WHY THE RUSTY'S BASHING?

[bigblueandugly]

i have searched this forum thoughout and all i ever here is people bashing on rusty's, but there is never a good explanation. i am buying a buddies jeep and it has a rusty's long arm 7" lift, should i be concerned? would it be worth switching to a rockkrawler or tnt?

[devilinside13]

i have had their 4 1/2 inch kit for 1 1/2 years and have had only 1 problem and that is with the reguar track bar end i think that his products are pretty good but that is my .02

[jeepnuts311]

most of their stuff is pretty cool, they just need a little more R&D sometimes. for example, on their throttle body spacer, they sent longer bolts, but the heads on the bolts were too tall, and the rubber intake hose would not seat flush to the throttle body because the boltheads were too tall. just a few things here and there where it doesnt fit right, or not even close at all (steerin box brace). havent had any experience with their lift parts, just accessories.

-Tim

[Stouttrout]

just a few things here and there where it doesnt fit right, or not even close at all (steerin box brace).

Yep, I had this problem with an engine skid plate and a transfercase skid. I bought them because I did not have the time to make them myself and I ended up spending the same or more time fixing theirs to fit. I have their 8" long arm and it performs very well so far. I am not gentle on it either.

[CanMan]

TnT for clearance. I thought Rustys made a 6" or 8" LA kit? :dunno:

People have different stories about them. Ive read that thier shipping is ridiculous, crappy parts, welds, ect... Its probably just the buyers luck.

This winter, a TnT kit is calling my name.

And this is Mod tech how? :conceited:

My .02.

[Ben H]

I think Rusty's service is ok. Most parts are good for the price, but I think that they over charge on shipping a tad.

[YELLAHEEP]

i have searched this forum thoughout and all i ever here is people bashing on rusty's, but there is never a good explanation. i am buying a buddies jeep and it has a rusty's long arm 7" lift, should i be concerned? would it be worth switching to a rockkrawler or tnt?


Yes.

Unless it's a light-duty 'wheeling rig or mall-crawler. You've already aparently read enough posts while searching that it should be obvious that Rusty's stuff isn't synonomous with hardcore 'wheeling. Quality and customer service have always been an issue with Rusty's, but it's really touch-and-go. Some have had great experiences with them, others are furious.

[bigblueandugly]

And this is Mod tech how? :conceited:

My .02.

maybe the part about should i switch to tnt or rk...

[joecool]

So far I have had good luck with Rusty's skid plates and trac-bar, and I wouldnt hesitate to continue to buy from him.

[JEEPTUBE]

TNT all the way.
Buy now!

[Kittrell]

maybe the part about should i switch to tnt or rk...

RK if ya want a 3-link, Claytons or TnT for a 4.

[SLAYER]

3 link?
for the rear or front?
Whats that set up consist of?

[Kittrell]

TNT all the way.
Buy now!

Four weeks ago you were recommending Clayton's and you run a Rubicon LA

Go with Clayton for a solid kit!!

Stop talking.

[BRIANHO13]

Yes.

Unless it's a light-duty 'wheeling rig or mall-crawler. You've already aparently read enough posts while searching that it should be obvious that Rusty's stuff isn't synonomous with hardcore 'wheeling. Quality and customer service have always been an issue with Rusty's, but it's really touch-and-go. Some have had great experiences with them, others are furious.

I run Rusty's LA kit and beat the pi$$ out of it, no problems yet and it has been in for 2 seasons, this season she got a 44 front so I have been a little rougher on it......

Rusty's has had a few quality problems in the past and those always seem to stick in people's minds. If you do buy Rusty's make sure you know its what you want, he will give you store credit but not a refund.

p.s. I went with Rusty's prior to finding this site, had I been able to find the Clayton kit online I probably would have gone that route.

[fordtech]

I have the full leaf 3" kit on my 98. no problems except the front coils are more like 2.5" lift, rear is 4.5" I called and Rusty himself and he said that JEEP told him the factory spec is 17" front and rear......I argued but it didnt matter. This is a stock jeep otherwise (no extra weight), so I shouldnt have needed the higher spring rate....

The springs are soft, the front hasnt settled and the rear is down to 3.5". Handles and rides great. coil spacer out front and 31's is working out.

[XJEEPER]

Lots of opinions on who makes the best parts, lots of vendor options to chose from. Looking purely at the math.....if a component costs less, yet has a higher rate of "reported" failure or defect, where is YOUR money best spent?

Not bashing anyones stuff here, I know who's junk I've seen fail on the trail and it hasn't been RE, TNT, Clayton's or FT.

YMMV

[green50gt]

I have bought a few things from them so far, and my only complaint is their shipping is just absoultely ridiculous. I have called in several times to ask questions and they have always been super helpful.

[motorcityxj]

since the lift is on already and your buying the whole righ i would wheel whats on it unless you have the cash and its burning a hole in your pocket. Then report back if its bad as you were afraid. I wouldnt be in a hurry to throw it in a junk pile untill it starts breaking.

