Rusty's 3" coils - worth the money?

[zthang43]

First of all, I'm still new to the XJ but have been searching this board for a couple months now.

I'm wanting to lift my '91 XJ 3" to fit my 32's. (Yeah I know about fender trimming and all that). I've seen the posts about bastard leaf packs, and plan on going that way for the rear, but want 3" front coils and shocks. National Tire and Wheel has 3" kits for $239, that I think is the Rusty's kit. Is this correct?
the website says: "Kit includes front coil springs, 4 Heckethorn 8000 series shocks, and rear add-a-leafs or rear springs.
84-01 Cherokee
3" w/rear add-a-leafs.... New-Super Value NOW $239.95 Part# SSXJ-3"

Is this kit worth buying for just the coils and the shocks? Shocks seem to be about $120 - $150 a set, so I guess that means I'd be paying around $100 for a pair of 3" lift coils.

Is there a better way to go for a similar price? I want some reasonable flex (I don't do rocks up here, just mud and trails) so I plan to shy away from spacers or really stiff coils, like the F150 coils.

Any suggestions appreciated; I plan on doing something pretty quick here.

[snow drifter]

I have the 3" Rusty's coils. Great flex, no problems with them or sag. Keep in mind, I only got exactly 3" out of mine. 31" tires, when stuffed rubbed the stock fender flairs and knocked off my front bumper end caps. I put a 1.75" spacer in the front to level it out. Good coil for the price IMO.

[Dookie]

they're fine. i got pretty much exactly 3" of lift as well.

[zthang43]

thanks for the replies, sounds like the coils are pretty much what I'm looking for then.

What about those shocks, are they any good? My factory shocks are shot so I need new ones anyway.

[Dookie]

no experience with them - but i've run dirt-cheap no-namers, and they worked fine. you're not building a desert racer or a sports car - pretty much any shock will work!

[Craig96_XJ]

somebody step in and correct me if im wrong here, but you can only get RUSTYS products from rustys store

you say this kit is from national tire and wheel, and it includes heckthorn shocks... i know rusty wouldnt include heckthorn shocks with his kits, when he could throw in his own... it almost sounds like a rough country kit, which, from what ive read here, is far inferior to most kits on the market

as far as rustys quality, i run the 3" full spring pack kit, and i fit 33's with some trimming, and it rides/flexes great... i would advise you to look at his website www.rustysoffroad.com, and check out his stuff... he has good products and IIRC, the 3" AAL kit is only like $240??? with shocks

also, yes i think the RUSTYS brand coils are definitely worth the green

[zthang43]

CORRECTION: After a little research, I've discovered that the kit I was looking at is made by Rough Country, not Rusty's. (Figured this out about the same time you posted Craig96_XJ).

So it looks like for the same price, I would be better off with the Rusty's kit, correct? Considering that I don't need maximum flex and would like a little less body roll on the road, I may go with the heavier (180lb/in) front coils. Anyone have any thoughts on that?

Thanks again.

[vetteboy]

I agree with everything Craig just said, including the fact that only Rusty himself sells those coils.

I also run 33's on this kit and love it. Outstanding ride and flex. I will certainly be going with Rusty's coils again when I go bigger.

http://www.tcnj.edu/~macock2/stuff/nf6.jpg

[stupidfast]

yeah go with rustys. they are cheap, and tho i hear their welds are shitty, you wont be doing anything serious enough with 3 inches to break them most likely. but make sure you know whats what when getting a lift. you will need coils, shocks, with 3 inches you will only need a longer LCA (lower control arm), the upper control arm can stay the same lenght, your steering will have to be realigned, the track bar might need to be replaced with a longer one, gearing for 32s (best off with around 4.10, 4 cyl jeeps have 4.10 axles so you can snag two of them. its not worth upgrading the stock axles you already have when you can find the 4 cyl ones. buy a parts jeep for its axles, and anything else that may break). rustys kit comes with all you shoudl need

[DeadSquirrel]

i have rusty's coils and they have been great for me

[AJPulley]

I can't speak for the coils, but I have thier rear leaves (with overlaod leaf- optional) and they are the perfect spring rate. I would have to assume they figured out the right front spring rate also.

Edit:

Oh, any no matter who's shocks you get, you will notice an improvement in normal ride if you use barpin eliminators. The poly bushings still allow the barpin to move around and it causes a rough ride. Mine greatly improved when I used JKS's eliminators. Now, a few companies have thier own style.

