I've been playing with a junk 2004 Envoy. It's not that bad mechanically but I got it without a title so I never intended to put it on the road. My first endeavor was to pull the engine and transmission together. I posted pics of it in the engine section.
I then decided to try to seperate the body and frame. I spent a lot of time reading posts and would see people mention it but couldn't find lots of details. Or posts that had pertinent info had pics that I couldn't load. So I thought it may help others to see what I did.
The keys are:
- use a 4 post lift if at all possible!
- go slowly by lifting each side a little at a time.
- 12 bolts hold the body to the frame
- watch for the fuel filler hose when moving the chassis away
- bungee the master cylinder. I thought it'd say in place but it fell over and leaked brake fluid
- leave LOTs of room around the vehicle for supporting the posts and clearance for the frame to roll. I have another Envoy in there and thought I'd planned for enough room which I had. However moving the hoist from front to back was almost impossible after the 8 foot 4x4 supports were there. I had to take the legs off the hosit to squeeze it between the vehicles. I went back and forth probably 6 times so that got old. Also had to plan that where I did this is where the body would stay for awhile so since I didn't want it sitting outside then I had to to it in the garage.
- I used 14 cinder blocks and numerous 4x4 including 2 8 foot sections and smaller pieces as well as several 2x4 pieces. I did not like stacking them up for fear it would teeter-totter but that's the reason to go slow and lift it incrementally
- The key measurement to clear is the top of the frame behind the rear tires. I looked and thought the rear tires were the high point but another few inches of clearance are needed behind the tire so I had to get the hoist to lift up a little higher to clear the frame. When you have the frame up that high on blocks it's dangerous to be moving things for fear the blocks will be knocked over. So I was super careful. The frame rolled super easy so any slight obstruction I'd stop and see what was the hangup
I'd like to know how others lifted the rear. If you've done this please let me know. I couldn't find how to get the strap under the rear body mounts and wrap it around the body without crushing the quarter panels. It was too high to think of using a floor jack so I used the hoist to push up on the roof. It did minimal damage but I wouldn't do it this way on a nice car. Ha, I saw the latch that the liftgates latches on to and thought about hooking the chain on it but no way that would hold up but that looked like the best central point on the body to lift.
I'm sure I'll think of more things. Please ask questions. If you want any information now the body is off let me know. I can take pics. It's a 2WD 2004 Envoy 4.2L. It's rust-free. You hear that used a lot but this truly is very clean. I don't have any plans for the body so it'll probably go the crusher. I probably can put it on mover dollies and pull it onto a trailer. The dash it out so it's definitely lighter than normal.
I then decided to try to seperate the body and frame. I spent a lot of time reading posts and would see people mention it but couldn't find lots of details. Or posts that had pertinent info had pics that I couldn't load. So I thought it may help others to see what I did.
The keys are:
- use a 4 post lift if at all possible!
- go slowly by lifting each side a little at a time.
- 12 bolts hold the body to the frame
- watch for the fuel filler hose when moving the chassis away
- bungee the master cylinder. I thought it'd say in place but it fell over and leaked brake fluid
- leave LOTs of room around the vehicle for supporting the posts and clearance for the frame to roll. I have another Envoy in there and thought I'd planned for enough room which I had. However moving the hoist from front to back was almost impossible after the 8 foot 4x4 supports were there. I had to take the legs off the hosit to squeeze it between the vehicles. I went back and forth probably 6 times so that got old. Also had to plan that where I did this is where the body would stay for awhile so since I didn't want it sitting outside then I had to to it in the garage.
- I used 14 cinder blocks and numerous 4x4 including 2 8 foot sections and smaller pieces as well as several 2x4 pieces. I did not like stacking them up for fear it would teeter-totter but that's the reason to go slow and lift it incrementally
- The key measurement to clear is the top of the frame behind the rear tires. I looked and thought the rear tires were the high point but another few inches of clearance are needed behind the tire so I had to get the hoist to lift up a little higher to clear the frame. When you have the frame up that high on blocks it's dangerous to be moving things for fear the blocks will be knocked over. So I was super careful. The frame rolled super easy so any slight obstruction I'd stop and see what was the hangup
I'd like to know how others lifted the rear. If you've done this please let me know. I couldn't find how to get the strap under the rear body mounts and wrap it around the body without crushing the quarter panels. It was too high to think of using a floor jack so I used the hoist to push up on the roof. It did minimal damage but I wouldn't do it this way on a nice car. Ha, I saw the latch that the liftgates latches on to and thought about hooking the chain on it but no way that would hold up but that looked like the best central point on the body to lift.
I'm sure I'll think of more things. Please ask questions. If you want any information now the body is off let me know. I can take pics. It's a 2WD 2004 Envoy 4.2L. It's rust-free. You hear that used a lot but this truly is very clean. I don't have any plans for the body so it'll probably go the crusher. I probably can put it on mover dollies and pull it onto a trailer. The dash it out so it's definitely lighter than normal.
