diff --git a/lib/savon/client.rb b/lib/savon/client.rb
index 1008c8d1..bcdef58f 100644
--- a/lib/savon/client.rb
+++ b/lib/savon/client.rb
@@ -110,7 +110,7 @@ def preconfigure(args)
       soap.namespace_identifier = args[0]
       soap.namespace = wsdl.namespace
       soap.element_form_default = wsdl.element_form_default if wsdl.document?
-      soap.body = args[2].delete(:body)
+      soap.body = args[2].delete(:body) if args[2][:body]
 
       wsdl.type_namespaces.each do |path, uri|
         soap.use_namespace(path, uri)