Rock Krawler 3 link

[damo252]

I searched, but did not find what I was looking for.

Who has this suspension?

How does it work, both how does it mount, and install as well as how functional is it on the trail? what are the benefits and deterants of the kit?

[tealcherokee]

search again

[damo252]

search again


Thanks for your help :rolleyes:

Someone show me a picture of the set up Please

[herreraxto]

I searched, but did not find what I was looking for.

Who has this suspension?

How does it work, both how does it mount, and install as well as how functional is it on the trail? what are the benefits and deterants of the kit?

i just intalled it a few days ago and been great i am running baja claws and theres more noise because of the metal bushings, more comfortable on roads street and highways on the installation is easy you need to weld the 2 lower brackets and drill 4 holes for the upper one and adjust them

[creeperjeep]

search class;

rk*, rock krawler, rockkrawler
I found only 10 or so threads, and my bro has one and its everything you would expect
www.rockkrawler.com

[damo252]

Thank you for the suggestions on searching. I did search, and found several threads. What I want is First instalation inforamtion which I got some helpful info on that, but I really want a picture of the set-up. Does anyone have a picture of the set-up?

[matt6669]

When you order the kit, they give you pretty detail instruction with pictures so thats a plus.

I will try and get some pictures snapped and sent to you tomorrow night of my truck with the 3 link.

Like one of the above posters said, its an awesome kit. It drives great on the road very smooth and precise. I've found that its not noisy at all, but its all in how you grease the joints and how tight your jam nuts are.

If you need any information on these kits, or pricing, don't be afraid to drop me a line as I'm a full rockkrawler dealer.

ps if you check out the vendor forum, we have a sale going on that rk long arm upgrade kit at an unheard of price. It's only going for a couple more days so go check it out.

[shimmy]

i just installed the LA's and they are loud as hell. because of the joints, theres a substantial amount of road noise, compared to kits using a rubber bushing and RE super flex joint. Also, the grease fittings that come with the kit are crap, i broke like 3 of them! overall, the kit does ride nice, minus the noise... and is very stable on the road at 70mph! check out creasey offroad, they have the best price on this kit by far! if you wanna know how much i paid, just pm me.

[ALL PLAY]

matt6669
Check out the site but could not any info. on the 3 link.

Bo

[ALL PLAY]

Simmy I also check out creasy offroad and found nothing on there site. Do I need to call for more info?

Bo

[zjmikey]

i just installed the LA's and they are loud as hell. because of the joints, theres a substantial amount of road noise, compared to kits using a rubber bushing and RE super flex joint. Also, the grease fittings that come with the kit are crap, i broke like 3 of them! overall, the kit does ride nice, minus the noise... and is very stable on the road at 70mph! check out creasey offroad, they have the best price on this kit by far! if you wanna know how much i paid, just pm me.


The Noise issue will be remedied later on this year, RK is working on some new Joints......with HUGE ass rubber bushings on one end..

[shimmy]

The Noise issue will be remedied later on this year, RK is working on some new Joints......with HUGE ass rubber bushings on one end..

so then the loudness i'm experiencing is a "normal" issue for the RK kit?

[Roxtar]

If you call them they will be happy to email you pics from their install manual.

[crasy1_69]

here is a pic of it flexed a little in the front.
http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c274/calaughrin/Random%20Pics/HPIM0108.jpg

[CRASH]

Loudness? Is that really a concern?

3 links must use all "hard" joints or they will experience mad wrap and horrible handling. If you want quiet, stick to a 4 link with rubber.

[Kittrell]

here is a pic of it flexed a little in the front.
http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c274/calaughrin/Random%20Pics/HPIM0108.jpg

Whats the width of the tire and the width of the wheel in this pic?

[shimmy]

Whats the width of the tire and the width of the wheel in this pic?

haha exactly what i was thinking!

[matt6669]

all you guys experiencing loud noises coming from your joints arn't properly greasing your joints.

My truck makes absolutely no noise on the road with these joints. I've posted up a few times about how to remedy the situation and I'm actually trying to type up something to send over to Jeremy at RockKrawler to add into his directions so people don't have the same problem.

