Skyjacker lift ride quality

[Van Dean]

Hi there,
Just purchased my first jeep this week. It’s a 2003 TJ with a 4” skyjacker lift. It looks great but it rides terrible. I’m wondering if I can just replace the coils and shocks with something better, or if I need to scrap the entire lift and start all over? Any off-roading done in this jeep will be dirt roads any easy trails. I don’t need anything high performance.

 

[Chris]

It's not the coils that are causing your crappy ride.

Your crappy ride is being caused by your tire pressure (should be around 26-28 psi) and your shock travel bias. At ride height you should have 50% of your shock shaft exposed. Take a picture and show us how much shock shaft you have exposed as it sits.

 

[Unique Username]

While I agree with what was said above I also think you need to do a good review of what is currently installed. I have seen used TJs with bad ride quality end up being the wrong length shocks were installed. To the point that as i removed the shock nut on the front the springs started to lift the vehicle because the shocks were way too short.
Can you post some pictures of your set up? Lots of folks here can give some good pointers just starting with a visual of what you’re running.

 

[Van Dean]

 

[Unique Username]

Looks like a Rancho shock. Generally a great shock on a TJ. Lower bushing looks like it could have some wear and I think I also see a drop pitman arm.
What is your tire pressure? What is the rating on the tire?
TJs generally run lower tire pressure on larger tires. I for example run 26-28 PSI on 33s.

 

[Van Dean]

I’m actually not sure. Just got it on Tuesday. I’ll be tooling around on it tomorrow and I will definitely take a look.

 

[Van Dean]

Yes, it does have a drop pitman arm and the transfer case has been lowered. Which I have read is on this forum is not the Prefered method. But the off roading we plan on doing is more scenic than anything else.

 

[The4bangertj]

The dropped skid isn’t a huge deal for your use. The drop pitman arm absolutely is. That will cause bump steer and make onroad driving really bad.

 

[Van Dean]

That must be it. Drives great on a smooth road, but on a rough road I feel like I am all over the place. Is there any way to correct this without a complete overhaul of the lift?

 

[The4bangertj]

That must be it. Drives great on a smooth road, but on a rough road I feel like I am all over the place. Is there any way to correct this without a complete overhaul of the lift?

Replace just the pitman arm with a stock one. You can find them easily. I just checked and they have them on rock auto for cheap. You’ll need a cheap puller to get it off the steering box but a very easy job non the less.

 

[Van Dean]

Sweet!
Why would they change it in the first place? What was the point of it?

 

[The4bangertj]

Sweet!
Why would they change it in the first place? What was the point of it?

The real reason is to match your drag link and track bar in length and piviot points so the steering and axle move in the same path. That keeps your wheels straight thought the travel when hitting bumps. Stock pitman arm matches the stock trackbar frame side mount. So when people change their trackbar mount on the frame that sits lower you have to match your pitman arm to do so with a drop pitman arm. Problem is it some how just became a rumor that when you lift it you need one even without trackbar changes which is what you have. So now you have your axle pivoting at a different point than your steering. Which causes your axle to steer your wheels off center in its travel.
I used a bracket on the axle side when I first lifted my jeep rather than getting an adjustable trackbar. This also moved the pivot point on the other end and going over bumpy roads felt like I had no control over its direction.

 

[Van Dean]

The real reason is to match your drag link and track bar in length and piviot points so the steering and axle move in the same path. That keeps your wheels straight thought the travel when hitting bumps. Stock pitman arm matches the stock trackbar frame side mount. So when people change their trackbar mount on the frame that sits lower you have to match your pitman arm to do so with a drop pitman arm. Problem is it some how just became a rumor that when you lift it you need one even without trackbar changes which is what you have. So now you have your axle pivoting at a different point than your steering. Which causes your axle to steer your wheels off center in its travel.
I used a bracket on the axle side when I first lifted my jeep rather than getting an adjustable trackbar. This also moved the pivot point on the other end and going over bumpy roads felt like I had no control over its direction.

Thank you!
I have ordered a stock pitman and I’m going to give it a shot. After running some string lines it looks like it will put them back inline.

 

[Van Dean]

Second question is tire size. Current set up is 33” tires, 4:10 gears, Dana 44 rear, 6 cylinder. I need new tires and of course I’m tempted to go to 35”. Currently I can do 70 mph on the freeway at about 2300 rpm. Is 35” too much?

 

[TheBoogieman]

Second question is tire size. Current set up is 33” tires, 4:10 gears, Dana 44 rear, 6 cylinder. I need new tires and of course I’m tempted to go to 35”. Currently I can do 70 mph on the freeway at about 2300 rpm.

Was it regeared to 4.10? Rubi axle swap? X models didn't come with a Dana 44 rear axle.

 

[TheBoogieman]

Is 35” too much?

Yes, but that's your choice.

 

[Van Dean]

Was it regeared to 4.10? Rubi axle swap? X models didn't come with a Dana 44 rear axle.

I have only had it for a few weeks the PO did not know anything about it. Build sheet says it came with stock Dana 35. I only know it’s a Dana 44 by the shape of the cover. The only numbers on the tags that made sense were the 4:10 gears. I could not figure out what the other numbers were. There is also a rear air locker that looks factory to me. Was not working at purchase but after replacing the hose from the compressor it kicks in.

 

[Van Dean]

 

[Strizzo]

Hi there,
Just purchased my first jeep this week. It’s a 2003 TJ with a 4” skyjacker lift. It looks great but it rides terrible. I’m wondering if I can just replace the coils and shocks with something better, or if I need to scrap the entire lift and start all over? Any off-roading done in this jeep will be dirt roads any easy trails. I don’t need anything high performance.

My starting point was a skyjacker 2.5" lift. The only parts left are the springs. The biggest improvement in ride was switching from the M95 monotube shocks to bilstein 5100s. The second best improvement was changing out the lower arms from their single adjustable which had a johnny joint on one end and a solid rubber bushing on the other end. The solid bushings had the axle so bound up i could barely get the track bar hooked up. after swapping to metalcloak arms I could tell the suspension was able to articulate more like the stock bendy links.

 

[Van Dean]

Was it regeared to 4.10? Rubi axle swap? X models didn't come with a Dana 44 rear axle.

I have only had it for a few weeks the PO did not know anything about it. Build sheet says it came with

My starting point was a skyjacker 2.5" lift. The only parts left are the springs. The biggest improvement in ride was switching from the M95 monotube shocks to bilstein 5100s. The second best improvement was changing out the lower arms from their single adjustable which had a johnny joint on one end and a solid rubber bushing on the other end. The solid bushings had the axle so bound up i could barely get the track bar hooked up. after swapping to metalcloak arms I could tell the suspension was able to articulate more like the stock bendy links.

thank you, I will look into that for sure. I also noticed that the tires are load range (E). I need new ones anyway so thinking of getting 15” rims with 33” load c tires. Hoping that helps as well.