Skyjacker Lifts???

[MJ300]

I was thinking about putting a small lift on my MJ, just some more ground clearance for mild offroading and a more agressive stance. Since I am on a semi-small budget, I was thinking of somewhere in the 3" range would be good for my purposes. So I started searching and I found a 3" inch lift from Skyjacker. I already know that Rusty's and Rough Country have similar kits as this one (and I know Rusty's and Rough Country sucks) but from what I have heard, Skyjacker is supposed to be pretty good quality. BUT........it doesn't look like a very complete kit, do you think I should add sway bar disconnects or a track bar to go along with this thing or would it be good as is? :cheers:

 

SKYJACKER KIT

http://www.quadratec.com/products/76017_815.htm

 

Similar Rough Country Kit

http://4wdtruck.com/jeepparts/index.php ... e964932024

[mvusse]

To have one single add-a-leaf lift a spring under axle truck 3", it has to be an extremely stiff spring, and ride will suffer horribly. More than likely, though, it is a 3" lift add-a-leaf for a Cherokee (spring over axle, springs pretty much flat), meaning it will not lift a Comanche anywhere near 3". No personal experience with this lift, though.

 

Also, 2" is pretty much the max you can go with the stock sway bar links. I ran 1.75" with the stock links and had no problems. I have seen a Cherokee with 3.5" lift and it busted 1 and bent the other all to heck. So 3" I advice to get quick disconects, or longer stock links. There is a Jeep model that uses similar but longer links that should interchange, but I can't remember which. Then again, for the price of 2 new links, you might as well pay a bit more for disconnects.

 

The rear shocks shown in the picture are for a Cherokee and will not work in the Comanche unless you take the bar pins out. They may or may not be the correct length.

 

Also, the correct drive line angle does not change with axle height (pinion shaft should still be parallel with transfer case output), so the shims build into the leafs will actually mess up your drive line angle.

 

Anyway, gotta go, late for work.

[MrSimon]

Where in PA are you? Are you interested in buying an almost new set of full 3" leaf packs? I'll give you a really good deal - PM me if you are interested.

[comanche 88]

i have the Skyjacker kit and I can confirm that it is made for the Comanche. The AAL is full length and the ride didn't seem to suffer too much, I did however remove the original overload spring to get maximum articulation since I was'nt intending to haul any big loads. it has sagged quite a bit more on the drivers side than on the passenger side but this could just as well be my tired original leafs.

[possum]

I run the Skyjacker 3" kit and I don't really have any complaints. The AAL aren't too stiff and they have not sagged in the three years I have been using them.

[MJ300]

What about a track bar? Do I need one with only 3" inches of lift or could I save myself $200 bucks and get away without one?

[MrSimon]

You can get a relocation bracket, or some people even just drill another hole to move the track bar over a bit. Do some searching - both options have been discussed at length.

 

I think even a 3" lift on a stock track bar would move the axle just a bit off center .... could cause allignment issues.

[MJ300]

Ok I changed my mind again. :D Instead of buying a 3 inch kit, I think what I'm going to do is piece together my own kit. Right now I have 1.75" coil spacers up front and nothing except the stock Big Ton springs in the back. I put the spacers on not for a lift, but just to level the truck out, and after the lift I still want it to be level. So my thinking is if I take out the coil spacers I'd be -1.75" of lift in the front (since it wouldnt be level). Now if I put 3" inch coils in the front with no spacers I'd be at about 1.75-2" up front and still stock height in the rear. If I put shackles on the back, it should level things out and give me a little bit of a lift. Genius idea or what!! :brows:

 

My only problem and/or question with this setup would be what size shock I would need. Because technically I'd only have about 2" inches of lift all around. So should I get 1.5" inch shocks or 3" inch shocks since I have 3" inch coils in the front? :nuts:

 

And just to let everybody know, everything is coming from Motion Offroad so don't preach about quality cause I already know that anything other than MO, RE, and Hell Creek is BAAAAD!! :no:

[possum]

Even though you changed your mind FYI the Skyjacker kit does come with a track bar relocation bracket.

[LEAD_NOT_FOLLOW]

You can get a relocation bracket, or some people even just drill another hole to move the track bar over a bit. Do some searching - both options have been discussed at length.

Worst thing you can ever do. DO NOT DRILL ANOTHER HOLE! It WILL elongate and crack, than your screwed. Also using a drop bracket throws off the geometry of the trackbar in relation to the draglink and WILL cause bumpsteer.

 

Do it right the first time, even if it costs more money. What you save now, you'll end up fixing later and it'll cost you more. You'll thank yourself later for going with a quality lift system.

[MJ300]

Alright guys lets settle an argument here. Is the difference in the amount of travel you would get with coils in the back on an MJ more than the work involved in converting from leafs to coils i n the back.

 

Basically, do you get more travel with coils in the rear or doesnt it matter either way??

[TNT]

You can get a relocation bracket, or some people even just drill another hole to move the track bar over a bit. Do some searching - both options have been discussed at length.

Worst thing you can ever do. DO NOT DRILL ANOTHER HOLE! It WILL elongate and crack, than your screwed. Also using a drop bracket throws off the geometry of the trackbar in relation to the draglink and WILL cause bumpsteer.

 

Do it right the first time, even if it costs more money. What you save now, you'll end up fixing later and it'll cost you more. You'll thank yourself later for going with a quality lift system.

 

 

On my '94 XJ with 3" of lift I trimmed the very end of the axle mount and added a brace to the axle mount before I drilled a new hole. It's been 11 years and 80K with no problem and I still have the same stock trackbar that was on it when I bought it. It has never came loose when offroad and the hole still looks perfect. :brows:

 

It's all about how you do it. ;)

 

On my '95 XJ with 5.5"of lift I replaced the trackbar with a Rubicon Express one. I had issues with it coming loose with brand new factory hardware used after the problem. I beefed up the bracket over-torqued the bolt nad the problem was fixed. I did need a torch to get it loose again. So it got a new bushing and hardware after that... :nuts:

[mvusse]

Alright guys lets settle an argument here. Is the difference in the amount of travel you would get with coils in the back on an MJ more than the work involved in converting from leafs to coils i n the back.

 

Basically, do you get more travel with coils in the rear or doesnt it matter either way??

 

Whether coils in the rear give you more or less travel depends on the complete rear suspension as a package. 2 link, 3 link or 4 link, how are control arms set up, what kind of joints on the ends of the control arms, anything interfering, load rating and length of coils, where are the coils mounted, travel of shocks, where are the shocks mounted, how are the shocks mounted.

 

Each one of those matters.

 

And if you design your suspension, also take into account bump stops so the wheels don't travel up too far and cause body damage, and drive shaft issues so you don't stuff it too far into the transfer case damaging it, or come too far out either falling out or breaking the tail housing. And your brake lines need to be able to handle the travel as well.

 

Unless you plan on jumping the truck and need the amount of travel to dampen the shock load before bottoming out, a good leaf spring set up with flexible springs (low load rating, like the stock ones) can travel more than enough. My shocks are what limit my rear axle travel, both up and down.