Welcome to the board, and back to the fold!

I've heard that the Skyjacker springs are pretty stiff, and most kits come with shocks that are way stiffer than necessary. Too many people equate stiff with good, when Jeeps work better off road when they're soft. You may have to replace both springs and stocks.

You might consider replacing them with stock components. A CJ can fit 31-10.50 tires without any lift, although there will be a little rubbing at full flex, mainly the front fender lip. If you want to stay lifted, Old Man Emu lifts get good reviews from almost everyone who uses them. If you take a poll of what lift to get, it'll run very high in their favor.

 

I goofed and wrote 1998 CJ instead of TJ. I guess my left index finger is still living in the past.

My other option is to find an unmodified TJ and put whatever I want on it. There seem to be plenty around right now.

 

Correction

I goofed. I meant 1998 TJ.

 

I didn't even notice the year. :blush:

I don't know if John's writeup is any help with a TJ, but it won't hurt to look it up. Sorry, I don't know anyting about those new-fangled Jeeps, but someone will chime in. Have you confirmed that all fuses are good?

 

It depends on what kind of 2 1/2" lift the Skyjacker is. 2.5" is kind of low to justify new springs. I'm willing to bet that you have stock springs with those nice stiff polly spacers...they do a great job of transmitting all the vibration from the road to the body.

See if the shocks are stock. A common problem with short budget lifts is to use the stock shocks....but when you go up a couple of inches, you reduce the amount of extension...hence you will quickly over extend the shocks which makes the ride really rough...dam near jerks you out of the seat. I would pop the bottom of one shock off and see how far below the axle it goes...bascially, you want the shock to be right about in the middle with the jeep at rest.

Let us know what it has....the stock suspension should ride quite nicely....you can't beat the coil over design.

 

You may want to consider the Rancho 9000 series adjustable shock with on-board adjuster. I have the setup on my CJ. Although they may not be "softer" than any other shock, you have the option to adjust them on the fly. I soften them up for wheeling, and stiffen them up to reduce body roll on curvy back roads.
The shocks are reasonable, the controller kit ~ $200.

 

Followup

Smoothing the ride turned out to be as simple as dropping the the tires from 45# to 30#. It's a whole different Jeep.

Thanks to all for the suggestions.

By the way I bought the Jeep!

 

30 is probably still too high for even wear, but the chalk trick that someone mentioned in your tire pressure thread will show that. When you go off road you'll want 15 to 20 in them.

 

I'm planning on trying the chalk trick tomorrow.

By the way any suggestions on a air compressor for offroad air up's?

 

Depends on your budget. There are several electric compressors out there.

I am running a York mechanical AC compressor, but on your TJ, it could cost a bit to get to get pulleys and belts to work out.

Another option I would seriously consider... a high pressure tank, scuba or fire fighter style. You may be able to buy one used locally and then simply mount it securely in the back of your Jeep. We recently had a City auction where many were sold for a few bucks each. I'm trying to reserve one as a backup. They hold a ton of air and are easy and cheap to have filled.

 

Not that anybody's right or wrong - it's interesting the opinions of hard vs soft on street vs off road.

I run the Ranch0 9000's adjustable - love em.

I've done lots of experimenting -
Street I run them at 4 or 5 - midway between soft and hard.
Off road I run at 9 - the hardest - and am thinking I'd like them even harder maybe I'll add a second set of 9000's or?

Washboard roads soft is OK. Whoop de do's - soft lets you bounce all over and bottom out! Stiff is a must. Going slow over rocks and such stiff/hard shocks don't make much difference - it's too slow.

Remember - shocks mainly control the rate of rebound, not the initial compression but the "bounce" afterwards. They do little on the compression stroke to keep you from bottoming out.

I'd like to find something where the compression stiffness is adjustable - any suggestions?

 

On board air - I got rid of the airbox filter for a snout & K&N. That leaves enough room for a compressor for OBA. The Mitshubishi or Sanden round ones will fit nice, just make a bracket for it. Those were used by Dodge, Jeep, and some foreign cars.
Junk yard about $25 - get the fittings and a hunk of the tubes for it, makes life easy.

To drive it I cut the center out of a stock alternator serp pulley, then welded it to the front of the serp pulley on my alternator. Then used a short belt. You can do the same thing with a V belt. You lathe the center out so you can get to the nut.

A 90 lb shutoff valve, a lighted switch to turn on the clutch, safety valve, check valve, gauge, and a quick coupler. Direct, no tank. Airs a 35x12.5 from 10 to 28lbs in about 1.5-2 minutes.

I've installed about 6 of them like that.

If you want I can post pics.

On road I run about 28 lbs. Off road - desert terrain, 12, sometimes 10, sand 6-8. 35x12.50 MTR's.
In sharp rocks too hard, or too soft rocks will slice them easy. Usually 12-15 works best.