My friend is looking to buy a 4" susp. lift. He doesn't want to do a SOA right now.

What major things will he have to do to put say a 4" skyjacker lift on his FJ40?

I heard you have to do a shackle inversion or something. Also any other usefull information on lifting FJ40's is appreciated.

Thanks.

For a basic FJ-40 SUA kit, a Skyjacker is as good as any.

He will be able to run 35's with no problems if he has cut out the rear fenders.

I have seen them installed with extended shackles and stock shackles and in my opinion, the stock shackles work best.


Extended brake lines should be the only modification you will need if you stick with stock shackles, otherwise, spring shims will be needed to correct the caster.

If you stick with 35 x 12.50's you will not need to limit uptravel as they will tuck into the fenderwell.

Here is my truck with 35 x 12.50 MTR's and a stock 4" lift and 1 1/2 over stock shackles.

I have seen the skyjacker suspentions on a bunch of trucks and they hold up well. I have had a few friends that have had a problem with the rear shackle actually sitting on frame, and have had to relocate the mount a little, (as per www.ih8mud.com's tech site) but I think that wngrog may be right in that that can be avoided by leaving the factory shackle there...the probs that I have seen were with the con-ferr or extended shackles.

My daughter's truck, Lil Red has the 4" Skyjacker, run the lightest shocks you can buy for a smoother ride, we have KYB on her's.
The tires are 36 1250 15 TSL/SX's 8" wheels
Butch

So you can use the stock shackles in the stock location with the 4" lift and the only thing you have to really do is the brake lines?

Yes and you can do the Redneck Texan method on them, merely drop the hard lines off the frame a few inchs, use metal strap (exhaust type hangars) to lower 'em.
Butch

well don't forget someone mentioned the suspension shim you need, which is a little wedge goes between the axle and the spring... majorly easy to place with the axle dropped for the suspension anyways.. i had a driveline vibration which mostly went away with a 4 degree shim, but most people say 2 degrees is adequate... really what you need to do is drop the driveshaft and check your take off angle for the diff and the TF case and shim them as close as possible..you may not actually need a shim at all if you stick with stock shackles..

Originally posted by peiserg
well don't forget someone mentioned the suspension shim you need,
i had a driveline vibration which mostly went away with a 4 degree shim

Aren't the shims meant to correct the caster angle ? I suppose if you install them to correct driveline angle, you worsen the caster angle by the same amount ? What are your feelings about this ?

BTW, I run 4" springs with no mods. The brake lines are stock length, but I admit my springs may be a little stiff, still.
I'll see what happens when I open the 3 clamps on each pack...
(redneck French engineering method:D

Bye,

shims in front are for castor. shims in the rear are for the problem (if you run into it) of the angles of the driveshaft differing where the DS goes into the diff vs. where it goes into the transfer case... for me, the TF angle was 88 degrees (pointed DOWN by 2 degrees) and the diff was at 96 (pointed 4 degrees UP), which was a 4 degree difference. I shimmed the diff down by 4 degrees, and now it points UP 92 degrees, which matches the 2 degrees down that the TF runs at..that cured most of the problem, but my shaft was running at 17 degrees, whichi was told is too close to the binding angle of my U-joint, so i am getting a CV shaft.

I have used (on many trucks) correction kit in the front (2.5") plus a 2.5" spring with a 4: spring in the rear. If you want more lift use 4" springs all around with the correction kit and extended shackles in the rear. SkyJackers are good springs too. Dont forget the drop pitman arm and the power steering and the V8!

Make sure that you use the brass castor shims or have some steel ones milled out , aluminum will crack/bend and fall out over time. If you cant find brass ones where your at, E-mail me and I will get you a set!

-Scott

I ran a 4" Skyjacker on my FJ40 for my first trip thru Rubithon. Worked great and flexxed awesome for a SUA lift. Only thing you need for the lift is to extend the brake lines or relocate the frame mount as Butch suggested.

Good luck and have fun.

Bruce in Redding, CA

I ran the softride suspension for a couple years. With 4" rear springs and all mounts in the stock location and running a stock length shackle, the spring eye could flex back enuf to hit the shackle mount on the frame. This was because the shackle was not long enuf. The length of the mount points PLUS the length of the shackle was LESS THAN the flattened/compressed eye-to-eye lengh of the spring itself. You want the length of the mount points PLUS the shackle to be slightly LONGER than the flattened eye-to-eye spring measurement.

You should run longer shackles to maximize travel and keep the spring eye off the frame. Relocating the mount for the shackle per my tech site means an even longer shackle should be used....but then you get much more travel since you force more arc from the springs at droop. Compression should remain unchanged.

Originally posted by Cruzilla
Make sure that you use the brass castor shims or have some steel ones milled out , aluminum will crack/bend and fall out over time.

-Scott

Agreed re: aluminum shims, to risky for the front end!

You can get steel shims from Bendz Springs in Portland OR. They run about $25 a set. Don't forget to also lengthen the spring pack bolt heads for the thickness of the shims. Bendz has these as well for cheep. I will track down a phone number if you wish, I am sure they will ship them. (They are a big Spring Mfgr.) Just PM me for it.

Mark

Originally posted by texican
My daughter's truck, Lil Red has the 4" Skyjacker, run the lightest shocks you can buy for a smoother ride, we have KYB on her's.
The tires are 36 1250 15 TSL/SX's 8" wheels
Butch

Butch,

how tall is your daughter's truck? I need to know how much lift and tires i can put on my 40 and still get it into my parking garage. :)


Thanks!
Rob

Originally posted by bernefj60


Butch,

how tall is your daughter's truck? I need to know how much lift and tires i can put on my 40 and still get it into my parking garage. :)


Thanks!
Rob

http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=62626

Look through the measurements on this thread, you should find your setup there....

I don't have a clue on the height of her truck......she keeps it in a garage that comes with her condo in Irving, I'm sure it is a standard garage door opening......looks tight, but fits.
Butch