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Skyjacker Lift kits? Are they good?

94K views 57 replies 27 participants last post by  n3tfury 
#1 · (Edited)
Hi,

I just ordered a Skyjacker 4" Long Arm kit from quadratec. It was about $2,200 plus they told me I need new drive shafts for this lift, because the stock ones are too short.

This is the one I got: Skyjacker 4" Long Arm Lift Kit for 07-10 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited JK 4 Door 4WD - Quadratec

I just googled "skyjacker lift kits" and found some REALLY disturbing reviews. A lot of people say to STAY FAR away from SkyJacker. The posts were pretty old, from 2005 - 06, so I am not sure how relevant those are now.

Does anyone have any experience with SkyJacker lifts and this kit in particular? I am supposed to go to the shop tomorrow morning to have it installed, but now I am really nervous. Should I send it back and get something else instead?

I also ordered 18x9 XD Monster wheels and 325/65/18 (that's 35" by 12.8) Nitto Terra Grapplers (They are not the most aggressive looking wheels but I want good traction in snow and Ice, which I hear is bad with Mud Grapperls, plus those howl real bad on the road.)

B.T.W. I have a 2011 4dr Rubicon Black.
 
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#2 ·
I don't have any experience with them personally but my local shop installed one on a JK. They affectionally referred to it as "sky crapper" and made fun of the jeep because it had 37" tires and 3.21 gears. This kit doesn't use flex joints and apparently doesn't last long. The owner of the jeep drove it 1000mi and came back with the bushings completely shot. This is what they looked like after just that short amount of time...



In my opinion, cancel your order and spend that money on a quality kit from AEV or the like.
 
#4 ·
I don't have any experience with them personally but my local shop installed one on a JK. They affectionally referred to it as "sky crapper" and made fun of the jeep because it had 37" tires and 3.21 gears. This kit doesn't use flex joints and apparently doesn't last long. The owner of the jeep drove it 1000mi and came back with the bushings completely shot. This is what they looked like after just that short amount of time...



In my opinion, cancel your order and spend that money on a quality kit from AEV or the like.

Oh my god, this is going to haunt me all night! LOL
 
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#5 ·
See InvertChaos's post.

Local 4x4 shop insisted I put Skyjacker on my Jeep, and I walked away. They have a habit of sagging and their bushings are crap. Won't last long.

Most of the time I'll tell folks that, when you buy a lift, you'll get what you pay for.

You paid way too much.
 
#6 ·
See InvertChaos's post.

Local 4x4 shop insisted I put Skyjacker on my Jeep, and I walked away. They have a habit of sagging and their bushings are crap. Won't last long.

Most of the time I'll tell folks that, when you buy a lift, you'll get what you pay for.

You paid way too much.
What's the best lift to get and how much should I reasonably expect to spend?

What about Rock Krawler? Terraflex? Where does everybody order their kits from?
 
#8 ·
nycdude777 said:
Oh my god, this is going to haunt me all night! LOL
Tell me about it! And these guys knew what they were doing too, no install error. He said the bushings were loose after the install even after putting them in the press to get them nice and tight. I don't think its too late to back out and for $2200 I'm confident you could probably get a super nice 2.5" AEV kit and be exceedingly happy with it.

kbwwolf said:
See InvertChaos's post.

Local 4x4 shop insisted I put Skyjacker on my Jeep, and I walked away. They have a habit of sagging and their bushings are crap. Won't last long.

Most of the time I'll tell folks that, when you buy a lift, you'll get what you pay for.

You paid way too much.
+1!

Edit: also I don't know about the different JK lifts so I can't help ya there. I just know that AEV is highly regarded and people are happy with Teraflex as well. That's about the extent of my JK knowledge lol
 
#10 ·
Dude. I was going to tell you I had a Skyjacker lift on a jeep for about
45k miles and it was fine. Then I see you live in NYC. Why bother at all? Leave your nice jeep alone, it hasn't done anything wrong to you. If you stop reading this forum you will be fine with a stock Rubi. BTW, I love NYC!
 
#12 ·
Dude. I was going to tell you I had a Skyjacker lift on a jeep for about
45k miles and it was fine. Then I see you live in NYC. Why bother at all? Leave your nice jeep alone, it hasn't done anything wrong to you. If you stop reading this forum you will be fine with a stock Rubi. BTW, I love NYC!
The whole reason I got a Jeep was because I wanted to lift it and make it look mean. I have been postponing it for about 7 months now, trying to talk myself out of doing anything... well, 2 days ago, I walk out of my building and see a black jk built up like you wouldn't believe! It had custom black matte paint, 35 inch Nittos and Smittybilt SRC bumpers with lamps. It was like a dream. I stood there for about 5 minutes smoking nervously, looking at it. Then I went back home and freagging called Quadratec. I couldn't resist the temptation. I rushed into it. I should have done some more research.

