People running Rusty's 2.5" suspension lift?

Kjtrailrider · **Joined:** Sun May 13, 2007 9:00 pm **Posts:** 28

Just wanted to know how well the rusty's kit performs offroad as of compared to the frankenlift. Is the rustys a good kit or will it crap out once taken offroad a couple times. Plan on making many trips to uwharrie so just wondering. Comments are more than welcome. How do you like it??

HoppedUpOnGoofballs · **Joined:** Sat Nov 29, 2008 10:36 pm **Posts:** 203

Please note: This is only what I have heard

Rustys uses the same spring rate as stock (or fairly close), so on-road it should feel the same. Off-road, however, the springs start to sag fairly quickly, especially when flexed.

If you plan to add a steel bumper or a winch, forget it.

Also I think there are problems with the rear shocks.. ?

Get OME springs.

tommudd · **Posted:** Tue Jan 13, 2009 3:05 pm

I have installed ( or helped install, :roll:

right jerbacher and Sean150) 2 Rustys full spring kits. They do OK off road but as posted above they are the same spring rate as stock , so yes they will sag over time, just like your stock springs are.
OME builds springs for the application and to upgrade a suspension system, not just to lift it.
So you can go with the Frankenlift, or just OME springs and either OME shocks or Rancho shocks.
Read thorugh the 1000s of posts on here and I think you will see a common thread as far as lifts goes.

Dje Ryu · **Posted:** Tue Jan 13, 2009 3:23 pm

I had Rusty's Springs for awhile. They do sag a bit after awhile though nothing that can't be brought back up to height with a little clevis/isolator addition. Off-road they do alright to start with but once they start sagging, it felt to me like I wasn't getting as solid of grip in off-camber stuff. Since replacing the front coils with OME, the front tires stick to the ground quite a bit better. Still need to replace the rear coils but, they haven't sagged nearly as much as the front did so they still work pretty well. Good shocks have probably helped that quite a bit, though. I'm running Doetsch Tech 9000 series.

raceinfan · **Posted:** Tue Jan 13, 2009 6:10 pm

I've been running Rusty's for over a year now & have wheeled it quite a bit ( once a month) & no issues or sag thus far

very comfy ride too as far as I'm concirned

Ms5490renegade · **Posted:** Tue Jan 13, 2009 10:28 pm

i have a rustys kit. its a good kit but the front is sagging alot. it was good off road

jsc7002 · **Posted:** Tue Jan 13, 2009 10:51 pm

if you plan on adding a bumper and/ or winch then you REALLY need OME HD, but I would highly recommend getting OME HD whether or not you are going to get a bumper and/ or winch

way less problems with OME, and now that I actually think about it I dont think I have ever heard a single complaint about OME, the only complaits I have heard are b/c they bought the light duty or the medium duty and then decided to add a bumper or winch

Shortbus04 · **Joined:** Mon Jun 09, 2008 9:50 am **Posts:** 24

Rusty's is terrible. I installed it on my gf KJ and it gained approx 2-inches front / rear on day one. 4 months later, after measuring again, it had sagged 1.5 in the front and 1 inch in the rear, basically making the larger tires rub regardless of what i did. So i called Rusty and complained and they said (as with what many other people have said on this forum) that the springs are the same spring rate as stock, just longer. I then began a detailed argument with him on how you cannot just increase the length of a spring but keep the same spring rate. Needless to say, from personal experience, i will never recommend Rusty's lift for the KJ to anyone. I learned the hard way and went with Frankenlift II Premium. The difference between the two is night and day.

SoDakJeep · **Posted:** Wed Jan 14, 2009 7:24 pm

I have rustys 2.5 coil and not really any problems at all. I used rancho shocks tho.

bighause · **Posted:** Wed Jan 14, 2009 8:40 pm

Like others have said it will sag, if I had it to do over again I would just get the Frankenlift. After 2.5 years, it has sagged about an inch so I used a clevis lift and 2 extra rear isolators to bring it back up to where it was initially with the lift. The rear rusty's shocks probably won't last you much over a year either, after 1.5 years mine were shot and replcaed them with the OME LT shocks which are MUCH better.

Go with OME springs or the Frankenlift.

ramlebliberty · **Posted:** Wed Jan 14, 2009 9:03 pm

kjtrailrider, where are you located in NC? A few of us will also (hopefully depending on the wives deicsions) be heading to uwharrie a couple times in the near future.

I'm in the same boat, it is tempting to go for the cheaper lift, but as the saying goes "you get what you pay for" I've had a couple run ins already with cheap equipment in the kj, and have paid the price. So I'm currently saving up for a OME lift, figured I'd buy it piece by piece until i have all the equipment I need to get it accomplished. I still have fun with the stock KJ though. I can show you some pics that prove it :twisted:

however if you want to see whats possible with modding out a liberty check out OHV_KJ's thread in the SFA section.

jeepmedic · **Posted:** Wed Jan 14, 2009 9:15 pm

I have the rusty's lift. I have had it for over 1 year now, and no problems. I did replace the rear shocks with the Ranchos though...the Rusty's shocks were junk after about 7 months..

