing this mod, gonna get a keg


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Xterrorista]

HOLY CRAP that's alot of work. Like, a whole bunch. Almost too much.

Looks great~

L

 

[jsexton]

HOLY CRAP that's alot of work. Like, a whole bunch. Almost too much.

Looks great~

L

It’s not though. I did my body lift in 4 hours without help. Probably could do another one in less than 3 hours now that I’ve done one.

 

[JeffPro4x]

Yeah. And there's a lot of unnecessary steps listed. I really wish I took pictures when I did mine last week. Mine took about 4.5 hours over 2 days

 

[AdventureRider81]

Yeah. And there's a lot of unnecessary steps listed. I really wish I took pictures when I did mine last week. Mine took about 4.5 hours over 2 days

x2 on that. After market bumpers darn near make it a breeze.


To folks who are thinking about doing it....

Main things IMO....

1. The wire harness in the passenger wheel well.
2. Brake line bracket in the driver wheel well ( 2 bolts)
3. ABS lines lines in both wheel wells (nothing to it)
4. Steering box arm inside the cab. (1 bolt)
5. Disconnect upper rad hose. (Why risk cracking the neck of the radiator?)
6. Remove and reinstall rear bumper. (probably most time consuming part for me cause the Shrock tire carrier is a heavy b&tch)

All this stuff is very basic so why not. But, there are those who didn't even do these steps. I also disconnected the power steering bracket and gas filler neck bracket, but feel that was unnecessary for a 1 inch BL. Once again its pretty easy so why not just to be safe.

I had to drill holes and make notches in my back bumper to get it to work with the 1 inch BL. Not a big deal but, a little more time consuming. Maybe an hour more.


I took how to pix. When I get some time I could add some. It's really underwhelming though. Damn near could throw the manufacterer's instructions in the trash other than the actual lifting the body portion.

 

[JeffPro4x]

A nice trick, courtesy of @jsexton: extend the PS hoses instead of modifying the bracket. Much easier

 

[jsexton]

A nice trick, courtesy of @jsexton: extend the PS hoses instead of modifying the bracket. Much easier

So much easier and nothing janky.

 

[Prime]

Yeah.... The only thing I did was use the longer rad hose. Everything else went in the garbage.