Skyjacker woes....

[Limited Ex]

I am having my Skyjacker lift and radius arms installed by my guy that has done everything I need as far as my Explorer goes. I bought some Skyjacker radius arms brand new, and today my guy calls me and says that he is having a heck of a time getting those things aligned right. He said that the tranny cross member was about 1 1/2" off, and that the radius arm brackets did not line up with the two holes in the frame, that he had to drill all the holes. Now I have not been up there to see it for myself, I am 1 hour away all week, so that is the best description that I can give. But the thing that bugs me is I looked all over the internet for as long as I could on deciding which radius arms to buy, and I have heard tons of good stuff about Skyjacker. So, is there anyone else out there that has had any kinds of problems with the arms? I really hope I am not the only one, this is bugging the crap out of me!
Oh, and I will have pictures of it tomorrow, I am going to stop by there on my way home....

 

[410Fortune]

Welcome to the world of lift kits.

believe it or not the Skyjackers still go on easier then other brands......we have done Stupidlift, james Doof and the Skyjackoff's. The Skyjacker arms work and fit best.


I ahd the exact same issues with my BII, the drivers side radius arm bracket did not line up with the holes in the frame, so we made some swiss cheese out of the frame rail, no problem. Best solution is to make a new plate for the back side of the frame rail for re-enforcement, or fill in the old holes with a welder.

we had to use a come a long to pull my frame rails apart enough to get the tranny crossmember betweenthe brackets. No problem.

Once they are on there take measurements from sisde to side and make sure you got them both in the right spot.

Dont sweat the extra drilling and pulling the frame slightly, once they are on there they really stiffen up the chasis and ride awesome!!

Believe it or nto thats still easier then fitting other brands.....

FYI I have contaced Skyjacker now to make them aware that several people have had this issue, they are going to callme back and possibly send out a new corrected bracket...........I figure they built a whole batch wrong....

 

[Limited Ex]

Ok cool, makes me feel better that I am not the only one who has had issues. I cannot imagine how the other arms must have gone on if the Skyjackers were the easy ones! Please let me know what Skyjacker says, I am all for a new bracket. Thanks man

 

[RFR2212]

Hmm.. mine went on fine

 

[410Fortune]

well if yours went on fine you wanna trade brackets? hahaha


Also check the framecarefully behind your steering box, often times they crack and need to be welded up.

Once the lift is installed take some measurementsfrom points on the frame to points on the beams to make sure the radius arm brackets are in the right spot.......

 

[X-1]

The tranny crossmember has an elongated hole, I wonder if he tried installing backwards, I installed a set last year for a friend, and the directions were right on the money, just had to grind alittle on the right side frame where the lip is for the radius bushing washer to sit flat.

 

[Limited Ex]

Do any of you know if Skyjacker made an upgraded version of one of the axle drop brackets? I have seen pics of people with the 6" Skyjacker and the one drop bracket is a different style with some large holes drilled in it. Below is a pic of what I have, the larger bracket on the right is the one in question:

 

[410Fortune]

yours look like the class II axle pivot drop brackets that are stronger then the class I brackets.


The brackets in question (for the fitment issues) are not shown in that picture, they are the smaller brackets that go on the endof the radius arms and pick up the tranny X member....

Nice looking kit! Doesnt stay that red for long hhahahaha unless you are like me with a rag under the truck every oil change........

 

[NH25]

I wonder if your mechanic tried to install the brackets on the wrong sides. I have the Skyjacker kit and I had no problems putting them on. Everything lined up just like it says in the instructions.

 

[410Fortune]

It would be impossible to put the brackets on the wrong sides....

We know Skyjacker made many kits with no problems, we are talking about the ones that apparently were built with a defective drivers side radius arm bracket, when you are installing the kit with the incorrect bracket it is very obvious that the bracket was built wrong (welded about 1/4" off) you can compare the two brackets back to back and see, then when you put it on your frame rail the holes do not line up.
The bracket fits fine and doesn not cause any problems with the kit, you just have to drill more holes.........

I am waiting to hear back from Skyjacker to see what they find......