[Craig96_XJ]

i would say go ahead and get the heavier coil rates, as thats what i did and it is awesome in my opinion

i just use my stock LCAs and havent changed my gears yet, b/c im thinking of getting a new rear axle first... trust me, i fyou get the kind of results most people get, then those 32's will start to look small after while if you trim up- i trimmed (not b/c i had to, b/c i dont lik ethe flare look) and my 31's looked TINY... ill prolly add 1.5" and go to 35's next time

all in all, great kit IMHO, and i will definitely buy from rustys again

[zthang43]

OK, one more question. Will the shocks in this kit require bar pin eliminators, or will they fit the stock xj shock mounts?

BTW Stupidfast, I do already have a 8.25 rear axle from a '97 and I plan on regearing to 4.56 with a No-slip in the rear and Truetrac in the front.

[ILLXJ]

The shocks fit like the stock ones. Haleyes has the 3" kit & we had to install the bar pins. I have the 4.5" & they were already installed when I got them. HTH. JIM.

[XJFREK]

I have this kit on my 94, it's about 5 years old so I'm not sure if they've changed anything since then but the shocks they sent fit the stock mounting style. I replaced mine with Rancho RSX's about 2 years ago, they rode fine, but in the winter when it got really cold they made this weird knock noise. It always went away after the temp rose up above freezing. Oddly enough it didn't seem to affect the ride much, or mayby my butt was just numb from the cold :shiver: Anyway, it's a good kit for the money, I though mind rode better than stock after I put it on.

[HaleYes]

yeah go with rustys. they are cheap, and tho i hear their welds are shitty, you wont be doing anything serious enough with 3 inches to break them most likely. but make sure you know whats what when getting a lift. you will need coils, shocks, with 3 inches you will only need a longer LCA (lower control arm), the upper control arm can stay the same lenght, your steering will have to be realigned, the track bar might need to be replaced with a longer one, gearing for 32s (best off with around 4.10, 4 cyl jeeps have 4.10 axles so you can snag two of them. its not worth upgrading the stock axles you already have when you can find the 4 cyl ones. buy a parts jeep for its axles, and anything else that may break). rustys kit comes with all you shoudl need

SPOBI
Since when does Rusty weld on his coils?

IIRC, there isn't anything welded anyway in a 3" kit from Rusty.

Besides, I'd like to see these shitty welds you speak of from Rustys.

I call SPOBI again on the LCA advise you give.
You can run stock CA's uppers and lowers, with no issues what so ever with Rusty's 3" kit.


Zthang,
You'll have everything you need with Rustys 3" kit. You will not need BPE's. New bar pins are included. The only thing I didn't care for was the brake line extention (for the rear) he provides in the kit. IMHO, it's kinda cheezy. I was lucky enough that my rear line was plenty long enough and I didn't use it. Make sure your break lines are long enough front and rear after the install. If you couldn't tell, I'm a fan of Rustys. Some here don't care for him and thats fine, opinions are like assholes....everybody has one.
Rusty has treated me very well every time I have dealt with him.

I think mine flexes out quite well, too.:D
(old pics)
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v647/haleyes/WinterFest%2005/HaleyesFlexn1.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v647/haleyes/WinterFest%2005/HaleyesFlexn.jpg



HTH

[vetteboy]

I definitely agree with that guy.

Flexes well enough for me too, even on 33's with the same kit + 1.5" coils spacers up front (and nothing else).

http://www.phatserver.net/users/chris/pines/pines2%20022.jpg

http://www.phatserver.net/users/chris/pines/pines2%20001.jpg

(from the photo gallery on his site)

http://www.rustysoffroad.com/rigs/media/rigs/rig116_01.jpg

The rear brakeline thing is kinda lame, but it has worked for me perfectly, even through a D44 swap, so I can't complain.

I ran stock LCA's and UCA's until I put the spacers in and went to 33's, think I have a pic of that...

http://www.tcnj.edu/~macock2/stuff/jeep/flex6.jpg

http://www.tcnj.edu/~macock2/stuff/jeep/flex7.jpg

HTH

[AJPulley]

No, bar pin eliminators aren't necessary. Shocks come with bar pins. But, you notice an incredibly different ride with eliminators.

[JLane99XJ]

No, bar pin eliminators aren't necessary. Shocks come with bar pins. But, you notice an incredibly different ride with eliminators.



wtf!!-
bar pin eleiminators are basically a bracketry to alter the mounting hardware of the upper eye of the rear shocks, not a change in ride, doood..

how was the Ride "incedibly different with eliminators" and more importantly how did you notice???

ROFLMAO

[zthang43]

Cool, thanks for the info.