You need to disassemble the joints entirely, pack the joint with grease and put the whole thing back together. Those retainer plates on the outside must get put back together with locktite. You want to fully tighten those retainer plates so that everything presses together properly. Then you will want to loosen those retainer plates slightly so that if you grab the metal ball you can move that ball with your fingers. You want it to be pretty much effortless.

Then you must grease these joints every once in a while, they will not take care of themselves thats why they have grease fittings.

Also when you tighten your jam nuts, set the length that you want, put the joint end into a vise, hold the arm with your hand and get a huge open ended wrench on that jam nut. I'm trying to remember the size its something like an 1-1/4 i know the upper is a 1-1/8 so i think the lower is 1-1/4. And then tighten that jam nut untill you can tighten no more.

If you do all of this i can pretty much guarantee all of your noise from the joints will go away. I've sold TONS of these kits and everyone says the same thing to me. Once I tell them what to do, all they can do is say thank you so much because its worked every time.

I forgot who mentioned about our website, our site is sort of outdated, we've had big problems with it which we are trying to fix. If you want more information don't be afraid to give us a call at the office its 1-845-355-ROCK (7625)

Also I am sure I can beat any price that creasey's gives out. So if you want a price please pm me.

If anyone has any other questions I will be more than happy to answer them.

Ohh and you are correct, RK is working on a new set of joints for people that want rubber bushings. I have not been told when the release will be but it should be shortly so keep your eyes open.

Matt

[shimmy]

blasphemy!

[mack]

wow, take all the joint's apart? that seems like a lot for work for an off the shelf kit, shouldn't they come greased already?

[canadian-xj]

DO NOT deal with CREASYS OFFROAD!!! Teribile buisness practices!!!

[forwheelin49]

I just got done installing this kit and needed the welding instructions again because I lost them so if anyone could tell me the welding instructions it would be much appreciated

Jeff

[matt6669]

im just going off the top of my head but i believe it gets welded like this

the long side of the bracket gets 3 welds with like a 1/4 of an inch inbetween each weld. You do that to both side, and the short sides just get a weld straight across.

I've seen people just weld the thing entirely and nothing happen, but i would stick to RK's direction.

Mack i don't know why they don't grease the joints before there sent out. My guess is less time in production so you get a cheaper product. Also some guys use their trucks as strict trail rigs so they don't mind a little noise. The joints get the proper greasing if you fill by the grease fitting, its just if you want it completely silent, then thats what you got to do.

All installs at my shop are done the way I explained above, whether we know its a dd or not. Customer satisfaction is top priority!

Matt

[crasy1_69]

Whats the width of the tire and the width of the wheel in this pic?


the tires are 245/75-16
the rims are 16x10

plans are to get a set of like 33x13.5 tires to go on them in the near future.

[xjlander]

Thanks for your help :rolleyes:

Someone show me a picture of the set up Please
Are these the pics you are looking for? http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g312/crzyxj/Steeringparts016.jpg http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g312/crzyxj/Steeringparts015.jpg http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g312/crzyxj/Steeringparts014.jpg http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g312/crzyxj/flex7.jpg

[XJ_Jeeper01]

i think that's the Gen I kit you got there xjlander. i heard that there were a lot of problems with the Gen I stuff, but with the new stuff i've heard only great things. i'm going to be ordering this kit once i get paid. i'll be giving ya a call soon matt6669.
-Matt

[xj#2]

if you got questions or you want a good deal call Scott at creasey offroad
tell him nick from california sent you

hes done tons of these lifts.....put on a few with him actually

he can get you the info and or tell you how

when your in doubt read the directions.....no really!

the rk kits even tell you the size of wrench to use

and yes its a 1 1/4 jam that you were thinking of. im not sure who it was that wrote that but you are 100% correct the rk kit is awesome when its put on right.

my wj would do 100 plus and smooth as silk

[shimmy]

now that i reflect on it... i wish i got my kit from Matt. haha sounds like he definitely stands behind all the products he sells. Scott at creasey had misleading communication, i'd deal with Ben at Creasey instead!