[LilRedRover]

Originally Posted by JEEPTUBE
TNT all the way.
Buy now!

Four weeks ago you were recommending Clayton's and you run a Rubicon LA


Originally Posted by JEEPTUBE
Go with Clayton for a solid kit!!

Stop talking.


HAHAHAHAHAHAHA

[Chris S]

I have rusty's cross-member, t-case skid, and engine skid. I've bought other parts in the past and never had problems. When a buddy had one of Rusty's springs break he called Rusty and a new spring was shipped to him next day.

IMHO Rusty is having the same problem that almost every small shop has had at some point - too many orders for the size of shop and/or staff to handle. This is especially noticable around Easter as everyobdy gets ready to wheel. There is hardly a shop you can find that there isn't somebody unhappy with them,and you hear about the 10 complaints not the 1,000 happy customers.
The other problem a lot of these shops have is that they are owned and run by wheelers and fabricators and such, not by businessmen. The smart guys will say right up front if they are up to their wazoo and can't get the part out for a month. The less knowledgable ones will not want to risk losing the order, so they say things got delayed in shipping or other nonsense when really they haven't built it yet, and then when the customer gets impatient they are putting something together at 3:00 am and making mistakes.

[Meeks]

I have been waiting 7 months, and counting for them to sort out missing peices and parts from the 6.5" lift kit I bought from then in JANUARY.

I thought I got it all on, but I was missing the damn second half of the trac-bar, rendering my Jeep immobile. He said he shipped the parts I needed two weeks ago, nothing. And if they get here, and they are the wrong parts, I am going to shit a brick.

They overcharge on shipping to make up for their dirt cheap kits.

[meatplow5150]

FWIW
When I bought my XJ in Feb this year, it had Rusty's 4.5" lift with adjustable lca's. So far, I can say that I have been pleased with the springs. They are quite supple although the rig does squat quite a bit when loaded for a weekend trip (4.5" looks more like 3"). I have since bought a few other items from him with minor issues. The adjustable uca's that I ordered arrived as new lca's. I called him and he shipped new ones with a return shipping label. The steering box brace, as others have noted, did not even come close to having holes that lined up. I drilled new ones. The engine skid plate had holes drilled that made it mount crooked and it is wide enough that my front ds rubs on it when the driver side is stuffed and the ps is drooped (I no longer have a grease zerk on the slip joint because of this). The heavy duty track bar end (the one that has the rubber bushing in it) had a threaded end that was too long to fully thread into the track bar (also from rustys). I cut it down a little and dressed the threads. I had no problems with the tc skid plate, although I would have liked something other than the self-tapping bolts to mount it to the "frame" rail. I have beaten the snot out of all of his parts and so far no failures. The tc skid is slightly bent and the uca's and lca's rattle a little due to not having jam nuts on them (makes for much better flex/less binding), but I can live with that.

[xDUMPTRUCKx]

Its very difficult to make up my mind about rustys. As far as personal experience goes, I bought my jeep and it already had rustys bombproof motormounts installed.......I must have some hidden dynamite under the hood cause those POS blew up like hiroshima. Welds that looked so pretty and clean, didn't hold. Not on just one, but both. One came apart during an engine swap the other while experiencing death wobble.

Also he claimed to have shipped my 9 inch coils and ups lost them......ups said they never got a thing, just biling info so they could get me a tracking number, then 2 and a half weeks later rusty says they were reshipped......a month and a week after inital order I get my coils.


Every company has parts that break, but it seems rustys just break more frequently and are highly likely to get lost on a ups truck.

[TRAILREADYXJ]

I am running several things from Rusty and have had pretty good luck.
I love the coils, they ride smooth and have lots of windings.
The Adjustable control arms rattle (no jam nuts) and need to be greased often, but have held up to some bashing.
The HD Trackbar w/mount has been great.
My only real "complaint" is their high shipping.
That said, when I go with longarms I am going to get RK, or build my own ;)
I do plan on keeping the coils and TB.

[Starscream]

RK if ya want a 3-link, Claytons or TnT for a radius.
Fixed it for you. :)

[jeepjay90]

i ordered coils and longarms, came within a week. havent installed them yet, but u guys are starting to scare me with the supposed quality of parts.

[Meeks]

My parts still havn't come.. ><

[OT]

Some of Rusty's stuff is good and some is not worth a shit.
My advice is, buy all the parts you want from Rusty's, as long as they're not manufactured or welded by Rusty's.
Products made by other companies are probably okay, but then you're still dealing with the lousy shipping.
Other than that, shop on....
YMMV






True story, I once recieved someone elses box of parts, sent from Rusty's, on my front porch.
I called Rusty's and found out who the intended recipient was and got thier new parts to them quicker and cheaper than it took Rusty's to send them to me.

[CanMan]

maybe the part about should i switch to tnt or rk...

Seems to have gotten moved. Wonder why. :dunno:.

Maybe lack of Adv. Tech? Again, :dunno:.