 

[Limited Ex]

410, are the brackets that you're talking about the ones circled in the pic below? The bracket in the middle of the picture, below the tranny xmember, is the one I was referring to. This is a pic of the 4" lift, but I have seen people with the 6" lift with that style of bracket, unless I was mistaken.

I sure hope he did not put the brackets on backwards, he has the instructions there with him! Jeez I hate being so fay away.....

 

[Limited Ex]

Oh, I almost forgot. I had read somewhere that Skyjacker was making a newer version of the 6" lift for our Explorers, anyone else heard about this?

 

[NOTAJP]

My buddy has a '91 sport and had the same problems and then some with the Skyjacker. His biggest compaint was the tech support. Real jerks. His passenger side (drivers axle) bracket does have the holes. Your's looks like the superlift bracket that I have. I never had any problems with installing my kit. Mine rides and flexes so much better then Dan's with the Skyjacker. I just wish my axle drop brackets were as strong as the Skyjacker.

The TJ rockready series is worse. My other buddy had a brand new (6 miles on it!) TJ and had the worst time installing his kit. When he called Tech support (another jerk) said his frame must be bent and tough luck. Wish I had his money: Custom order a $24k TJ, trailer it home, rip everything apart, spend another $6k on lift, arbs, warn axles, gears, armor, etc.

I've seen good and bad of all companies. It's the lesser of all evils that you have to decide....
I think the "best kit" available is the one you make yourself....

 

[X-1]

The drop bracket you got is the class one, same as mine, the class two is toatlly different, looks like one in second pic you posted.

 

[Limited Ex]

When he called Tech support (another jerk) said his frame must be bent and tough luck

My mechanic called Skyjacker and thats what they told him too......

 

[Limited Ex]

Ahh, okay, I see what you're saying

 

[410Fortune]

tell them GOD is helping you with the install, that should get the tech support to help you out.....

They were real friendly to me when I gave them the heads up about the bracket........

 

[Limited Ex]

Just got back into town, and stopped by the alignment place to see how everything turned out. And man, what a disappointment. It looks as though the wheels have been pulled farther back in the wheel wells. I cannot even fit 4 fingers between the tires and the fender. I have pics right now, but I do not have a cable to run from the camera to the computer, so I will have to post them tonight.
They had to notch the piss out of the differential housing just to allow the axle bracket room enough without rubbing the housing itself. Before they did that, the axle was resting on the diff housing.
The front is not raised at all, its the same height, which makes me wonder if I did not get a 4" lift. I bought the lift off a guy here on the forum, and either the lift is 4" or there is too much weight on the front for those Skyjacker coils to lift it up any. And the coils are bowed forward, instead of being straight up.
There is no way that this thing is seeing a trail as is. I am at a total loss.......

 

[410Fortune]

THE PEOPLE that installed your radius arms put them in the wrong spot, that is really crappy because the metal that was removed cannot be replaced.........


How is the tranmission mount in relation to the crossmember? It should be directly under the trannymount......

They used the WRONG holes in the frame to install your arms......

Also your drop brackets have two holes in them for the axle pivot, withthe 4" kit the top hole is used or your camber will be WAY off.

Also make sure they did not install the arms upside down (on the wrong side)

The coils should not bow forward or back from the buckets, the beam should be directly below them......

They ****ed up your truck dude, sorry......make them fix it or sue their *****.........

no material should be taken out of the diff housing or beam, or anything with the Skyjacker kit.

Go take some measurements off a stock ttb truck and compare the location of the coil retainer bolts (upper radius arm bolt) to the location of yours, using points of reference from the frame.

i was worried that my wheels were now back further in the wheel well (like 1/2" not like yours from what you describe) and after taking many measurements I found it was not true, they were in the same spot, the radius arms just change the caster of thebeams so the angle of the knuckle is a little off......

I would be PISSED, this is why I do everything myself.....

 

[XplorerKid]

Hey Caleb,

i hope you get EVERYTHING fixed .................

i hope that the truck is not completely screwed up

its such a cool truck

i wish you the best luck and hope everything works out

PEACE