[Nsparkman]

First time poster, long time lurker. Out of boredom, I recently installed a K5074B 3" lift kit on my '08 FJ. I'd read through multiple posts about pros/cons and decided to go the cheap route. Maybe this is a case of "you get what you pay for", but that's what I'm trying to determine.

During install, I noticed my factory CV axle boots were worn and needing replacement. Rather than order parts and have it sit on jack stands during the axle rebuild, I bought some cheap Autozone axles to hold me over until I got around to the OEM axle rebuild. Within 1,000 miles of install, I've already shredded the drivers side boot with normal city driving and some VERY light off-roading (I'm talking dirt and hills, nothing crazy). I'm hearing popping on both sides when I change direction, forward/reverse, from which I can only assume is from the axles (this was occuring before the boot tore).

My question for those who have experience with this lift kit: is this normal? Why would it be advertised to "fit" this truck if it clearly can't handle the seemingly extreme axle angles? I have the factory axles ready to install but don't want to put them in only to tear them up the same way.

If it matters, I have 34" G2 Grapplers, MT6 transmission and aftermarket control arms to allow alignment after lift.

 

[Firemedic831]

Can you measure the Shock at ride height . you a arms and steering look awfully steep

 

[mikey]

It probably has to do with the "cheap Autozone axles" quite of few these rebuilt/remanufactured axles will not work in a lifted application.

 

[Iconic_]

How much down travel does the front have when you jack it up from ride height? Did you measure how much it lifted it. Looks very tall.

 

[Iconic_]

One little trick is to slide the boot a little further down the CV shaft on lifted vehicles. So the boot isn't rubbing itself at the steeper angles. But I would agree they should last longer than that regardless.

 

[SilvFx]

I have to agree with some others that the angle looks very steep. I am running a 3" Toytec Lift with 33" tires (285/70R17) and I have about 6.5-7" from bottom of my fender flare to top of my tire. Maybe its the angle of the photo but with 34" tires it looks like you have 9-10" of distance between bottom of fender flare and top of tire.

Did you measure before the lift and after the lift to see how much you are lifted....seems way more than a 3" lift.

You can buy a front axle drop kit from Toytec that will drop front axle down about 1" to lessen the CV angles....but it seems like you have lot more going on there. What springs are you running? Is there height adjustment on those procomps like the Bilsteins?

 

[Nsparkman]

I measured before and after and total lift was about 3.5" in the rear and about 5", almost 6", up front (the driver side was a little more lift because of the leveling spacer above the coil.) Does this sound right?

@SilvFx, the space between top of the tire and fender wall is 9-10". I do have the bushwacker flares which I believe are thinner in the fender wall than the factory flares, but I don't think they're 2-3" thinner. This is WITH differential drop which lowered the diff about an inch. I can't imagine I would even be able to roll down the road without it.

@Iconic_ On the rebuilt axles, Ive read about moving the boots down the shaft and using hose clamps instead of the included clamps. I may go down that road but I don't even want to install these axles again until I sort out the angles. The passenger side axle is popping and that boot is still intact, so I'm having issues outside of just slinging grease all over the road.

 

[Nsparkman]

@Firemedic831 The front driver shock is 22" from center eye to where the spring touches the frame mount, 25" from center eye to the top of the shock threads. Any idea what the normal length should be at ride height?

 

[Iconic_]

You should not have any taller than a 3" lift up front!!!

 

[SilvFx]

Did you buy this lift kit new from Pro Comp? Seems to me that something in the setup is not correct. I dont see a spacer on top of the ProComp lift, but maybe the shocks are incorrect or maybe the spring or spring landing is incorrect....but as Iconic_ said above you shouldnt have seen more than a 3" lift on the front. For example, I seem to recall that with the same tires/wheels the bottom edge of my OEM flares was 36.0" (as measured from flat surface)and after installing the lift and settling a bit, ended up at 38.75". So net change was 2.75" in the front.

Your lift seems like a 6" lift. I know that ProComp offers a 6" lift, but I think there are other changes besides just the front coilovers. Is it possible you only bought/installed only some components of the 6" lift without changing spindles and adding some of the spacers?

Amazon.com: Pro Comp K5067B 6" Lift Kit with Knuckle, Coil and ES9000 Shocks for Toyota FJ Cruiser '07-'09: Automotive

Buy Pro Comp K5067B 6" Lift Kit with Knuckle, Coil and ES9000 Shocks for Toyota FJ Cruiser '07-'09: Body & Suspension Lift Kits - Amazon.com ✓ FREE DELIVERY possible on eligible purchases

www.amazon.com

Sorry, I dont know anything about the ProComp lift kit setups....but something isnt right with the setup/install just based on what you are telling us and what we are seeing.

 

[Nsparkman]

I bought the lift from a ProComp dealer online. It arrived in ProComp packaging and everything listed in the installation manual was received. I had a thought that maybe I was sent the wrong springs, but the part # on the spring matches what PC lists on their website, 57491-1. The coil spacer is hard to see in the second photo above but is there per the instructions.

I definitely agree something isn't right about the setup. I initially thought maybe the extra lift in the front was "leveling" plus a 3" lift but it sounds like that is not the case. Anyone out there running the same lift that could measure their springs so I have something to compare to? I'll reach out to the dealer and ProComp direct to get some input.

 

[Prius2FJ]

Unfortunately I also have a ProComp 3" lift w/ diff drop (Jeep shop installed - long story). I have driven about 5,000 miles since the lift. I haven't experienced any "popping" noises when I change directions but the ride quality sucks. I'm on 31" sized tires as the FJ is my daily driver for now. Measuring from the bottom of the fender to the top of my tire, it's 9 inches at the front and 8 inches are the rear. I don't recommend this lift. Here are some photos. Hope this helps.