build your own lift

japracer4 · **Posted:** Fri May 26, 2006 10:26 pm

if you were to start with just the front half of the frankenlift and buy spacers and shocks for the rear what would the result be :?:

i absolutely hate having that raked look :!:

i'm getting very close to buying my first lift and trying to be very smart. everybody has me freaked out about the rusty's and it sagging.

are they using the cheapest springs possible?? $800 for the frankenlift is just way too much. in my opinion you could buy the rusty's and a powertrax and be better off for the money. i'm not interested in rock crawling. i would like to fit 245/75's and have some more ground clearance. thanks in advance for the advice. try typing advance and advice three times fast.

damo252 · **Posted:** Fri May 26, 2006 11:05 pm

I have had the rusty's lift for over a year now, and I do quite a bit of 4wheelin and I have not noticed much if any real sag in the springs. I have 245/75/16 good year MTR's and they rub less now than they did when I first put them on. This is because the tires are wearing down. this tells me that I am not losing lift or the tires would continue to rub. I personally think the rusty's kit is the way to go for the money

zeero · **Posted:** Sat May 27, 2006 8:54 am

I don't have Rustys, but I know a couple guys that do, same deal, they're not sagging out at all....they've been going for a couple of years I think.....so good luck with your choices :wink:

advance advice advance advice advance advice........no problem

Tokyojoe · **Posted:** Sat May 27, 2006 10:54 am

No sag with Rusty's here either and I have had mine over a year. LOST Moab twice and towing campers to Moab both times.

Just remember, there are Jeep Liberty's that break down and most that don't. Are you getting paranoid about Jeep Liberty's? If so, then you would best not own any vehicle because all makes and models of vehicles will have one here and there that does break down. Same with the lifts. Even Frankenlift just had an issue with bad spot weld locations. Would that make you paranoid about buying a Frankenlift?

There's only one lift so far that shows constant problems and it comes from Rocky Road Outfitters.

white04kj · **Posted:** Sat May 27, 2006 8:27 pm

Tokyojoe wrote:

There's only one lift so far that shows constant problems and it comes from Rocky Road Outfitters.

Rock Krawler too.

From what I've heard of the Rusty's kit, it gives you great bang for your buck. Good luck with whatever you choose.

japracer4 · **Posted:** Sat May 27, 2006 10:48 pm

tokyo, how do you get that i am afraid of vehicles by my question about a lift idea? i simply don't want to waste $465 on alift if it is going to start going south in a year. i am a mechanic and realize that vehicles break down but thanks for clearing that up for me. i just didn't understand how a vehicle can have a stock suspension for its whole life and never sag but i have read alot of people say the rusty's starts to sag after a little time. i have also read that it sags by adding an arb bumper. doesn't that only weigh about 75lbs. i thought i read that in a post from arbseth. i can stand on my stock front bumper and it barley moves and i weigh 210lbs. maybe their lifts aren't really sagging but their tires are wearing?? thanks to the others who replied with useful information.

JFortier777 · **Posted:** Sat May 27, 2006 11:17 pm

I have the ARB deluxe without a winch and I my front springs started sagging a few weeks ago. I'll put some before and after measurement pictures up tomorrow evening to demonstrate the point.

I am quite certain it is not tire wear because I only have 3k miles on my tires. and they are only 1/32 less tread than new.

As far as standing on your bumper, thats not really an accurate comparison.

Tokyojoe · **Posted:** Sun May 28, 2006 1:01 am

japracer4 wrote:

tokyo, how do you get that i am afraid of vehicles by my question about a lift idea? i simply don't want to waste $465 on alift if it is going to start going south in a year. i am a mechanic and realize that vehicles break down but thanks for clearing that up for me. i just didn't understand how a vehicle can have a stock suspension for its whole life and never sag but i have read alot of people say the rusty's starts to sag after a little time. i have also read that it sags by adding an arb bumper. doesn't that only weigh about 75lbs. i thought i read that in a post from arbseth. i can stand on my stock front bumper and it barley moves and i weigh 210lbs. maybe their lifts aren't really sagging but their tires are wearing?? thanks to the others who replied with useful information.

The vehicle thing was an example of how things break, out there, and not everything is perfect. You seem to think that by hearing a few people saying they have had issues with the Rusty's lift that it is a common problem. How many is "a lot of people?" Your original post says "everybody has you freaked out...." You don't hear from the masses of other Rusty's owners out there that are not having problems (as in life, the loudest voices are not always the majority).

As I said before, nothing is perfect and while Rusty's is not of the Frankenlift quality (no other lift is either), it is still probably the BEST "bang for the buck" compared to all of the others.
If you are getting an ARB bumper, a best choice would be the Frankenlift, but others have the ARB with other lifts and not having issues.

The best choice would be to just get the Frankenlift and lose the "freaked" feeling. Plus you wouldn't be able to blame us Rusty lifted owners if you got unlucky and became the small majority of problem lifts.

Your other lift choices (with varying lift heights) include:

1. Skyjacker
2. Rocky Road Outfitters
3. Daystar
4. Rock Krawler
5. BDS
6. RevTek
7. Rough Country

Visit "Troys Toys" thread for a listing of lifts and companies that sell them.

liberated4life · **Posted:** Sun May 28, 2006 1:36 am

Look at it this way. Ever since i bought my kj i have been looking at different lift kits and i think that for what your apparently looking for i have found that rusty's is a reliable and worthwhile lift. however if your serious lifts then frankenlift is so far is the best lift I have researched. spending 800 for a lift really isn't that crazy considering the chevy and ford guys are spending twice that for their lift kits. Plus the frankenlift comes preassembled. But if money is a tight spot (like it is for most us normals), then rusty's would probably be perfect for you.

tommudd · **Posted:** Sun May 28, 2006 8:46 pm

Or you could do like I did, get the OME front Heavy Duty springs, rancho struts for the front and do a clevis, then do the back for now with the blocks or whatever they call them with a good set of shocks. I had the blocks laying in the garage anyways (they came with the used ARB) Call All Js and tell them what you can spend what you want to do and they can help you a lot in the final decision (plus all the info on here)

build your own lift

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