Ah well, now it will cost me more to ship it back and get a new one.

By the way, it was surprising to hear that you need to replace the stock drive shafts when you lift it higher than 3 inches, is that true??? Cuz that added $900 bucks!!!
 
#16 ·
:popcorn:

Man I'm sorry :(

Return it now. That is a lot of loot for the "I want my jeep to look mean" look.

The Tera Flex kit I just bought was under $500--35's will fit no problem.

IMO that's $1500 your just throwing in the garbage.

You can send it to me :whistling:

That will pay for my 33x15 tire/wheel combo I have plans for :)
 
#21 ·
Now now, I said I want it to look mean, but I want it to look mean when I do this!

Land vehicle Vehicle Off-roading Off-road vehicle Car


And then I want it to look mean when I park near my building too! :wavey:
 
#33 ·
Wow, a lot of Skyjacker hate on here. I think someone should defend them since they aren't here to do it themselves.

I know the family that runs Skyjacker, personally and they are good people. Customer service is very good and the kits are nice entry level and moderate level kits. It all boils down to what your needs and intended purpose is, but I have seen the Skyjacker long arm work on the trail in some hardcore terrain with the the owner Lonnie driving the company JKU and I can tell you I was impressed. It held up to some repeated massive air in the Idaho Dunes and had no problem going places the $5,000+ kits were going.

The key if you decide to go with Skyjacker is to get the best shocks they offer.

--Sean
 
#37 ·
Skyjacker is a decent kit

:thumb:First of all there is a lot of bandwagon advice out there concerning products.
I enjoy my 6inch Long Arm Kit and would recommend a Skyjacker lift to anyone else.
Skyjacker was one of the first companies to have a lift out the door for the JK's. Early on there was an issue with the track bar bracket extensions breaking the factory mounts off at the weld . Too much leverage applied to weak factory mounting points at full flex. In my eyes gave a heads up to other companies. Skyjacker now provides a brace in the kit that mounts to the differential housing over to the track bar bracket. Problem solved. There are other brackets and braces that you can use if you do not like Skyjackers fix. I use a Poly Performance Bracket now due to a running a PR44 housing with a PP bracket pre installed. Most other manufactors that raise the track bar axle mounting point have some sort beefed up bracket or mount. The Idea is by raising this point you have a better, closer to stock roll center. Rather than dropping down from the frame like others. As far as bushings, I have had no problems. Skyjacker now provides Rubber Body bushings which are similar to factory bushings vs Poly Bushings. For those of us who own Skyjacker Lifts, from what I understand you can upgrade your Poly Bushing to the new Rubber Body bushings if you feel the need. Most people that run into Bushing issues, do not have control arms set to propper length thus putting extra load on the joints. This has not only been a Skyjacker problem. Skyjacker also has great customer support and are willing to help you out with any issue or question you have.
I installed it in roughly 12 Hrs sitting on Jackstands and have put the lift thru the mill and it has held up outstanding. I have even had a Wheel come off, on the way home from a tire shop who balanced my tires and performed an alignment. I didnt even get home to go over the work they had done. 75 MPH watching a 37in KM2 roll past your jeep is a crazy feeling:eek:. When the Rotor hit the dirt of the median the Control arms took all of the weight and impact force of the Jeep. All lift components were intact not one blown bushing etc. Yes, There are other great kits out there. Just feel the need to kill some of the negative bandwagon attention Skyjacker has these days.
My Jeep rides extremely well and wheels awesome off road. :thumb:
 
#38 ·
I received the 4" economy kit as a Christmas present, been running it ever since and I can't complain. The ride is fine...I am currently dealing with a death wobble but we have ordered a stabilizer shock which my dad claims will fix the problem. Don't get me wrong...I love my dad and he knows how to fix a vehicle.. But he says skyjacker is one of the best...trololol. I have done some minor off roading by power lines and had a night of fun in the snow and it's not bad...however the fact that I can see my vehicle starting to sag slightly is very disturbing...maybe it's my mind playing tricks on me but...do your research. I wish my dad had listened to me and visited WF!
 
#39 ·
Just as a heads up bud...the steering stabilizer is almost never the issue...its just a band aid. A properly working front end (in theory) doesn't need a steering stabilizer, that is just an aid. You are better off checking your front end for things such as bad ball joints, loose nuts and bolts, worn bushings, etc...this is typically the issue before the stabilizer. Good luck.

