any issues with rough country lifts???

[r.j.c.omanche]

i am looking at a rough country 4.5" lift for my comanche.

 

Kit includes front coil springs, front lower control arms, transfer case drop kit, front track bar drop bracket, swaybar drop brackets, brake line relocating brackets, 4 RC Hydro 8000 series shocks, and rear add-a-leafs and shackles.

 

 

i have heard that most rough country lifts are just that, ROUGH, but it seems to come with all the stuff. and it seems upgrade-able, so if i want to go spring over in the rear i could remove the add-a-leaf and shackles and go spring over (something i have already considered for the future). and if i decide to go long arm front, it seems a rusty's kit would work. i have a connection with a local rough country dealer and he can get me a very good price, or should i save my pennies and go with a rusty's long arm/ spring over from the start ?

 

i plan on driving this truck daily, i plan on keeping 31s on it (unless / until i upgrade to a 4.0L), i don't mind a stiff ride (1970s 3/4 ton comes to mind), but i am going to 'wheel it and would like it to flex well.

 

:???:

[JeepcoMJ]

good kit.

 

tell them to remove the transfercase drop from the deal. you don't want, nor do you need it. you have a longer wheelbase and will not have the same vibration issues that cherokee will.

 

should save you a couple bucks.

[JeepcoMJ]

oh, for clarification, ROUGH COUNTRY is the good kit.

 

never, ever ever buy anything from Rusty's. if it ever comes to failure (which Krusty's is known for), it could be lethal.

[Eagle]

Rough Country is a good kit?

 

I haven't paid any attention to them recently, but they used to be rated just about equally (bad) with Rusty's stuff.

[89eliminator]

well, the RC kits are cheaper for a reason. like the saying goes, you get what you pay for.

 

that being said, if you plan on doing longarms/soa, then do it now. don't waste your time/money on a lift that doesnt fit your needs. i learned this the hard way. :doh:

 

and x2 on not buying from Rustys. i had good luck with them in the beginning, but when i broke a leaf in my 4.5in leaf pack, it took 3 MONTHS to get a replacement. :wall:

[JeepcoMJ]

Rough Country is a good kit?

 

I haven't paid any attention to them recently, but they used to be rated just about equally (bad) with Rusty's stuff.

 

 

I haven't had or heard of any parts failures from rough country, save a few MOOG trackbar bushings. they even stand behind their brand and replace trackbars when you bend them or destroy them doing stupid stuff...IF you can manage to do so.

 

I hear and see nothing but failures and difficult repairs from rusty's.

 

so, is rough country good?...it's better than some. would I buy RE or motion offroad over RC?...yup. would I buy RC over Old Man Emu? hell yes. would I buy all of them over Rusty's? hands down, yes.

[Eagle]

would I buy RC over Old Man Emu?

OME is probably THE best stuff out there. You would seriously buy Rough Country rather than OME?

 

I feel faint ...

[HellCreek]

We have the Rough Country 4.5" front end parts on our MJ (same as a XJ) along with our 4.5" rear springs. It seems to be a good combination and works well for us. We have never had an issue with any of their parts. The LCA's are short, but after a front end alignment, we have had no problems.

 

Tom

[mvusse]

I am going against what Jeepco said, and suggest you DO get the transfer case drop kit. The kit you listed uses lift shackles. These will angle your rear pinion angle up, which *could* cause vibration. It did in my case. The transfer case drop kit will angle the transfer case downward some, getting the transfer case output angle and the rear pinion angle closer to parallel to minimize this problem.

[r.j.c.omanche]

good info, thanx for the help guys. i didn't think rough country was 'that' bad, but i did not know that they were 'that' good. awesome.

[r.j.c.omanche]

I am going against what Jeepco said, and suggest you DO get the transfer case drop kit. The kit you listed uses lift shackles. These will angle your rear pinion angle up, which *could* cause vibration. It did in my case. The transfer case drop kit will angle the transfer case downward some, getting the transfer case output angle and the rear pinion angle closer to parallel to minimize this problem.

 

 

what if i went spring over from the start? would i still need to drop the t-case?

[mvusse]

Shouldn't. If you're welding on perches, you can make sure your pinion angle is still the same. Possibly a little higher as spring over allows more spring wrap/axle wrap. If you go like 1 or 2 degrees higher, it will probably be close to perfect under load when driving.

 

Our trucks are long enough that you don't have to worry about too steep an angle on the U-joints. But under normal driving conditions, with single U-joints on each end of the drive shaft, each end (joint) should be at the same angle.

[Motion Offroad]

If you go SOA in the rear your looking at a min. of 5.5" of lift depending on what rear leafs your MJ came with from the factory. Most of the time going SOA in the rear you'll need a 6.5" front coil to make the MJ sit fairly level.

 

Just don't want you to go SOA in the rear and be major "butt high", than want to bump upto 6.5" of lift and realize what you bought in your cheaper lift kit isn't going to work at that height.

