Well, the Zuk has been SPOA for a while now and no real issues have come up. This was the first big project and I expected that there would be some spring warping, but I have not abused the vehicle by rough roading it. I have mostly driven the local trails with a few friends with SUV’s and a couple of mountain climbs that seemed to go real well.

The installation of the Petroworks parts was straight forward and aside from the welding were things that anyone with a simple set of tools could perform. It took me two days total and that included the welding. The project started on a Friday and the Zuk was rolling on Monday morning for work.

The biggest issue I faced was getting the welding done on short notice. Before I started the work I made an appointment to bring the axles and new pads in to a shop to have them welded. It took about an hour and they called me to tell me they were done. Everything else was a breeze, just time consuming.

SPOA is the way to go. The Zuk rides smoother, has enough room to fit 33’s, and has about 4 times the articulation of a stock setup. I will keep everyone informed if I run into any problems that arise from the modified setup.

I have also switched the springs over to YJ springs. The jeep springs are longer and I had to use an adapter kit. I bought this kit through Rocky Road Outfitters. The kits details are located here (JP-Eater YJ Spring Conversion). This kit is easy to install and makes for a much smoother ride on the road. Off highway, the articulation is about as good as one could expect with a standard leaf spring set up. I would recommend this kit to anyone looking for an alternative to the stock Samurai springs.

The Lift Project Procedure

The first step was putting the vehicle up on blocks so that I could drop the differentials. This was easy and too about ten minutes. This time included the added labor of finding my jack stands that the kids had “put away” after working with them.

The next step was to actually remove the differentials. The prep for this involved disconnecting the drivelines and brake lines and shocks front and rear. The rear involved one more prep step in that I had to disconnect the parking brake as well.

I started by supporting the diff with the floor-jack under the pumpkin. I then removed the shackles and lowered the diff and removed the U-bolts so that the springs fell away. To make it easier roll the jack out from under the front I had a friend help me a little. It would also be nice to have a friend help you lift the diff’s into the bed of the pickup, but if it is just yourself, you should still be able to lift them.

Off to the welder they went. Weld, weld, bzzzz, weld, bzzzzzzzzzzz, weld…Done!

Now they are back home and sitting in the driveway ready to go back in. This is where it got easy.

In the back I installed a “shock-bar” that moved the upper mount point of the shocks so that the shocks are angled in at the top a bit. This was a pre-built piece that came with the SPOA kit itself.

Hook the springs back up. My neighbor was laughing at me at this point and took a couple of pictures. He thought I had been smoking something funny and forgot to put some parts on. I guess he had a point as I look at the pictures he gave me.

I had swapped out the brake lines with some nice longer steel braided ones. Just make sure you tuck them up and out of the way so that they are not damaged in the re-assembly process. It would suck to have one crushed between the spring and the diff.

Roll the diff’s up under the springs, throw the U-bolts back on (upside down of course) and tighten it all back up. Hook up the brake lines and the E-brake, and then the drive-lines and you are almost finished. One important note, make sure you install spacers if you are going with the stock drivelines or you could/will end up with MAJOR damage on your first outing.

You now need to hook up the shocks. The stock shocks will no longer work and you will need to new ones with AT LEAST the following dimensions (10.2 compressed/17.85 extended), though you might want to go longer and put in extended shock towers in the front. My front will articulate further than the shock can extend, so I am shopping for a new set that will allow me better travel.