• Welcome to the new NAXJA Forum! If your password does not work, please use "Forgot your password?" link on the log-in page. Please feel free to reach out to [email protected] if we can provide any assistance.

Skyjacker RR 6" Lift Install Problem

J

Jim Kirklen

NAXJA Forum User
Location
San Diego, CA
While installing the Skyjacker RockReady sub-frame, I found out that the sub-frame arms were not aligned properly prior to it being welded at the factory. I tightened up the subframe plate bolts to the cross-member location and then jacked the front of the arm up to slide the old lower-control arm bolt in and stripped out the cross member bolt threads. I looked a little closer and saw that the arm was not straight and acted like a pry bar on the rear cross member bolt.

Has anyone seen any manufacturing defects from Skyjacker?

I forwarded some pictures to 4wheelparts to see how quickly I can get a replacement. I will post them when I figure out how to do this.

I found a post on fixing the stripped cross member bolt holes and tapped them out to 7/16". Thanks for all the great posts,

Jim K
Silver 2K 4x4 4.0
 
Ditch that horrible sub frame design. I have the SJ 6" coils but instead of using the SJ setup, I'm adding Rubicon Express drop brackets. For now I'm just using adjustables but it functions fine. Either that or get a long arm setup. My friend has the SJ setup which is what made me go with RE instead. Not only did his have major install issue, especially since he has a 2000, but even the red paint doesn't hold up. After a few months, it all chipped away. F that.
 
I installed the 6" Skyjacker RR kit in my 87' and had a whole list of problems with it (which I dont need to get into now). The kit was never meant to be installed in an 87' but I was told by Skyjacker what mods I needed to do to install it . The modifications went fine but most of the problems that I had were in the parts they sent. Im getting ready to lift my 94' now and looking at all the different lift kits out there and skyjacker is at the bottom of the list now.
 
I still like Skyjacker, I just don't like there setups with the 6 and 8 inch lifts. They have a good idea, but seems they haven't taked the time to perfect it.

Anyway, I strongly suggest doing what I did, get the 6" coild with RE drop brackets or just going with an LA kit. The good thing abot SJ coild is they are have a higher loading rating them pretty much all coils out there for XJs. This means that if you have a big bumper and/or winch, you won't loose precious inches due to wieght.
 
hope you dont mind a tad of jacking here

since SJ coils are stiffer, does it limit flex more than say an re coil of equal lift height.
 
Ramsey said:
hope you dont mind a tad of jacking here

since SJ coils are stiffer, does it limit flex more than say an re coil of equal lift height.
Click to expand...

Not if you have the extra weight of a bumper and winch. I feel that it actually flexes better though. If you notice, your leaf packs don't like to flex to much, and that is because the coils do most of the flexing if that makes sense. By using a heavier coil, it not only flexes itself, but it forces the rear to flex a little more too.
 
I guess a stiffer coil would help balance the suspension, now if i can just get past the awful red :laugh:
 
Ramsey said:
I guess a stiffer coil would help balance the suspension, now if i can just get past the awful red :laugh:
Click to expand...

I kinda like the red, but it doesn't quite match anything on my Jeep. I was thinking of having them powdercoated, but I am not gonna pay that just so they will be black. A guy out west powdercoated his and they look pretty nice, he is all about color scheme
 
Sorry but the sub-frame is the best idea of the kit, and that is why there has been so much success with it in the Jeepspeed circuit. Many of the jeeps build their suspension around that sub-frame. It strengthens the weak unibody and improves the CA angles.
Except for that and the coils, their stuff is not the best. I have been running the 6" kit for almost 60K miles, I've done high speed desert running, rock crawling, and then drive it home; all I've had to do is to replace the crappy heims they include in the kit. It is extremely stable on the road, and after running it and RE, I'm still happy with it. But RE is a great company with great products.
 
I read an install on this lift and it showed the heims up close. Those things are HUGE. I still don't understand why they used them though. At the time this lift came out everyone was over heims and using "Johnny Joint" style spherical bushings. These are much quieter and are rebuildable. I love the enginerring behind the RR kit, but I have read a lot of negative feeback on Skyjacker. When I first started to get into this whole 4x4 thing, Skyjacker seemed to be the only major manufacturer making flexy leafs, so they were the best there was at the time. I have seen the 8" kit for sale on here for $1600 used. I figure for that price, I can upgrade to Johnny Joints and still stay under $2000, and have a pretty flexy, strong setup. Anybody else object to this kit?
 
if i was gonna drop that kind of cash i would get the full traction long arm kit and add some spacers and either a shackle in the back or an extra leaf or so if you just have to have the 8" and the FT is cheaper too
 
Yeah the FT is looking pretty good. I can't believe that kit is only $1600, it looks hardcore. It uses big-ass-heims on the lower arms too, they look even bigger than SJs. They look to be using JJ style bushings in the top control arms also, so there must be less vibration and noise from the bottom. A problem with all of the kits using relocated CAs seems to be the bracketry involved and compatibility with rocker protection. You ARE increasing breakover, but you can still slam a rocker. The Detours contraptions are pretty cool but limit you a lot when it comes to lifts I think. FT has been getting a lot of positive attention, but no one has had it long term yet. We'll see.
 
