Rough Country 3" lift?

What do you guys think of the rough country 3in lift? I was thinking of putting it on my xj. Have any of you installed one before? Is there any thing that will need to be changed besides the springs and shocks? like brake lines or stearing?

I've installed the RC 3" lift before. It's a good kit, and has everything you need.

The kit includes instructions on how to move your brakelines and drop your T-case. Your steering should be fine, but it's always recommended to get an alignment done after any lift.

Rough Country lifts aren't the best, but they sure aren't the worst. My brother and I have done a few RC installs and are pleased with the results. I'd say it's a good mid-level kit. So far as not, the owners of the Jeeps we've done them on haven't had any complaints either.


I would recommend going with the full spring packs in the rear though; AAL's suck.

I installed this lift on my first XJ with 31" tires, never had a problem and is still going good, my dad has it now and I have another one with 5.5" and 33s.
All said go for it!! it is a good lift at a good price.
As far as the brake lines I bought longer ones.
Transfer Case 1"x1" square tubing, it just drops the cross member down very simple to do!
The AAL's do ride stiff but I've had no probs
good luck!!

Id say go with a RE 3.5 i dont like how rough country rides

XJPhoenix said:

Your steering should be fine, but it's always recommended to get an alignment done after any lift.

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...because of the inverted-Y steering....any change in height will affect the alignment. an alignment needs to be done...whether by yourself or professionally

If Rough Crappy... i mean Rough Country is a mid level what would be the bottom of the barrel?
A good friend of mine was running a RC kit on his. The kit when first installed yeilded right at 3". After it settled it looked sad. He was even having issues clearing 30's. Would not be my choice. Rubicon Express is alot more expensive but well worth the cost.

I had great luck with my RC 3 inch lift up front. After four years of hard wheelin' I added a winch and bumper, and they'd had enough.

I went with the add a leaf in the rear, and have to say that my already shot leafs didn't fair well with the add a leaf. I ended up going the Dakota leaf route. I'd say go for the full leaf pack, or plan on doing something different in the rear sooner than later.

I had a few vibes before dropping the t-case, but each Jeep is different. The front brake lines once I moved the mounting point down were long enough to still work. But I'd be sure to check the rear line, I changed that to a Dakota rear line also.

I ran 31's and trimmed the fenders and rear wheel wells, but more bump stops would have worked also. But why limit the up travel? The only issue I had with rubbing was because I had stock rims. The back spacing was wrong for the 31 10.50's.

Over all the RC 3 inch kit got me started and was a good kit to start with until I learned more about my Jeep, and what I wanted to do with it.

DAryl

either go with rubicon express 3.5" or Rustys 3". both good lifts but rustys is cheaper. and only get full leaf packs, add a leafs suck. also Rubicon and Rustys get there springs from the same place anyway, its just you get more bang for your buck with wat is included in the Rubicons kit.

Has any one bought and ran their Full leaf packs ? Not AAL !
I'm looking to get their 3" springs instead of constantly dealing with sagging bastard packs. I'll have 2" shackles on them.
Thanks

I have no personal experience with RC full packs, but I know two people with them and have heard people on the internet saying only good things about them. I wouldn't hesitate to run them. I ran a RC lift on my MJ, and the rear AAL was fine, but I didn't like the spring rate on their coils.

If you're starting from scratch, I would recommend the RC packs (cheap) and go with Rusty's coils (much better ride, and not too pricey).

Suck country is balls. I bought the rc 4.5 kit and cried. They deemed it unnecassary to send me upper control arms, so my caster was about 50 degress off.S upper adjustables solved my problem

YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR,real simple!

Very unhappy with mine 31's did not fit like they said had to cut front bumper at the tire shop thank god they had a sawzall. The back of the flair had to be cut and had to hammer some sheet metal in. The u bolts where not long enough had to go buy a track bar bracket be cause the tires stuck out about an inch and a half on the drivers side (they told me every thing I would need for the lift was inthe kit bullshit). The shocks suck and the end product does not even look good barely any room in the well above the tire. My advice spend the extra money and get a better lift and go higher the 3in's just does not look like enough. In a monthe or so I will be adding 2 more inches.

my first kit was a rough country 3". overall it was a nice kit for the money. the aal were full length units and they held up okay, but i started with the factory "upcountry kit " on my ride.i ran 31" and some hockey puck bumpstops. then i added a 1" daystar kit with poly spacers up front and longer shackles in the back on top of that and was at about 4 in the front and 4.5 in the back. even with the factory spare tire carrier it held up fine.it's since moved on to the son of a friends rig and it is still looking level. i've since bumped up a few times so if you really think you're going to go larger it may just be in your best interest to look into a taller read "more expensive" kit and do it once instaed of 2 or 3 times. cheaper in the long run,imho.

cj11 said:

Very unhappy with mine 31's did not fit like they said had to cut front bumper at the tire shop thank god they had a sawzall. The back of the flair had to be cut and had to hammer some sheet metal in. The u bolts where not long enough had to go buy a track bar bracket be cause the tires stuck out about an inch and a half on the drivers side (they told me every thing I would need for the lift was inthe kit bullshit). The shocks suck and the end product does not even look good barely any room in the well above the tire. My advice spend the extra money and get a better lift and go higher the 3in's just does not look like enough. In a monthe or so I will be adding 2 more inches.

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31's fit fine on my 90 xj w/ rc 3"....

I started with a Rough Country 4.5" AAL lift. Needless to say, they create a crap shackle angle and sag fast. The front springs tho I have been very happy with. New they were very stiff, but after a few wheeling trips they softened up and have a nice spring rate to them.

My big gripe with it was the control arms, they use a poly bushing and if you want to use it and want the suspension to flex well, they aren't ideal. I have since gone to a longarm setup, so thats not a problem anymore.