 

If you decide to not go SOA do realize that an AAL is adding height by using a higher spring-rated leaf pack to compensate for the additional height that you're trying to achieve. This means that the added leaf has to be much stiffer in order to lift the vehicle. You are asking this one leaf (per side) to not only lift and support the vehicle but it also has to deal with the resistance of the less curved stock spring pack. This leads to many issues down the road, typically a very saggy factory pack, and sometimes broke factory leafs.

 

In my very humble opinion I will always recommend a full pack replacement for a long-term solution. When you have a full leaf pack with springs of all the same spring rate then they will work much better. More often than not it will provide a better ride, more flex and a longer lasting more reliable lift than an AAL ever will. Yes, its costs more but I tend to think long term. An AAL may be a cheaper solution now, but down the road you'll end up most likely spending more money fixing the problem's caused by the AAL's.

[Pete M]

I am going against what Jeepco said, and suggest you DO get the transfer case drop kit. The kit you listed uses lift shackles. These will angle your rear pinion angle up, which *could* cause vibration. It did in my case. The transfer case drop kit will angle the transfer case downward some, getting the transfer case output angle and the rear pinion angle closer to parallel to minimize this problem.

 

Um, if I rotate the pinion up slightly from shackles, and then drop the t-case down slightly, wouldn't that compound the angle problem rather than canceling it?

[JeepcoMJ]

I am going against what Jeepco said, and suggest you DO get the transfer case drop kit. The kit you listed uses lift shackles. These will angle your rear pinion angle up, which *could* cause vibration. It did in my case. The transfer case drop kit will angle the transfer case downward some, getting the transfer case output angle and the rear pinion angle closer to parallel to minimize this problem.

 

Um, if I rotate the pinion up slightly from shackles, and then drop the t-case down slightly, wouldn't that compound the angle problem rather than canceling it?

 

geometry pete.

 

mvusse is correct...with the pinion angled up, if you were to lift the transfercase, it will actually change the angles more dramatically.

 

by lowering it so the output is lowered multiple degrees, and raising the pinion a couple degrees, you keep a stock operating angle.

 

I'd just not go this way about things, and I would buy rear springs for a 4.5" lift, and not drop the transfercase.

 

I beat the crap out of my tranny x-member and I'm at 6.5" of lift, going over some fairly mild things too.

[JeepcoMJ]

would I buy RC over Old Man Emu?

OME is probably THE best stuff out there. You would seriously buy Rough Country rather than OME?

 

I feel faint ...

 

I look at this the way I look at snowmobiles. I ride yamaha, because it's all manufactured together and made to go together. the craftsmanship is excellent, and while it may not be the fastest thing out there, or the most extreme thing out there, I've never once seen a yamaha fail except from neglect on the owner's behalf.

 

that said, I know most suspension manufacturers out-source their springs, and the only ones that I have seen fail were Rusty's. However, I cannot say I'm impressed with the craftsmanship of OME components (from what little I've seen). I've never once in my life seen an OME dealer, nor do I know anyone running OME parts on any sort of vehicle. the lift kit they have on their comanche scares me, and so I would not run that kit.

 

but, at least it's not Rusty's.

[Eagle]

Um, if I rotate the pinion up slightly from shackles, and then drop the t-case down slightly, wouldn't that compound the angle problem rather than canceling it?

 

geometry pete.

 

mvusse is correct...with the pinion angled up, if you were to lift the transfercase, it will actually change the angles more dramatically.

 

by lowering it so the output is lowered multiple degrees, and raising the pinion a couple degrees, you keep a stock operating angle.

 

I'd just not go this way about things, and I would buy rear springs for a 4.5" lift, and not drop the transfercase.

 

I beat the crap out of my tranny x-member and I'm at 6.5" of lift, going over some fairly mild things too.

Well, not exactly.

 

Raising the pinion decreases the u-joint angle at the axle, but doesn't have much effect at the transfer case end. The result is unequal operating angles, and that's what causes vibrations. Lowering the transfer case decreases the u-joint angle at the transfer case end without having much effect on the axle end. The result (hopefully) is that the two u-joints will be back to more or less equal operating angles ... but the angle won't be the same as the stock angle.

[JeepcoMJ]

Well, not exactly.

 

Raising the pinion decreases the u-joint angle at the axle, but doesn't have much effect at the transfer case end. The result is unequal operating angles, and that's what causes vibrations. Lowering the transfer case decreases the u-joint angle at the transfer case end without having much effect on the axle end. The result (hopefully) is that the two u-joints will be back to more or less equal operating angles ... but the angle won't be the same as the stock angle.

 

perhaps I should word it differently;

 

from a mathamatical standpoint, by dropping your t-case after adding shackles by the same percent, you could potentially create a driveshaft angle which puts the transfercase output shaft and the rear axle pinion within the same acceptable parameters as it was from factory. :smart: