BUYER BEWARE of the Rock Krawler kit

GilaMonster · **Posted:** Wed Jan 31, 2007 10:22 pm

I cross posted this from another thread just to help someone else from getting screwed by these a-holes.

I purchased the Rock Krawler Liberty 3.5” X-Factor System for my 2006 Jeep Liberty CRD from Discount Jeep Parts (also known as Off Road Motorsports). Please note that both Rock Krawler and Discount Jeep Parts web catalog of this item do not exclude the Jeep Liberty CRD.

Before Upon installation, I called Rock Krawler and talked to a talk to a technician regarding fitment of the kit and with general installation questions for a Jeep Liberty CRD. I was assured that the kit would fit just fine, and that no modifications were necessary. They had installe them on CRD model before, and the kit fits just fine.
I subsequently began the installation, and discovered that this kit did not fit properly on the front driver side suspension strut. The Rock Krawler clevis provided in the kit pinched the inner CV boot. I called that same day, during my installation, and talk to a technician at Rock Krawler who assured me that when the suspension is bearing the vehicle weight, with the wheels on the ground, the system will lower down enough that the boot will not be contactingin the Rock Krawler clevis brackets. Upon completion of the front and rear suspension kit, I lowered the vehicle and could see that the inner CV boot on the driver side of the vehicle was still pinched and bound up in the Rock Krawler clevis clamp.
I called Rock Krawler again, they explained that vehicle needed to be driven to load the suspension and then the boot would not be bound up in the Rock Krawler clevis joint. After a test drive, the boot was still bound in the Rock Krawler clevis joint.
Further, the CV boot was showing wear marks signs that this rubbing will contribute to premature failure due to the boot bound in the Rock Krawler clevis bracket.

Subsequent phone call with a different technician at Rock Krawler, and they explain that the Rock Krawler 3.5 X-Factor kit is not meant for installation on a CRD. The technician even went as far as to explain that one has never been installed at their shop, and that since the vehicle model was discontinued, they never intended to make a kit for that model. Upon asking what exactly was occurring, he wanted to know if the boot was just rubbing at full suspension droop (unloaded) because it was normal for the boot to rub their clevis at full droop. THAT IN ITSELF IS THEM ADMITTING THERE IS A DESIGN FLAW.

Rock Krawler and Discount Jeep Parts position on the matter is that since I installed the kit, none of them are responsible for it not fitting. They claim that their web pages do not SPECIFY a CRD fitment. I responded that their web information says it fits Jeep LIberty KJ models, and that they don't specify by engine. Anyway, this will not come as a shock to anyone I suppose, but they will not stand by their product.

So, it appears I'm out my money from the kit. I have modified the clevis bracket by cutting off the inner bent flanges that bind up the boot, and them box welding the outside of the driver side clevis brackets.

Additional problems with there lift kit include:
• Larger bump stops are required to keep the actual front struts from bottoming out at full compression. I spoke with the Rock Krawler technician and was assured that larger bump stops were not necessary, but they are incorrect. At full compression, there is no contact with the stock bump stop and the strut is taking all the force.
• The front suspension with the Rock Krawler kit design, like others, allows the upper ball joints to come in contact with the front strut springs, which has ruptured the upper ball joint boot, which will lead to premature failure of the upper ball joint.
• The rear shocks included with the Rock Krawler kit do not have the correct bushing sleeves for correct fitment to the upper shock mounts on the vehicle. These incorrect bushing sleeves lead to the rear shocks fitting too loose on the mounts and thumping very loud. The failure to include the correct bushing sleeves has lead to one failing by breaking apart. And they didn't even include the dust boots, a five dollar addition. (The remedy I have taken was to order and install Ranch RSX17004 shocks, since the have the correct bushings to mount to the vehicle rear shock mounts.)
• They did not include rear bump stops to keep the rear shocks from bottoming out during hard compression. This could lead to premature failure of a shock valve.

Here are pictures of the cv boot binding in their clevis bracket.
First one is from the rear of the driver side wheel with the suspension at full droop

Second one is from the front of the drivers side wheel with the suspension loaded (on the ground with vehicle weight)

I'm just letting you know my experiance with Rock Krawler. If anything, their business practices and customer service are lousy at best, and more on the lines of fraudulent. BUYER BEWARE.

Jeepjeepster · **Posted:** Wed Jan 31, 2007 10:52 pm

Wow! I cannot believe he drove that around with that boot looking like that! I figured it would have torn. :shock:

Anyway, the crd's cv shafts are shorter than gassers. Thats probably whats going on there.. :wink:

USPLibby · **Joined:** Thu Jul 28, 2005 12:29 am **Posts:** 377

Someone said on another thread that the CRD suspension cradle is lower to make room for the engine, so the springs need to be longer to get the same equivalent lift.

Tokyojoe · **Posted:** Thu Feb 01, 2007 1:55 am

Call the head jerk at RK to see if he will do anything. If not, tell him that you are calling the BBB and posting everything on this at all Jeep forums.

swyszomirski · **Joined:** Sat Oct 01, 2005 2:59 am **Posts:** 286

I don't know about other models, but RK can't make KJ lifts worth a darn! There first 7-up lift was also a piece of ****, so I can't imagine anything else would be any better... Thanks for the info.

Stephen

TDI4BY · **Joined:** Sun Apr 02, 2006 11:56 pm **Posts:** 644

http://www.flickr.com/photos/44933871@N00/375038211/in/photostream

gopherbeats · **Posted:** Thu Feb 01, 2007 1:46 pm

man... thats a scary picture.
Are these guys designing stuff with Legos ans playdoh?
Either that or they are the round pegs in the square hole kinda guys...