Neatus · **Posted:** Wed Jan 14, 2009 9:19 pm

Kjtrailrider wrote:

Just wanted to know how well the rusty's kit performs offroad as of compared to the frankenlift. Is the rustys a good kit or will it crap out once taken offroad a couple times. Plan on making many trips to uwharrie so just wondering. Comments are more than welcome. How do you like it??

If you can't afford the Franky I say go for the Rusty's. It is a good solid kit. You can also get a pair of strut plates from Rusty's for $23 bucks or something like that and that takes care of any sag. I have had mine on for several years now and it still does well. I think you get a lot of bang for the buck with this kit. Just as others have said, opt for the Rancho shocks for the rear instead of the standard ones that Rusty's includes in the kit if you will be going off road a lot.

jsc7002 · **Posted:** Wed Jan 14, 2009 9:25 pm

ramlebliberty wrote:

I'm in the same boat, it is tempting to go for the cheaper lift, but as the saying goes "you get what you pay for" I've had a couple run ins already with cheap equipment in the kj, and have paid the price. So I'm currently saving up for a OME lift, figured I'd buy it piece by piece until i have all the equipment I need to get it accomplished. I still have fun with the stock KJ though. I can show you some pics that prove it :twisted:

thats the way to go, just piece together a OME HD lift

RkyMtnKJ · **Posted:** Wed Jan 14, 2009 10:22 pm

I have the rusty's kit and just recently...as of today...went to the 4x4 shop here in town and ordered the new shocks in the rear and new struts up front. Ranchos all the way around. Will that take care of the sag or does replacing the coils fix sag?

If i were to just order the coils and have them installed with the struts and shocks will that bring the height back up?

jsc7002 · **Posted:** Wed Jan 14, 2009 10:24 pm

RkyMtnKJ wrote:

I have the rusty's kit and just recently...as of today...went to the 4x4 shop here in town and ordered the new shocks in the rear and new struts up front. Ranchos all the way around. Will that take care of the sag or does replacing the coils fix sag?

If i were to just order the coils and have them installed with the struts and shocks will that bring the height back up?

no the shocks dont give you lift, are you talking about OME coils? if you got OME HD coils yes it would probably bring your height back up

tommudd · **Posted:** Wed Jan 14, 2009 10:30 pm

Springs hold a vehicle up, shocks control the bounce in simple terms

What I find interesting is when Rustys springs start to sag people will spend money for plates instead of new springs. Putting the plates on is only a band aid repair, yes you get back up where it started maybe , BUT the spring has already lost most of the strenghth so it will now even sag faster. Just curious, I guess upper plates are cheaper but

RkyMtnKJ · **Posted:** Wed Jan 14, 2009 10:55 pm

thanks for the quick response tom, this is just turning into a freakin nightmare lately...i had to buy new struts and shocks because the shocks i had (stock rusty's that came with the lift) started leaking a few weeks ago and are now SHOT. im replacing the front as well to keep everything on the same page. Now it would be WISE to go ahead and order the new coils from OME and get those installed at the same time.

I just started off in the real world and my jeep is getting a suspension overhaul *^&$*!!!! and then tires are next.....ugh makes me sick i have to do this WHOLE thing over!

HoppedUpOnGoofballs · **Joined:** Sat Nov 29, 2008 10:36 pm **Posts:** 203

RkyMtnKJ wrote:

ugh makes me sick i have to do this WHOLE thing over!

'Do it right, or do it over' ..Seems I have heard this repeated over and over on this board.

Unfortunately you seem to have become yet another real-world example of this.

..At least it was a learning experience.. Still sucks, though.

Shortbus04 · **Joined:** Mon Jun 09, 2008 9:50 am **Posts:** 24

RkyMtnKJ wrote:

I just started off in the real world and my jeep is getting a suspension overhaul *^&$*!!!! and then tires are next.....ugh makes me sick i have to do this WHOLE thing over!

Your above statement was my whole beef about Rusty's. You'll end up spending ~$400 on first go around to get a lift that will work nicely for about 6 months. Then, due to crappy manufacturing and terrible engineering, you'll end up replacing the lift piece-by-piece until you end up not having any Rusty's parts anymore. Most common replacements for Rusty's parts are Rancho shocks / struts and then OME HD springs...well, right there, you basically have a starter Frankenlift.

In the end it all boils down to the amount of money we have in our pockets. Rusty's is a cheaper lift, and for the money, it does its job for a brief period of time. But, searching through this forum and reading reviews posted elsewhere online about KJ lifts, there's a reason why an overwhelming majority recommend Frankenlift.

People running Rusty's 2.5" suspension lift?

Who is online