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Honest opinions on Rough Country(Rusty's) 4.5" lift

Dann

NAXJA Forum User
Location
North Fla
I understand that the 4.5" lift from Rough Country is the same as Rusty's, in fact I was told by Rusty's, that they make the kit. Well, I installed the lift about 3 yrs ago, and have had to replace the shocks, trac-bar end, and the rear springs are sagging, and in need of replacement. Also, the ride is very harsh, and doesn't flex that well up front. I have heard from other xj owners (2) who have installed Rusty's kits and components, and they also have various complaints about quality issues and ride quality of the springs and shocks. Is this more of a luck of the draw concerning the quality, or more of a their stuff sucks thing? I plan on upgrading to RE components as finances allow, however, I'm still interested in other opinions. Thanks in advance, Dann
 
I have no proof, or experience to the following statement, however I would be incredibly shocked if Rough Country's kits were made or put together by Rusty's!! I would be floored!!

Rough County's are about as stiff as they come, and Rusty's are about as soft as they come.

I have Rusty's front coils (and know two other also) who could not be happier with his lift and components that we have received.

Michael
 
Michael, I was told that Rusty's made the kit by an employee of Rusty's when I ordered their steering stabilizer to go with my Rough Country lift. In fact, he asked me if I ordered the kit with rear springs, and I repied I had, but the kit came with 3" lift springs and 1.5" blocks and u-bolts that were to short. He replied that I should have waited, as their 4.5" spring production was now up and running and going to be sent with all subsequent kits. Now maybe I have an earlier kit that still had bugs to work out, or he was wrong in his statement, but I can definately say that my trac-bar and lower control arms are identical to what is in the Rusty's 4.5" lift, as I have seen, measured, and installed their kit (with 4.5 rear springs that caused the shackle to hit it's limit of rearward travel) on a friends '96 xj. I will say the front springs on his kit are a bit softer, but not much. I'm not trying to issue a scathing indictment against Rusty's, but trying to get a broader view by soliciting opinions from satisfied, as well as dissatisfied customers. And by the way, I installed my kit in mid 2000, and my friends in late 2000, so perhaps our problems with the trac-bar ends was a vendor problem that has since been rectified. I do know that the shocks I got from Rough Country are total s**t, because a former employer has access to a shock dyno and tested one for me. I'm not sure if this is the standard shock that Rusty's sends with their kit or not, as my buddies were without shocks. Remember, this is just a reflection of my experiences, and may be one in a thousand, that is why I'd like some more opinions, especially opiniions on some recent (less than a year) kits and components. Thanks again, Dann
 
i dont know about the whole rustys=rough country. but here i what i can tell you. my first lift was a rough country lift and when i went to replace it with rustys lift i had 1 broke in half front coil and 2 broke in half add a leafs. since i have installed rustys lift the only problem i have had is some popping from the track bar...no sagging, no broken springs.

i personally wouldnt recomend rough country to anyone.

cheers,

jj
 
2xtreme said:
I have no proof, or experience to the following statement, however I would be incredibly shocked if Rough Country's kits were made or put together by Rusty's!! I would be floored!!

Rough County's are about as stiff as they come, and Rusty's are about as soft as they come.

I have Rusty's front coils (and know two other also) who could not be happier with his lift and components that we have received.

Michael

The RC springs in my friend Archies 2001 were soft as hell...
 
LawlessXJ said:
I installed Rusty's 3" AAL kit in mid '99 on my '97 and was pretty happy with it. All 4 shocks were shot after 40k miles, though.

HEH...how many miles would you run shocks? 40k is close.
 
I have RC coils on my xj from the 3 inch kit. I broke the rear add a leaf and one of the blocks. I replaced the rear springs with comanche springs and added a two inch spacer in the front to achieve my current lift. The coils flex like crazy, the only compaint is that they have sagged a 1/2" since I installed them.
 
Maybe I should modify my statement a little. It would not surprise me that they have some of the same components and even come from the same manufacuturer (many of all these parts with so many peoples names come from only one manufacturer). But I would still be surprised if Rusty's was supplying the entire RC kit (hasn't RC been around lift kits alot longer than Rusty's anyway!!).

Michael
 
Michael, They may indeed be seperate kits, with commonality of components. As to how long they have been around? Now that is an entirely different animal. Rusty's may very well have started out from scratch as a Jeep specific off-road company, but I would venture they actually started out as a fab shop making components for other vendors and customers a while back. The Rough Country 4.5" lift was a relatively new offering when I ordered it in 2000. It may be that Rusty's was contracted with developement, and to supply some or all components. Who knows? The big question for me is should I spend the extra dough on new RE springs and components to replace the Rough Country stuff I'm not satisfied with, or go with Rusty's and hope they have everything squared away quality wise, in regards to whatever their association with Rough Country is or was. I've read nothing but good things about RE, but have no real world experience with their products, unlike my limited experience with Rusty's. Unfortunately that experience is not very favorable, but nor is it entirely negative. And that is based on 2 other guys 4.5" Rusty's lifts, not my Rough Country, though I believe they share about 80% of their components if not all.
 
This might help explain some things. I recently installed a RC 3" kit. Included lond add-leafs, springs, and Heckthorn shocks. The kit works really well for me. It flexes well, and has only sagged 1/4" since install a month ago.
I did speak to some people about this kit though. Many shops here refuse to stock them. I asked why, their response was "There are way too many variations from kit to kit." "We see one kit that works perfect and another that is practically useless." So, this statement leads me to believe one of Dann's suspicions, its not neccesarilly the kit, but the varience from kit to kit. BAsically hit or miss. I lucked out. And coincidentally, I really like the shocks (heckthorn 9000). Smooth riding and good flex.
Just my experience.
 
I can't answer if RC and Rusty's lifts are the same or not, but I had severe problems with Rusty's 4.5" kit.

I've reported them in this forum several times, but mostly they had to do with:

- Track bar's tie rod end being dead on arrival.
- Rear springs too short and too stiff for the application. Also, rear springs front bushing allowed rear springs to move, thus touching the right side of their mounting areas.
- Shock absorbers, they didn't last a year!
- etc.

If you want a more detailed report on my problems with Rusty, please check http://www.naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=6166
, at the second page.

I really believe that there is absolutely no quality control in what Rusty sells. Some people are satisfied, some others have severe problems. As for all things in life, you get what you pay for. I learned that the bad way.

As with your case, when finance allows, I'll go the RE way, for all the parts that have or will create problems.

Rgds
 
I have to agree about some people have no problems...I had Rusty's 4.5" Kit for 3 year one my rig and had no problems...I recently put the 6.5" Long Travel Kit on and I love it and again I have wheeled it hard and no problems...Rides and drives great...
 
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