Vetteboy, what are those lights on your roof rack? I assume they are OEM headlights from some car or truck? I've been thinking of doing the same thing with a set of Kenworth headlights; how well do they work for you?
Also, how did you run the wires, did you have to drill through the roof?
Sorry to hijack my own thread.

Thanks everyone for the pics BTW.

[Jim63]

I have the 3" aal kit and i love it! It flexes great and the only prob i had was the front winch bumper made the front sagg a little so i ended up putting some 2" spacers in so now im sittin at like 4.5" overall i am happy with rusty and what he sells!

[Dookie]

wtf!!-
bar pin eleiminators are basically a bracketry to alter the mounting hardware of the upper eye of the rear shocks, not a change in ride, doood..

how was the Ride "incedibly different with eliminators" and more importantly how did you notice???

ROFLMAO


x2...

i sure didn't notice a "change in ride!!"

[ECKSJAY]

wtf!!-
bar pin eleiminators are basically a bracketry to alter the mounting hardware of the upper eye of the rear shocks, not a change in ride, doood..

how was the Ride "incedibly different with eliminators" and more importantly how did you notice???

ROFLMAO

BPE's squeeze the shock eye bushings into a 'preload' condition, which results in the energy being absorbed by the shock instead...which means a better ride (quieter), providing you're not running a POS shock. Also increases shock bushing life. ;)

Careful what you laugh at...especially if you don't know WTF you're talking about.

[mdl]

i love my rustys kit

http://images5.theimagehosting.com/flexlog0032ve.jpg (http://www.theimagehosting.com)

[zthang43]

Cool. I ordered the 3" AAL kit the other day, with the heavier 180lb coils, it's supposed to be here this friday.

I will be doing a bastard leaf pack in the rear using S10 springs and using the Rusty's coils and shocks. I'll post up results when i get it done in a couple weeks.

BTW this will be on 32's, on a 91. I'll be modifying the fenders as needed.

If I can figure out how to post pictures (I have a digital camera but don't have a website to host the pictures on) I will post before and after pics.

[ZachMan]

(I have a digital camera but don't have a website to host the pictures on) I will post before and after pics.

www.photobucket.com , join then start uploading :wave:

[zthang43]

Well, I got the lift installed and have been driving it for about 2 weeks now. I'm actually pretty pleased with it. I went ahead and installed the AAL for now until I get around to doing the S10 spring pack, and it rides a lot better than some people have said AAL's ride.

I bought the heavier 180lb coils with the kit; the spring rates feel pretty even front to rear. The ride is firm but not harsh, and is a definite improvement over stock, since my 91 with 210K had the original factory shocks!

I used the stock trackbar, and relocated the mounting hole about 3/4" to center the axle. I also did a little bit of trimming on the lower control arm brackets to help with flex.

I mounted the 32x11.50's on 15x8 black steel wheels with 4.75" backspacing, and they fit perfectly. I did have to do a bit of trimming; I'll post pictures of that in a separate thread.

Here are a few pictures of the lift installed. My before pic sucks, and we all know what a stock xj looks like so I won't bother with that one.

Lift and tires installed:
http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c26/zthang43/Jeep%20lift%20kit/Img_2354.jpg

Stuffing the rear (with the swaybar connected):
http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c26/zthang43/Jeep%20lift%20kit/Img_2350.jpg

Flexing on a rock wall in my driveway (I couldn't lift a tire in this position, not enough height on the wall):
http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c26/zthang43/Jeep%20lift%20kit/Img_2393.jpg

Climbing over the wall (still haven't installed the locker yet):
http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c26/zthang43/Jeep%20lift%20kit/Img_2396.jpg

And one more poser pic for good measure, after some wheeling the night before:
http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c26/zthang43/Jeep%20lift%20kit/Img_2362.jpg

[AJPulley]

So, how much tire contact did you end up with? I am planning on 32x9.5s on my existing 3 inch lift and an extra 1.5 inch added. I'll trim what needs to be trimmed afterwards.

[zthang43]

Not sure what you mean by tire contact. After I got done trimming, nothing rubs even under full flex. (otherwise I would have trimmed more.)
I do have full tire contact with the ground though. (Just kidding, I know that's not what you meant.)
Before trimming the tires rubbed pretty hard when flexing the suspension off road. On the street they were fine though.

[ChairOKey]

Could you go into more depth on how exactly you trimmed but retained the stock fenders?

Maybe some pics of this and the trimming you did on the control arm bracket as well. I have trouble invisioning this stuff in my head.

Your XJ looks real good to those of us who dont need a monster rig, but just an improved one.