Skyjacker 4" Lift Feedback

[INHWMW]

Hey folks been a while! Good to be back with like-minded individuals.

I'm looking into a 4" Skyjacker suspension lift for my Ranger, a '96 Extended cab 4WD. I don't do any serious wheeling, just mild off roading for camping and so on. I'd love any feedback anyone has on this kit (the full Class II kit with extended radius arms) or any other 4" kit from Skyjacker! Information on install, driving experience, all of it would be helpful. If anyone has some good pictures of a similar truck with a 4" lift I'd love to see those as well to get an idea of stance after install. Thanks folks!

 

[Shran]

James Duff is substantially better quality but it costs a bit more. Not sure if they are still making full kits though? They seem to have disappeared from their website....

Skyjacker is a distant #2 choice after Duff. They are better than the other cheap lifts (Tough Country, Rough Country, BDS, Rancho, etc.) If lift height is all you care about and are not real concerned about durability in the rocks then it'll work fine. Duff is way more durable for rock crawling type stuff. With that said I am not a big fan of Skyjacker leaf springs. There are far better options out there. I have had two sets of 6" lift springs that sagged out almost immediately. Tech support said tough luck.

My experience here involves owning an older Skyjacker Class II 6" lift (2008-9 date range) as well as a Duff 3" lift, a 4" RC lift, and I installed a 5" top of the line Duff kit for a friend.

 

[INHWMW]

Interesting, that’s the first thing I’ve read/heard about Skyjacker that hasn’t been a resounding endorsement. I’ve read that the springs are on the softer side, but it seems like you really aren’t a fan?

James Duff kits seem really great, but really aren’t necessary for me given my use case. From a quick glance at their website, I see the same as you. Doesn’t look like they sell complete kits anymore.

 

[Shran]

I ran my Skyjacker lift fairly hard in the rocks and bent one of the radius arms and the transmission crossmember. Tubing was pretty thin, was 1/8" wall at most. Would be better if they used thicker wall tube... but to be fair it's not advertised as rock crawling parts.

I am not a fan of their leaf springs. They ride nice but what's the point if they sag out or get bent right away? Again... they are not advertised as rock crawling springs... but they should be the most durable part of the suspension just by nature. If you can afford Deavers or something better, I would suggest that instead.

If you can fabricate stuff and are on a budget, you can piece a 4" lift together pretty easily. Drop brackets are fairly cheap on eBay... buy some springs from SJ or Duff, you need a drop pitman arm, longer shocks, make your own extended arms and buy your choice of rear springs & shocks. Honestly a set of 4 door Explorer springs, an add-a-leaf, longer shackles, and maybe a taller block will get you 4-6" of lift for not much money at all. Pick up some extended brake lines and get it aligned and you'll be all set.

 

[INHWMW]

I hadn’t thought about buying different leaf springs, that’s a good idea. Are Deavers springs stiffer?

 

[SenorNoob]

I'm using skyjacker brackets up front with unknown (roughly 4") springs. No real problems so far. Though I did notice some popping at the frame when turning the wheel while stationary. I really need to get under there and double check the torque on those bolts... I have a cordless 1/2 impact now so it should be pretty easy to make sure they're tight.

 

[INHWMW]

Thank you for the response! I have a similar "clunking" sound when I steer at full lock. I'm planning on replacing all the steering linkage at the same time as I install the lift, and getting it all aligned and dialed in at once.

Good to hear that you've had a pretty good experience with SJ. You mentioned it's only at the front that you have their parts though, do you have any changes done to the rear? I've been looking into other leaf spring options like Shran was saying. Maybe getting a SJ kit without leaf springs and sourcing nicer ones elsewhere, if that looks like it'll be necessary for me.

 

[SenorNoob]

I have a custom leaf pack. it's just some junkyard 2wd 98 F150 packs with the Ranger top leaf. I also have an extended shackle for a Chevy. (Look up Belltech 6400.) Mine is a store brand knock off but works the same way. I had taken my stock blocks out, now going to use some 2.5in square tubing 1/4in wall to make up the difference. I'll go from roughly 1.25 inches lower in the rear to 1.25 inches higher in the rear with that change. I will say my rear suspension has always been kinda rough unloaded. (I used to have Explorer leaves with the same Ranger top leaf and a 2in add-a-leaf for a Commanche.) I routinely load my truck up enough to soften it. Empty, if I come off a speedbump square it'll make my teeth rattle.

The rear has so many possibilities it's silly. Add-a-leaf, shackles, blocks, extra tall spring perches, lowered spring hangers, re-arched springs... I actually re-arched my springs myself once with an old steel wheel, the hitch and a 4lb mini sledge. Worked great it just took a long time and I had a sore shoulder afterwards.

 

[4x4junkie]

I've wheeled a Skyjacker kit on my Ranger for over two decades, and one of my friends has been running one for almost three.

Problems have been:
The trans crossmember (friend's truck), it broke the welds at the end plates maybe 7 years ago. It never bent from bashing it on rocks though because we sleeved it with another length of tube inside of it (not sure if that contributed to the ends breaking, but we welded it all back up and it's been fine).
No other issues to speak of other than I bent a SJ leaf on my BII (but never bent one on my or my friend's Rangers).
I've actually bent a multitude of leafs on my BII (stock leafs, Explorer leafs, Ranger leafs, a couple bastardized leaf packs I put together... It was not until I put 64" Chevy leafs that I finally was able to put bent leafs to rest, so I'm not sure i can fault Skyjacker's leafs as being any weaker than others myself.

We beat on our trucks pretty hard rock crawling though (heavily-loaded w/gear as well). When you wheel trails like Rubicon, you probably should have at least one on-board welder within your circle of friends, because something always can potentially break regardless of what brand parts you use.

FWIW, James Duff breaks just the same (they all have weak points, just not as many as brands like RC do), but yeah JD has gone and abandoned us now (the last pic here is an arm I gusseted for a friend so this same failure would not happen to his).
There was also a spot at the top of each of the JD coil towers that IMO looked iffy (poorly-reinforced) as well, but rather than take a chance, I just put gussets on them anyway (so no real info on how durable they would've been otherwise). He's had no problems with them (8 years now).