[AKswampheep]

When i ordered mine the only thing he didnt fully understand that the RK kit takes 10 days to get outta their shop and another 4-8 days to ship.. he told me it would be here at my house in 10 days.. Otherwise he was very cooperative and just had a misunderstanding on the delivery of the RK kit.

[matt6669]

I will say one thing, with that shipping is you can't put all the blame on Scott at Creasey. I don't know when you ordered your kit, but what happened was, we totally blew out all of RK's stock and they switched their sheetmetal guys so they had no parts to send out. So their shipping was delayed as the new guys were cutting the parts out. So though Creasey could of found out it wasn't all Scott's fault.

Swamper I will write back to your pm tomorrow when I get out of work. I just got in and I need to be up in 4 hours for work, so my brain isn't all there to give you detailed instructions but expect them by like 6 Friday afternoon.

Like #2 said as long as the kit is installed properly I've never heard of anyone having a problem. I'm all the way in Jersey and I sold a kit to a guy in Oregon. With out communications back and forth, everything went smooth as can be and he loves his kit. Were actually in the process of getting his buddy setup. I always tell people when they order, please email me, call me, i give out my personal cell phone number to most people if they have any problem just give me a ring were here to help.

On another note, just a few more days left for our blow out sale on RockKrawler and Ox components, get them while there hot, I doubt you'll see prices this low for a while

Matt

[Kittrell]

the tires are 245/75-16
the rims are 16x10

plans are to get a set of like 33x13.5 tires to go on them in the near future.

A 30x9.50 on a 10" wheel, you got someone to mount that?

[mack]

A 30x9.50 on a 10" wheel
:shocked: ...wow

[az4wheeler2002]

I dont know if this will help, but here's my 6.5" RK long arm, I'm flexed up on my other jeep, with 6" suspension and 3" body lift, 37" tires and poison spyder tube fenders, I admit it was alitte iffy when I got up their, the back driver side tire wasn't really getting any traction but it was still "kinda" on the ground
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j29/sikazxj/pic2.jpg
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j29/sikazxj/SizedSunp0004.jpg
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j29/sikazxj/SizedSunp0002.jpg
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j29/sikazxj/SizedSunp0001.jpg
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j29/sikazxj/SizedSunp0003.jpg

I dunno if this helps, but their ya go

[herreraxto]

i just installed the LA's and they are loud as hell. because of the joints, theres a substantial amount of road noise, compared to kits using a rubber bushing and RE super flex joint. Also, the grease fittings that come with the kit are crap, i broke like 3 of them! overall, the kit does ride nice, minus the noise... and is very stable on the road at 70mph! check out creasey offroad, they have the best price on this kit by far! if you wanna know how much i paid, just pm me.

Where can i get the stupid grease fittings i when to 3 diferent auto parts stores and they dont carry that size

[crasy1_69]

yeah i know the tire siz is kinda scary its worked ok for the moment. i dont wheel it a whole lot right now. still working on other things. but like i said i will have 33-13.5 tires at some point.

[matt6669]

herreraxto The only please i have found that has them is RockKrawler and I don't know where they get them from. Give a call to RockKrawler you should have them in a few days.

[herreraxto]

herreraxto The only please i have found that has them is RockKrawler and I don't know where they get them from. Give a call to RockKrawler you should have them in a few days.

i just call them and ordered 20 just incase, also i was think to redill and get the standart size on it

[Kittrell]

yeah i know the tire siz is kinda scary its worked ok for the moment. i dont wheel it a whole lot right now. still working on other things. but like i said i will have 33-13.5 tires at some point.

Who said anything about wheeling? I wouldn't even drive that down the road.

