Jeep Suspension Lift Kit - Hillbilly Work Truck Part II

Ideally, the rear axle U-joint should be pointed down 1-2 degrees more than the upper U-joint. To correct the pinion angle, we simply removed the included shims from the spring packs using a C-clamp and some locking pliers to hold the pack together, a pair of locking pliers to grab the round end of the spring center pin, and a 9/16 socket to loosen the spring pin nut. We yanked the shims, slammed it all back together, and voila ... perfect rear pinion angle.

With the lift in place front and rear and the Jeep sitting on the ground, we centered up the tires and then adjusted the draglink so that the steering wheel was centered. Nothing worse than an upside-down steering wheel when you're driving straight. Don't forget to unlock the ignition so the steering wheel will turn freely while you adjust.

If you don't already have a pair, get some! Our Craftsman Professional Arc Joint pliers (PN 45761) have yet to fail at removing a stuck brake line without damage to the fitting (Knipex also makes some good ones). Our line wrenches aren't even that good. Anyway, with the Craftsman pliers we were able to remove the old brake line to install the new and longer stainless-braided Skyjacker unit.

We wanted 37s but only 4 inches of lift on our J-20. Fortunately, most FSJs have huge inner wheel wells that easily allow bigger tires with a little trimming here and there - the J-Trucks and Cherokee Chiefs more so than the four-doorWagoneers. After measuring and drooling over cool wheel designs, we found we could best fit the molded 37x12.50R17 BFG Krawlers on Wheel Pros Moto-Metal black 951 17x9s with 4 1/2 inches of backspacing. We also whacked off the rest of the ugly flares with a reciprocating saw for a cleaner look. The rear flares had to be cut for the 37s regardless of the backspacing used. However, we could have easily kept the flares all around (had we wanted to) by going with 35x12.50 tires on 8-inch wide wheels with 3 1/2-4 1/2 inches of backspacing (the more the better).

For fitment, we borrowed a set of unmolded 37-inch BFG Krawlers mounted on 17x9 wheels with 331/44 inches of backspacing. This was not ideal. They rubbed when turning and at full stuff. We also tried only trimming part of the flares off, but we really don't like the factory FSJ flares all that much to begin with.

You pretty much always lose some turning radius when you install a dropped pitman arm. Our FSJ fell right into this category as well. To keep the steering box from overextending itself (and possibly causing damage to it) we replaced the factory Dana 44 steering stops on the knuckles with 1 1/2-inch long, 3/8-inch fine thread Grade 8 bolts and adjusted them so the stops would bottom out just before the steering box does in both directions.