CAPTAIN Nemo has had it quite a while, might want to ask him about it
 
I can't answer to the problem of the original post. I can say that I agree that the sub-frame is a great design. I bought a used 6" kit a year and a half ago. Yes the heims wore out. I have taken an old hiem body, cut in half and welded the "bushing cradle" sold by JKS (formerly from ORGS) to install a factory rubber bushing on the unibody end. The noise is now gone. I will build a similar johnny joint end for the axle end later. The geometry of the subframe will allow great flex with the right shock work, and some clearancing at the usual places. I wouldn't just abandon the kit since you already paid for it, but the heims will be noisey. Mine is a daily driver so I went rubber on one end.
 
The Tera modular joints will thread directly into the Pricejacker LCAs. They are available with a johnny joint, rubber bushing, poly bushing or the P.O.S. heims. Here's a pic of my Tera JJ. The threaded shaft is at least 3 times the length of the heim shaft.

johnny_joint.jpg


Also IMO, the subframe is the best part of the kit.
 
Last edited:
Replacing the heims for a JJ style on one end and a rubber bushing on the other, basically eliminated all noise. I used the Tera style like JEEPZZ.
 
JEEPZZ said:
The Tera modular joints will thread directly into the Pricejacker LCAs. They are available with a johnny joint, rubber bushing, poly bushing or the P.O.S. heims. Here's a pic of my Tera JJ. The threaded shaft is at least 3 times the length of the heim shaft.



Also IMO, the subframe is the best part of the kit.
Click to expand...
didn't you also use the rubber joints from Tera and run into failure issues like Mike(BigBear) did? I know he just had some new ends built with JJs because of those Tera Rubber things going bad.
 
DrMoab said:
didn't you also use the rubber joints from Tera and run into failure issues like Mike(BigBear) did? I know he just had some new ends built with JJs because of those Tera Rubber things going bad.
Click to expand...
Yep. I had the JJ at one end and the rubber bushing in the other. I installed them 2 weeks prior to Moab last year. The bushings (both of them) didn't make it through the second day. After getting the run around for another week by Tera, they finally waranteed them for me. They told me that they weren't designed for such a highly articulating suspension and should have only been used for on-road applications. :lecture: I didn't know Tera made on-road modified suspension Jeep parts??? After that, they didn't want to let me get another set of JJ in place of the bushings that were surely just going to fail again. Like I said, they finally settled up with me.
I talked with Mike about the whole thing several weeks later and told him to check his bushings. Sure enough, they were starting to separate too. Let me tell you, when walked in with the second set of bad bushings they were happy as :pig:'s in sh!t to see me again.
 
JEEPZZ said:
Yep. I had the JJ at one end and the rubber bushing in the other. I installed them 2 weeks prior to Moab last year. The bushings (both of them) didn't make it through the second day. After getting the run around for another week by Tera, they finally waranteed them for me. They told me that they weren't designed for such a highly articulating suspension and should have only been used for on-road applications. :lecture: I didn't know Tera made on-road modified suspension Jeep parts??? After that, they didn't want to let me get another set of JJ in place of the bushings that were surely just going to fail again. Like I said, they finally settled up with me.
I talked with Mike about the whole thing several weeks later and told him to check his bushings. Sure enough, they were starting to separate too. Let me tell you, when walked in with the second set of bad bushings they were happy as :pig:'s in sh!t to see me again.
Click to expand...
Funny how everyone I know running Terras stuff is falling apart. XJ4Moabs Teralow didn't even make it one trip through the Rubicon before it cracked.
Might have to put them up there with Rustys before long.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

B
Control Arm Drop Bracket
Replies
3
Views
2K
Black1990jeep
B
C
What's this truss glued into my frame rail?
Replies
2
Views
1K
WCBlueSky
W
N
JKS quicker disconnect install
Replies
9
Views
3K
jeep ride
J
D
Build: "full body" tons and 40s
2 3 4
Replies
65
Views
17K
DrivnXJ
D
B
Welding Center Frame Stiffeners
2
Replies
26
Views
4K
MistWolf
M
Back
Top