[Fergie]

I dont know if this will help, but here's my 6.5" RK long arm, I'm flexed up on my other jeep, with 6" suspension and 3" body lift, 37" tires and poison spyder tube fenders, I admit it was alitte iffy when I got up their, the back driver side tire wasn't really getting any traction but it was still "kinda" on the ground
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j29/sikazxj/pic2.jpg
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j29/sikazxj/SizedSunp0004.jpg
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j29/sikazxj/SizedSunp0002.jpg
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j29/sikazxj/SizedSunp0001.jpg
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j29/sikazxj/SizedSunp0003.jpg

I dunno if this helps, but their ya go
Is that first pic near Prescott...Smiley maybe?

[az4wheeler2002]

that first pic is in Payson, on a trail called payette draw

[mack]

wow, those are some strong fenders!

[shimmy]

Where can i get the stupid grease fittings i when to 3 diferent auto parts stores and they dont carry that size

i'm gonna go down to the local screw store, they've always had what i wanted. plus i'm thinking about gettings some 90* fittings for the lowers on the frame side.

[az4wheeler2002]

wow, those are some strong fenders!


their nothin special, just poison spyder tube fenders, to be honest I was alittle worried to climb on them at first, but it worked out in the end

[mack]

nothin special? if a "fender" can hold the weight of the left front for your rig, i would say they are some what special...their nothin special, just poison spyder tube fenders, to be honest I was alittle worried to climb on them at first, but it worked out in the end

[az4wheeler2002]

nothin special? if a "fender" can hold the weight of the left front for your rig, i would say they are some what special...


ya but the jeep is all flexed out, the fender isn't actually holding up that much weight with the majority of the weight being shifted to the passengerside centerline of the wheel

[mack]

ok...never mind.

[az4wheeler2002]

eitherway, it's still a bad@ss fender and one of my favorite pics

[OT]

Here's a pic of a Jeep with that kit, that I was behind all day.

http://www.savepic.com/freepicturehosting/is.php?i=474190&img=7151HPIM1671.JPG

[xjparts]

Anyone interested may want to try NiagaraPerformance.com give them a call for better pricing too. Direct drop shipments from RockKrawler, he's in the process of getting hooked up with Claytons too. Call and ask for Eric, He'll hook you up on a great deal, and you'll have it fast. They are big into the Diesel performance stuff too, and they are always adding new lines, he just got ARB and Aussie signed on. They have that Edge Trailjammer kit that is supposed to be pretty nice too.

[mack]

how come EVERYTIME a RK thread come up, it turns into a vendors commercial????

[Capt. Nemo]

how come EVERYTIME a RK thread come up, it turns into a vendors commercial????

They wouldn't have any business otherwise...

[Thayer]

i'm gonna go down to the local screw store, they've always had what i wanted. plus i'm thinking about gettings some 90* fittings for the lowers on the frame side.
I had a hell of a time finding replacement fittings. The threads are 10-32, so they're pretty darn rare. I switched over to needle type fittings after tracking down some with the correct threads...

http://www.naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?t=66338

[shimmy]

I had a hell of a time finding replacement fittings. The threads are 10-32, so they're pretty darn rare. I switched over to needle type fittings after tracking down some with the correct threads...

http://www.naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?t=66338

what do these fittings look like?

[Thayer]

The needle fittings look like these...(borrowed pic from stu's site)

http://www.stu-offroad.com/axle/driveshaft/ds-23.jpg

Let me know if you want some, since I bought a box of 10 and only used 4. I'll sell them to you for an even split, $17 for the box of 10, so $1.70/each plus shipping.

If you want stock replacements, Alemite is the only manufacturer I've found that makes normal grease fittings with 10-32 threads. I'm guessing RK gets fittings from them.

http://www.ajfittings.com/images/fittings/Fitting%20dimensions/3016.jpg

[Roxtar]

I wouldn't recommend using a grease zirk without a ball check for bushings/bearings.

[AZ XJ]

If anyone has any other questions I will be more than happy to answer them.


I've talked to a couple people about this, but I figured a few more opinions can't hurt. My biggest concern is with how my xj would ride on the street with the RK LA upgrade, and on the freeway since it's my dd. I like to take road trips and I don't want a scary handling jeep. It seems like the kit flexes well, and works well off road, so I'm not really concerned there, just would like to hear peoples opinions and experiences with it's on road manners. Thanks guys.

