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Hi Everyone,

I'm looking at 3.5" to 4" lift kits for my '83, Cherokee Laredo. Rusty's Offroad is about half the price of Skyjacker. The Rusty's kit has an attractive price, but what about manufacturing quality and ride quality? I've searched the topic but most of the information is a couple of years old.

So what's your opinion? Rusty's Offroad or Skyjacker?

Depends on your overall plan. If it is a wheel'n rig without much other use the Rusty is fine. If you plan on driving it a lot I would spend the extra on a better spring.

Skyjacker has a more flexy spring that rides MUCH softer. Rusty's isn't terrible, but it is stiff. I've got Rough Country springs on mine and I don't mind it, but I also don't DD my rig. It's fine for around town, even longer trips, but you know its a truck. If a soft ride is critical, go with Skyjacker. If you don't mind a truck ride, save yourself some dough. BJs also has a 4" (and a 2") that uses alcan springs. Should be somewhere in between price wise and ride quality wise. How big a tire are you wanting to fit?

I own a Rustys set & they are stiff tough & work well for me but if you're looking for a smooth ride Rustys is not it. I like mine really well don't get me wrong. It's very stable & exactly what I want. It tows well & is very stable. It's not rigid stiff.

I went down this road long ago & wound up doing a SOA for better ride. Although lot's of folks like them I did not. There are certainly different strokes for different taste. Most of the time when you get more arch/lift you get a stiffer ride. A smother ride provides more flex & is less stable with respect to body role. Off-road that's great on the road they are not redeeming qualities. The sway bar helps that but not totally.
So to shorten this story & shortening the quest stating what your future vision & use would help with answers.

Renodemona wrote:Skyjacker has a more flexy spring that rides MUCH softer. Rusty's isn't terrible, but it is stiff. I've got Rough Country springs on mine and I don't mind it, but I also don't DD my rig. It's fine for around town, even longer trips, but you know its a truck. If a soft ride is critical, go with Skyjacker. If you don't mind a truck ride, save yourself some dough. BJs also has a 4" (and a 2") that uses alcan springs. Should be somewhere in between price wise and ride quality wise. How big a tire are you wanting to fit?

The tires are BFG, All Terrains, LT285/75R16 on 16" Mickey Thompson Classic III's. So the tire is about 33" in diameter.

Here's a link: http://www.fsjnetwork.com/forum/viewtop ... 629#p70541

To my knowledge, this Jeep still has the stock springs. Fender clearance is OK, but i think a lift would help. This Jeep is a driver so good road manners and ride quality are a concern.

Plenty of lift for those. I have 3" and fit my 33's just fine. Rusty's should be just fine for you. Pretty much any new spring is going to be as good/better as 35 year old flattened out stock springs. A quality shock helps. if you do mostly road driving the flexy soft Skyjacker might make body roll a bit more noticeable. Personally I love my Rough Country springs. The cost makes them hard to beat if you don't need to flex the crap out of your rig. If you're already fitting your tires might look at that 2" lift. No drop pitman needed and it will ride essentially the same as now but you'll have that better clearance you are looking for. Alcan springs aren't bad.

I just installed a rustys 4in kit a few months ago......quality kit no issues there. It is very stiff compared to stock. On my son's cherokee I'm going to try the fssr kit offered in the vendor section. As road manners will be very important on his rig.

Why not BJ's? Or BDS? They both make 4in kits for our FSJs.

HeavyMetalThunder_81 wrote:Why not BJ's? Or BDS? They both make 4in kits for our FSJs.

I considered BJ's. I've bought a lot of stuff from BJ's and they are a great vendor. I bought the kit from Skyjacker. I shopped the kit and found Morris 4x4 had the best price. With a 10% discount and free shipping my total was $1335 delivered. That includes: Skyjacker 3.5" - 4" Full Height Spring Suspension Lift kit w/ Nitro Shocks, Stainless brake hoses for front and rear and the Dropped Pitman Arm. Though Rusty's price is about half that of Skyjacker, the positive comments about Skyjacker springs led me to them.

I'll post before and after pics. Stay tuned!

