ob1214, additionally piecing a kit together may allow you some better options for your needs, as well as allowing you to flex your budget toward the most important parts, possibly saving on less important items. This of course all depends on what You want out of your vehicle. RC doesnt have a good reputation, but it will function for a while. Cheap is generally cheap for a reason.
ill throw another vote for OME as a good base for kit parts, rubicon express is decent to.
if you plan on holding on to this vehicle for a good while, i.m.o., your better off steering away from cross member drop brackets and budgeting in an SYE/driveshaft.
TimMN, ( tcase exploding?)not sure ive heard that one yet. :wow:
Yeah, this is a good idea, unless you have the scratch to go buy brand new everything. Keep your eye on the 'for sale' section to you locally.
I've been following this thread, really unsure what to say because when i lifted my jeep, i did so with the intention on wheeling it. Hard. Which is what i did, for about a decade.
I started off with a Rusty's lift. Decent stuff that ended up in rough shape simply due to what i put the jeep through. I went with the 4.5" and 33s with a 1-inch t-case drop and i never ever had any vibes whatsoever, but mine was an '88 and the earlier years tend to be more forgiving.
I ran it like that with the stock gearing for many, many years, just fine. It would zip along at 80 on the freeway and still kill it on the trails. But I wanted a little more, was tired of working so hard behind the wheel when out in the sticks.
So then I invested quite a bit more into the rig. I went up 2" in the front via pucks and about the same out back via shackles and installed chromo shafts all around. Added in 35s and a front lunch box locker and hit the trails. Oooooooommmmmmmmmmmggggggg, the change was unreal. What used to take quite a bit of effort was now point and go. For what it's worth, i disagree with the masses who say to lock the rear first. That front locker was amazing, friends and neighbors. I later locked the rear and didn't even notice it; then again, the rig had a decent-working LSD out back.
Later, I dumped the gearing to 4.88 front and rear and hated it. At least, on the fwy. On the trail it was a lion, the ruler of all the land. On the freeway, 60 was the new 80 and the rig didn't have any oomph down low anymore. I wanted my 3.55s back lmaooo. Also, I had to add bigger joints up front because the new setup was snapping them like twigs. I left the trail a couple times with broken joints to the stub; thank goodness for lockers!
Anyhow, the point is, with *most* of us, lifts start in one place and end up somewhere else, mostly due to quality and/or wheeling needs. But if yours is going to only see street with a little light wheeling from time to time, a lot of people are real happy with like an OME 3" kit and 31s. That's decent enough clearance to get you thru the brush and it looks great to boot.
/ramble
Good luck, man!