[RyanM]

longarms are the only way to go for lifted jeeps on the road. I have radius longarms with~9", its my DD, rides just as good as stock IMO. altho its not the 3 link nor RK, i HTH.

[crasy1_69]

i have the rk 6.5 la. i love the way it rides on road. it rides almost as well as stock. i do feel bumps more than stock but that is mainly due to the metal joints instead of rubber type bushing. it has made a trip to moab from abq, nm. it is still my daily driver and i have no issues or worries about taking it on a road trip.

Craig

[AZ XJ]

longarms are the only way to go for lifted jeeps on the road. I have radius longarms with~9", its my DD, rides just as good as stock IMO. altho its not the 3 link nor RK, i HTH.


Yea, I realized that very quickly after I installed my Rusty's 4.5"...with arms that are stock length, the ride quality is aweful. The geometry is all off, and It dosen't flex at all. Knowing what I know now, I would never have gone with anything over 3.5" on a short arm. I should have just ponied up the cash and done it right the first time.... but you live and you learn I guess. Thanks for the help.

[Thayer]

i have the rk 6.5 la. i love the way it rides on road. it rides almost as well as stock. i do feel bumps more than stock but that is mainly due to the metal joints instead of rubber type bushing. it has made a trip to moab from abq, nm. it is still my daily driver and i have no issues or worries about taking it on a road trip.

Craig
I'd have to agree. I always drive over this section the Jersey Turnpike that's under construction with huge angled expansion joints. I hit them at 70-75 mph and experience nothing weird, like death wobble, so the joints must be holding everything nice and tight. Feeling the bumps is the downside. The roads here are terrible with snow plowing, hot summers, and lots of semi-trucks. I sometimes feel like I'm on one of those chassis shaker test stands they use to test cars when I go on long road trips.

[XJ_Jeeper01]

I have heard people talking about sleeving the framerails for the upper control arm bracket. What exactly do they mean by sleeve? Also does anyone know if the instructions give length measurements for the control arms? Thanks.
-Matt

[matt6669]

AZ XJ: Like most people have said. The on-road ride is a dream. It's very smooth, very stable, and very predictable. Also as long as you take care of your joints and keep them well greased, you won't have any road noise and really its quite close to soaking up the pumps that a regular bushing would do. You should have no worries driving your truck as a DD. I use my truck as a DD back and forth between school and work, I do about 90 miles everyday, and I drive my truck like I stole it. Never had any problems, its predictable from 0-90. Anything over that is up to you but I can tell you, its still solid all the way up there, no worries.


Thayer: I hear you on NJ roads sucking the big one. The roads around here are horrible. Plus you add in awesome Jersey drives and it proves to be a daunting task to drive anywhere in this state.


XJ_Jeeper01: When people talk about sleeving the frame rails theres a few things I've heard people do, but none are really necessary. I've installed quite a few of these kits and never had crushing of the frame rails that people talk of but I'll explain anyway.

When people talk of sleeving the frame rails you can do a few things.
One would be to drill holes big enough to fit a metal sleeve that will fit over the bolts that you are installing with the bracket. This way you make the sleeve the same width of your frame rails. Then when you tighten the bolts, it tightens down on the sleeve preventing your frame rails from getting crushed.

Also you can add pieces of angle iron or the sorts to your frame rails. This will stiffen up your frame rails and also act as a sleeve so that your frame rails don't get crushed.

Like I said, I've installed quite a few of these and never had it occur, but that doesn't mean it can't.

Got any more questions ask away.