I too went with the Skjacker. I would have went with the BJs 2" lift but they were unable to supply the kit for some time. I wound up buying the skyjacker kit through BJs. I use my rig as a DD and am overall happy with the ride and quality. Definitely glad I went with the 4" lift over the 2" at the end of the day.




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Can you please measure the front and the rear bottom of the fender right about mid wheel. Could be me but my front fender opening is higher than my rear after I installed a lift kit over the last two days. Just wondering if it's normal. Seems like the front of the truck is higher than the front.

Front fender height is 35". Rear fender is 33 1/4".

Here is a better picture.

Little Green wrote:Can you please measure the front and the rear bottom of the fender right about mid wheel. Could be me but my front fender opening is higher than my rear after I installed a lift kit over the last two days. Just wondering if it's normal. Seems like the front of the truck is higher than the front.

the front wheel openings are larger than the rear

I understand, I have a bit of a Pre runner look going with new springs up front but only an add a leaf in the rear. I wanted to see what the actual height difference between the two fender openings are as a guide. Seems almost about 2" would be level. I am closer to 3.25" height difference between the two. hope that makes sense

I have Rustys 4", and while they are a bit bouncy at low speeds (25-30 mph), they ride great on the freeway, even on the crappy LA freeways, with Bilstein 5100 shocks. Cruising at speed is smooth and controlled with none of the bouncing they produce at low speeds. They have not been broken in yet, so I think, once they are they will be fine. Also, w/ the sway bar hooked up, it turns like its on rails. Very little body roll. Definitely be runnable w/o the sway bar if thats your thing.

If I did it again, I would probably spring for the Skyjackers though...

I just finished a 4" on a J10, I went back and forth on this too and ended up going with Skyjacker because I got a smoking deal on ebay. After driving it around I'm glad I went with them, it rides like it did stock (trucks were a little more stiff than wags). I would definitely spend the money and go with them if you want a good ride without going spring over. I have never ridden in a BJ's or BDS lifted FSJ but I have been in a Rancho, superlift, hell creek, and one other I can't remember. The Skyjacker are the best riding by a big margin. How will they hold up over time...? It's not an off-road toy just a street driver so if they sag I don't mind.

I do like the fact BJ's has done their homework and includes all you need. Plus I like supporting a company that keeps these things alive.

RamJetFSJ wrote:I have Rustys 4", and while they are a bit bouncy at low speeds (25-30 mph), they ride great on the freeway, even on the crappy LA freeways, with Bilstein 5100 shocks. Cruising at speed is smooth and controlled with none of the bouncing they produce at low speeds. They have not been broken in yet, so I think, once they are they will be fine. Also, w/ the sway bar hooked up, it turns like its on rails. Very little body roll. Definitely be runnable w/o the sway bar if thats your thing.

If I did it again, I would probably spring for the Skyjackers though...

You sounded pretty satisfied with the Rusty's, why would you go with the Skyjacker if you had it to do again?

78J_10 wrote:

RamJetFSJ wrote:If I did it again, I would probably spring for the Skyjackers though...

You sounded pretty satisfied with the Rusty's, why would you go with the Skyjacker if you had it to do again?

Because Im a perfectionist, and except for going coil spring conversion, I think the Skyjackers make for the best ride and most flex in the 4" spring range. I have not really broken in my springs fully yet though, so I may be more happy with them eventually, but just by counting the number of leaves, you can tell the skyjackers will work better. Just wasn't in the budget originally. But there are definitely many more better "bang for the buck" choices out there than the skyjackers.

My dad put 4" spring lift on his 88 which later became my 88 which later got parted out. I liked the way it rode and was smoother than some leaf spring lifts I have rode on.

I have bilst 5150 shocks and had them re valved with more rebound to try and get a good ride, but the front of my wagoneer still hops on a lot of the roads around my house. It is truly like a wagon from the old days.

4" rustys,too stiff.
4" alcan, too stiff.

I have skyjacker on the way now, if this doesn't do it Ill coil spring the front. Its a sunday driver and I want it to ride much closer to stock than it has so far.