:hijacked:
 
#42 ·
Sorry to hear that
Some of the Sag may be the weight of Jeep settling into the Coils. Even Progressively wound coils will lose some height after time and weight is applied. I think in 8 months I ve lost maybe .5-1.0 inch. Most of which is Bumpers Winch Tire carrier and gear etc. I do not imagine it loosing anymore.

Death Wobble can be a pain in neck:banghead:. Some things you want to look into before purchasing a Steering Stabilizer are: Proper Torques on all Suspenion and Steering Components, Inspect Ball Joints, Tie Rod Ends and drag link ends. Also bad alignment and bad steering Geometry can be factors. Most Guys who run 3.5in of lift or better either use a drop pittman arm (which is not the best route) Or a Drag Link flip kit Which is a better way to go VS Drop Pittman Arm. This will ensure that your Drag Link and Track bar are parallel. This will releave bump steer which can add to the Death Wobble feel. A good set up suspension can almost work with out a steering stabilizer. A steering stabilizer is a nice thing to have but is more or less a mask for another problem. I have found that most of the time Death Wobble is from loose components. If you put your jeep in park with the E brake on, lie in front of it have someone turn the steering wheel back and fourth. Look at all of the Steering components watch their mounting locations Check for any movement. The JK is known for lose track bar bolts that can really throw out some serious movement. If everything is tight, tight, tight and aligned you should be good to go. Hope you get it figured out.
 
#44 ·
kbwwolf said:
As Cons_Table said, a steering stabilizer will NOT fix true DW.

For a better understanding, read this (and watch the video for an understanding of true DW):

Diagnosing Death Wobble and Fixing Non-DW Shimmies and Wobbles
You are so right. I eat my words, got the wobble today. The stabilizer made the ride smooth but I'm still wobbling along... Getting the front end re aligned today, hopefully that will help. Going to read your link now!!
 
#45 ·
Cons_Table said:
Just as a heads up bud...the steering stabilizer is almost never the issue...its just a band aid. A properly working front end (in theory) doesn't need a steering stabilizer, that is just an aid. You are better off checking your front end for things such as bad ball joints, loose nuts and bolts, worn bushings, etc...this is typically the issue before the stabilizer. Good luck.

:hijacked:
Yepp I got it again today with my mom in the car :facepalm: I'm not aloud to drive it now. My dad is a mechanic and he thinks he's jeep smart but so far he's bought a skyjacker lift, 32's that rub, a skyjacker stabilizer...if the alignment doesn't fix it then I will try and convince him to take a look at it under the lift at his shop. He installed the lift so maybe he can see a mistake he made :/
 
#46 ·
Did he leave the control arms and trackbars loose till the Jeep was on the ground, THEN tighten everything to the specified torque.

If he tightened those things while the Jeep was in the air, then the bushings are most likely pinched...which is a fairly sure recipe for DW.

If you read the link I gave you above, there's a procedure for installing a lift on a Jeep, very clearly spelled out, that's intended to help people avoid DW.

Loosen all trackbar/control arm bolts. With Jeep on the ground, shake it as much as possible – side to side, front and rear – to get any binding out of the bushings. Then tighten everything to spec. Everything should be tightened to 125 ft-lbs EXCEPT the front upper control arms, which should be tightened to 75 ft-lbs.

Since you've already had some cases of DW (or at least of some bad shaking), you should inspect your Jeep to make sure your trackbar bushings aren't wallowed out, etc. True DW can damage all sorts of stuff under your Jeep.

Good luck! :thumb:
 
#47 ·
Thank you, I showed my dad this and he went on a rant about how the bushings and stuff he used were not factory ones and that it didn't matter where he tightened them there would be no movement...if it still wobbles after alignment I will take the jeep and get some of my strong guy friends to help me accomplish what you have set out. It honestly sounds like that is the problem.
 
#48 ·
If you really have DW, an alignment will do nothing for you (although, if it's just a bad shimmy, it might help).

And it DOES matter where the trackbar and control arms are tightened, and how. Death Wobble is almost exclusively a product of ignoring the procedure laid out in the thread I gave you the link to.

Not crapping on anybody here. I'm sure you love your dad, and he may mean well, but the longer y'all let the problem go without addressing it properly, the more potential damage it can cause to your Jeep's suspension system.

Even if the alignment appears to fix your problem, you should still loosen all the TB and CA bolts with the Jeep on the ground, shake out the bushings, and torque them back to spec. Or else you will, at some point, develop full-blown Death Wobble.

This isn't my opinion. And it's not only a Jeep thing. Type "Death Wobble" into Google and see for yourself.

Hope it works out for you. :)
 
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