Matt

[AZ XJ]

AZ XJ: Like most people have said. The on-road ride is a dream. It's very smooth, very stable, and very predictable. Also as long as you take care of your joints and keep them well greased, you won't have any road noise and really its quite close to soaking up the pumps that a regular bushing would do. You should have no worries driving your truck as a DD. I use my truck as a DD back and forth between school and work, I do about 90 miles everyday, and I drive my truck like I stole it. Never had any problems, its predictable from 0-90. Anything over that is up to you but I can tell you, its still solid all the way up there, no worries. Matt

Thanks for your help, it seems that everbody I've talked to so far has had nothing but good stuff to say about the way the kit rides on road. I'm using my truck basically the same way your using yours, with about the same amount of miles every day too. How often are you greasing your joints?
az4wheeler2002 gave me a great price on welding the brackets at his shop, so it seems like things could work out pretty well for me with the kit. I'm still kind of looking at the TnT kit because it's so highly reguarded around here, and seems well built, but $900 is quite a chunk of change. I just don't want to regret it like I do my current setup.

[matt6669]

well my truck has been off the road for over a month now, as its going under a huge build-up but when I was driving it as my DD i would check everything atleast once a week.

It only takes 5 minutes to crawl under there and make sure all your jam nuts are still really tight and to pop a grease gun on the joints and see if there is enough grease in there.

Plus while your under there its a great time to check all your steering joints, and etc to make sure they are still greased up.

I'm pretty big on preventative maintence, some say I go overboard, but I like to make sure everything is running smoothly so that I don't get stranded anywhere because a joint blew out from not being grease or properly tightened.


As far as the TNT kit or the RK kit. Theres a few ways to look at it and I've had this discussion a few times. The way I look at it is this. The RK kit's arms are stronger (all the non believers don't bother to post as its already been proven in a previous thread), their kits are backed by a beat proof warranty, and its a lot cheaper. You can buy their LA Kit, their Skid plate and still be around 300+ cheaper than the TNT kit. Also I'm not to big on these high clearence arms.

My thought on those arms is this, I would rather have my 1.75" RK arms be the lowest point on my truck. This way if I so happen to come down on a rock, im going to hit my arms instead of my driveshafts. Whereas with the TNT kit you'll land on your driveshaft.

Thats my opinion, im sure others will chime in with theirs.
Matt

[az4wheeler2002]

My thought on those arms is this, I would rather have my 1.75" RK arms be the lowest point on my truck. This way if I so happen to come down on a rock, im going to hit my arms instead of my driveshafts.



x2
I use my lower arms as sliders, wouldn't want it any other way!!

[XJ_Jeeper01]

XJ_Jeeper01: When people talk about sleeving the frame rails theres a few things I've heard people do, but none are really necessary. I've installed quite a few of these kits and never had crushing of the frame rails that people talk of but I'll explain anyway.

When people talk of sleeving the frame rails you can do a few things.
One would be to drill holes big enough to fit a metal sleeve that will fit over the bolts that you are installing with the bracket. This way you make the sleeve the same width of your frame rails. Then when you tighten the bolts, it tightens down on the sleeve preventing your frame rails from getting crushed.

Also you can add pieces of angle iron or the sorts to your frame rails. This will stiffen up your frame rails and also act as a sleeve so that your frame rails don't get crushed.
thanks i appreciate the info. yea i'm definitely sold on this kit. going to be ordering it soon! :D
-Matt

[AZ XJ]

thanks i appreciate the info. yea i'm definitely sold on this kit. going to be ordering it soon! :D
-Matt


X2. and thanks to everybody who provided info.

[waxer]

X 3.... Are these still on sale for $399 Matt?

[matt6669]

you got it. Only a couple more days to order though. Our shop will be closed from the 7th and we won't open back up until monday the 12th so order them before the sale ends on the 7th.

You can email me at matt@trcoffroad.com
or you can call our shop 1-845-355-7625 (rock)

And no problem with the answers guys, thats why we all come here, to help each other out!!

Matt

[redrider]

I live in florida and drive in swamp everytime i go wheeling. how are these joints going to react to sand,mud, and water. would a rubber set up be better for me.

[reliablestv]

I just got done installing this kit and needed the welding instructions again because I lost them so if anyone could tell me the welding instructions it would be much appreciated

Jeff
1/2 INCH WELDS EVERY 1/2 INCH

[reliablestv]

http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g112/stv1980fire/jeep%20pics/flex.jpg.

8' rk kit one day install, handles great
flex pretty good too if i may say so myself