[BlkLabRecoveryKit]

When I was shopping for a lift for my 99 I saw a lot of bashing all around, but a good amount of it for Rusty's stuff... so I did a lot of research. I was looking for a local manufacturer... someone who wheeled in my area. I drove down to meet Rusty, simply because of all the bad press. I wasn't going to drop a bunch of money with out meeting the guy. After talking and looking around I decided on Rusty's 6.5 long arm. I felt like he would take care of any problems that might arise.

I have been pleased with the kit. No different than other lifts, some bolt holes may need to be enlarged to fit... etc. components are beefy enough and the long arms are pretty darn flexy, a little noise with the swaybars disco'd from the lack of jamnuts on the arms, but that helps with keeping radius arm bind to minimum. My lift is level and rides nice. It takes a pounding and was well worth the money.

When dealing with Rusty, I have always tried to be courteous and understanding. He's not a huge corporation. So like others said... they can get swamped. Understanding that and keeping your cool is probably the best way to resolve anything. He has always been helpful and quick enough to respond.

As for overall quality, well you get what you pay for. His kits are more affordable, and may not have all the engineering or bells and whistles. If you aren't a bit mechanical, you might be frustrated. Thankfully I was a machinist in a previous life. The money I saved left me money for tires, lockers, OBA and all the other things one needs to wheel. Buying from Rusty has allowed me to wheel more and be more successful in my obstacle attempts. If I had bought a more high dollar kit, well I would have been able to get far less... and would have to spend more time mall wheeling; waiting to get all the stuff I now have. It was a decision. I have too many hobbies... and Rusty's fit my budget. Most important though, his stuff works and is strong enough to handle Eastern wheeling (mountains with muddy rocks and logs on steep obstacles). Never been out west with my rig... so can't speak for the west.

Point is, stupidity can break anything... careful can break things too... this hobby is all about doing things that challenge us and our rigs, the stock parts and the upgrades we add... sometimes things break.

I bought a TIG welder... and got a hookup for scrap steel... I use my grease gun, and I check my bolts for tightness... I think my Rusty's parts will last a good long while through many miles of road and trail.

My advice:

1) Turn your own wrenches, know your rig. If you are a novice, get experienced help to lead you in the install.

2) Meet your vendor face to face.

3) Voice your needs, concerns and expectations up front.

4) Pay in cash. Nothing sucks more than having a credit card bill strung out for months on something that is used offroad; because it can break... atleast with cash its totally paid for while it sitting there waiting on parts. Plus cash make people a little more friendly. Its personal. And sometimes gets you much better service and discounts.

5) Keep your cool if there is a problem and give them the opportunity to make it right.

[XJGrl]

I like Rusty a lot as a person. I started out with his 2" BB then went to a 3" and on to a 4.5" -- since I was in college, I sort of had to piecemeal things together (not such a good idea). When I took that last step up to 5/6", I was finally wise enough know know which Rusty's components were OK to order -- and which would be better from RE/Curry or other vendor of choice. I havent ever had any problems with Rusty's springs -- so that's pretty much all the Rustys that I have anymore (and now its just rear).

But -- I still try to call him to catch up every once in a while -- even if I am not making an order. Nice guy, good company -- if you are patient and flexible.

[98XJSport]

Everyone remembers what goes wrong and posts all about it. Very few remember and post about what goes right.

[OT]

Everyone remembers what goes wrong and posts all about it. Very few remember and post about what goes right.
And?
That's nothing new.
Blame the people who have good experiences and don't speak up, for not glorifiying half assed quality products, not the ones who have bad experiences and warn everyone.

[devilinside13]

it does not matter what company you buy your lift from, they all have failures. i know people that have had bad experiences for re, tnt, and clayton. sure rusty's is a small company, and the shipping is overpriced. when ever i have had to call the company to report that my trackber end wiped out i got to speak to rusty himself. when i was missing a peice form the heavy duty track bar kit, rusty spoke to me and got it out right away. it is all a matter of personal choice on who to get a lift from. my 4 1/2 kit flexes well and rides good down the road. have i had anything break, the track bar end, but nothing else. i am very satisfied with their products at this time. so let people complain about their stuff. buy what you want!!

[OT]

when ever i have had to call the company to report that my trackber end wiped out i got to speak to rusty himself.

when i was missing a peice form the heavy duty track bar kit, rusty spoke to me and got it out right away.
'Nuff said......

[skipo]

Rusty is a nice guy to talk to, really helpful.
what turned me off was the freight prices, he wanted 122.00 to ship from alabama to ky on his 3":hang: kit. that blew the deal making the re 3.5 se cheaper when you figured in the brake line control arms, etc., and freight with a track bar from cal. was only 69.00.....go figure were he's making his money!

[devilinside13]

yeah i agree about the frieght prices, my 4 1/2 kit was 830 after shipping and it listed for 6 something. plus the heavy duty track bar end and frame mount and the track bar brace shipping was $27. a bit too much if you ask me but like i have said before i am happy with their products.