Jeepjeepster · **Posted:** Thu Feb 01, 2007 2:56 pm

This lift may work just fine on a gasser model. Given that you do something about the upper balljoint contact(if you get it) and extended bumpstops(if needed). I believe Jeepin Al used this setup on his 5.5in lift and didnt have any complaints about it. Then again his lift is different than any other lift. :shock:

TDI4BY · **Joined:** Sun Apr 02, 2006 11:56 pm **Posts:** 644

Al lowered the diff. essentially so he wouldn't have had contact there....

Sport · **Posted:** Thu Feb 01, 2007 5:53 pm

I don't see how it would require a longer bump stop. There is no top plate moving the assembly down just a longer clevis. Well maybe now the arm needs to travel fruther up before hitting the bump thus over compressing the spring. but if that is the case then all KJ lifts would require longer bumpstops unless franken and others all have longer struts. IDK.

GilaMonster · **Posted:** Fri Feb 02, 2007 12:57 am

Tokyojoe wrote:

Call the head jerk at RK to see if he will do anything. If not, tell him that you are calling the BBB and posting everything on this at all Jeep forums.

Not sure I got the head jerk, but the jerk I got said he didn't like the way the conversation was going and was not passing me on to anyone else. So, I'm pursueing the other alternatives.

GilaMonster · **Posted:** Fri Feb 02, 2007 12:59 am

Sport wrote:

I don't see how it would require a longer bump stop. There is no top plate moving the assembly down just a longer clevis. Well maybe now the arm needs to travel fruther up before hitting the bump thus over compressing the spring. but if that is the case then all KJ lifts would require longer bumpstops unless franken and others all have longer struts. IDK.

I think your figured it out in that the arms have farther to travel. At full compression, I'm definately getting the springs to bind, but I'm wondering if that is fulling compressing the strut or not. Anyway about it, some extended bump stops would be good so you can keep your fillings.

By the way, where/who sells larger front bump stops. For that matter, how about the rear ones?

Tokyojoe · **Posted:** Fri Feb 02, 2007 2:07 am

Seems most of the others posting are missing the point. Gila was lied to and then they tried to tell him more lies to cover their own rearends and not take care of the customer at all. This shows what kind of people work there, how they run their business, and what you can expect from a crappy business.

Just don't buy anything from Rock Krawler.

TheJawsOfDeath · **Joined:** Sun Nov 05, 2006 3:56 am **Posts:** 305

Get ahold of the attorney generals office of either your state or the state that RK is based in, dunno which. Also call the better business bureau. My mom was getting jerked around with some airline ticket fiasco and once she did that they practically bent over backwards to make it right. Maybe you should send RK the pics you posted here.

tjkj2002 · **Posted:** Fri Feb 02, 2007 9:08 am

SkyJacker makes larger front bumpstops.

CTjeeper16 · **Posted:** Fri Feb 02, 2007 6:45 pm

So aside from the CRD difficulties, what's the consensus on this lift? I find it interesting that Jeepin Al sells it on his site. After all, would someone so knowledgeable about the KJ sell a product he knows would cause more problems than benefits?

GilaMonster · **Posted:** Fri Feb 02, 2007 6:55 pm

Tokyojoe wrote:

Seems most of the others posting are missing the point. Gila was lied to and then they tried to tell him more lies to cover their own rearends and not take care of the customer at all. This shows what kind of people work there, how they run their business, and what you can expect from a crappy business.

Just don't buy anything from Rock Krawler.

BINGO

tulsa · **Posted:** Fri Feb 02, 2007 8:11 pm

It might be interesting to have someone call them up and ask if their kit works on the CRD.

spoonplugger1 · **Posted:** Sat Feb 03, 2007 1:22 pm

Al told me that he thinks it is a good choice for the CRD. But he also knew I have a set of his upper arms.

Jeepin Al · **Posted:** Sat Feb 03, 2007 3:59 pm

Sorry guys, I looked at the kit, and than tried it out.... the prototype on mine. It worked for a while, until at full flex it pinched my boot. I found the problem shortly after, I think it was Gila who contacted me. We discussed the problem, and we decided the best way to solve the problem was to cut the inner lip off the clevis and weld a support on the out side. Something YOU SHOULD NOT DO WITH A BRAND NEW LIFT KIT. I made a mistake, figuring after the 7 up problems, they would have done a little more home work. The kit may work real well on the Chrokee, and Commander do to the longer axle shafts, but not on the KJ.

The clevis is really easy to install, which made me think it would be a good kit for others than mine. This is the second I have heard of that had boot contact. The pictures should be sent to Rock Krawler to show them. They need to widen the clevis opening to OEM size. I have since taken the prototypes off my KJ, and put the OEM clevis back on.

The clevis needs to be 2 inches wider it appears. If the boot is ripped the temp boot or split boot will not work, as I found out, it tears the little tabs off the boot where the screws go.

Guys and Gals we need to chalk this one up to good intentions, but with two problems, mine being the third, I can no longer recommend this kit to anyone. I will need to remove it from my site.

The idea was real good, and it would have worked fine, on 2005 and up, but the clevis is just not wide enough.

As for longer bump stops, I think you would need them. I would not trust the springs or shocks to do the job a bump stop would do. I do not have bump stops on mine, and I think the spring acts as the stop, before the shock does.

Al

BUYER BEWARE of the Rock Krawler kit

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