Skyjacker’s Monologue

Story and photos by

Andy Cohen

acohen@finishlinewest.com 

Giddy, I’m pretty sure that’s the best way to describe the way I felt after speaking with Alex Cates, Skyjacker’s director of marketing about the new Monolinear suspension.  The backdrop for this conversation was the 1999 SEMA show where another vehicle I had built shared space inside the corporate booth.  I had already put over ten thousand miles on my Ford Excursion that had the very first eight inch suspension system and I was very pleased with the ride.

Imagine if you will, how excited I was to hear I was going to be one of the first to get my hands the newest addition to Skyjackers lineup.  “Five inches of lift and over eleven hundred on the ramp” Alex told me during our conversation, that sentiment was echoed by Tony Berlingieri director of sales and technical for the company.  “What size tire can you clear with this setup”?  I pondered.  “Thirty fives, with minor fender trimming” Tony was quick to point out.

It was almost two months later that I received the suspension system for Off-Road.com’s very own project Bleak Jeep.  PBJ had been very neglected by its previous owner and to add insult to injury it had sustained damage due to a front-end collision.  The last owner had also installed a Trailmaster lift that included gas shocks that were way past their prime and springs that were sagging pretty bad.  It was almost impossible to drive PBJ down the freeway and stay in one lane it bounced so bad, in fact while waiting for the new Skyjacker system to be delivered PBJ sat in the garage providing a home for spiders while other, less glamorous work commenced.

The kit includes all kinds of trick stuff that you wouldn’t ordinarily find in a suspension system.  Quick disconnecting sway bar links, heavy duty front shackles that can accommodate a tow bar, stainless steel brake lines that are D.O.T. approved and a specially designed rear shackle that can flip back beyond the frame to provide more travel.

Suggested retail price for the Monolinear is $1289.00 and that includes everything mentioned plus four springs, shocks, dropped pitman and the steering stabilizer.  Such a deal!

So, ya ready to watch me skin my knuckles?  Lets get to it.

This is what we wound up with, follow along and I’ll show ya how we got here.

Here is a shot of the important stuff, seen here is the dropped pitman, raised bumpstops, swaybar disconnects, axle shims, front and rear shackles, bushings, two of the four springs and bracketry necessary for a smooth ride with lots of flex.

Of particular importance is this neat feature, greaseable bushings.  Notice the grease fitting on the head of the bolt and the grooves on the inside of the bushing.  After a day of boulder bashing or being in the mud its nice to know you supply much needed grease to keep everything running smoothly.

It’s a bit easier to put together some of the pieces before you actually start tearing stuff off your Jeep.  Also make sure you have everything, Skyjacker has been very good at making sure you don’t need to make midnight runs to the auto parts store but it never hurts to check.

Here’s what it looked before we installed the Monolinear system.  As you can see here the “other guys” lift kit uses a riser for the track bar.  Skyjacker drops the bar off the frame using some very stout brackets instead.

Before you start removing bolts and loosening the factory mounts I would highly recommend unbolting the E-brake line from the body, this is found directly above the differential.

Another trick is to remove the t-block for the rear brake lines and install the longer stainless steel brake line, which is supplied in the kit.  This will prevent you from having to do it while you are balancing the axle after dropping the u-bolts and letting the suspension droop.

Ok, so now its time to install the upper track bar mount bracket, it is important to let it hang loosely until the vehicle is on the ground. 

Inside and outside the frame photos of the completed track bar bracket.  The “L” shaped bracket uses an existing hole in the frame for the bolt to pass through.  You must also use the supplied crush sleeve and washer to prevent warping the frame when you tighten it.

As you may be able to surmise by now I am not boring you with the removal of the stock stuff.  Its pretty easy to figure out how to remove the stock springs and shocks, no brainer right?  If this is too tough for you might want to think about having someone else install this kit for you.

The eagle eyed among you will spot the passenger side is still stock sprung, while this side already has the Mono spring and the unique rear shackle installed.

You need to take into account when installing the shims that they are bolted to the spring with the head facing up.  The thick part of the shim faces the rear and yes it still has to be trimmed.  We did run into problems here, the head of the center pin did not fit into the locating hole in the spring pad.  Test fitting stuff like this helps you keep your cool during the install, most of you won’t have a lift to perform this installation.  I found it easier to run a grinder around the head rather than trying to drill the hole larger through the thick steel pad.

After the brackets are installed the rest of the install is pretty straightforward.  Just because it’s a mono leaf doesn’t mean it installs any differently than a multi spring pack.  The completed rear install is visible on the left, while the photo on the right shows how tight the fit is next to the gas tank and tailpipe.  I’ve said before and I’ll say it again, do not tighten everything until the vehicle is on the ground.  By the way spare me the e-mails concerning the angle on the driveshaft; in an upcoming article we will be installing an Advance Adapters Atlas II transfer case, which will alleviate the angles.

Other than bleeding the brakes and handling the proper torque sequence after the vehicle is lowered, “bounced and jounced” the rear is complete.

On to the front!

For purposes of dramatic effect, pictured here is the stock (lower) pitman arm and the drop arm supplied in the kit.  This is the only real nightmare of the install, if you don’t have a pitman arm puller this will drive you to drink (more).  I had one and drank in celebration (its more fun that way)

Awright, one more time, I’d rather show you pictures of the install not the teardown.

This pretty much speaks for itself, but just in case here is the dropped arm installed.

This picture shows a couple of things, for instance take note of the U-bolts in the foreground, there are two different sizes.  The smaller U-bolt goes on the axle tube on both sides.  Make sure you remember to install the bumpstops before you snug down the U-bolts.

This is a great photo of the comparative droop; with the sway bar disconnected you can see how much farther the shackle pulls back on the mono leaf side.

A clean shot of the new spring, brake line, shackle and Nitro shock.  The new spring is so much lighter therefore easier to install.

Here’s where the funs really starts, see that triangular bracket behind the track bar?  Good, see the web that extends from the axle?  Uh huh, you have to drill through that in order to mount that bracket.  Fun.

Well that’s about it for the installation.  Don’t forget to bleed the brakes before you take it out for a spin.

Its not often you get a chance to see a side by side comparison of the same vehicle, but I wanted to make sure that you the loyal Finishlinewest reader saw it here first.  My quest for you people knows no bounds.

We are much closer to being Rock Ready!

Next Month, Atlas II install, stay tuned.