I now have 22k miles on the Rusty's OTT lift (and TerraFlex ext. bumpstops)...and NOT ONE PROBLEM. I've driven several hundred miles of dirt road, no clunks, or blown out struts, or leaking struts. It rides like it did before I put the lift on. I was kinda hoping that all the hype about an OTT lift making my struts blow out was true so I had an excuse to put in some Bilsteins....but it still rides the same as before....which I happen to like.

Sad to see so much bad info put out there, especially when someone installed an OTT lift and was dumb enough to leave out something as important as EXTENDED BUMPSTOPS, then goes out an jumps the Jeep and complains that it's the "crappy engineered lift" that's caused all the problems.



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9000 miles and all is well, with some offroading (it's been driven on tougher and tougher rocky pioneer trails in Nevada), no probs with front struts and no noises in front end. Rides like it did before I installed the lift.

My verdict:

YES, Rusty's OTT lift works fine

and with TerraFlex extended bumsptops, NO, it does not blow out your front end, struts, steering, a-arms, tie-rods, ball joints.

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If you won't be taking your KJ offroad on anything more than mellow forest trails, campsites, or desert highways, and want it to ride like stock, AND don't want to pay over $300.00, the Rusty's OTT (or equivalent) lift ain't bad. It appears the key is to use extended bumpstops to prevent bottoming of the struts/shocks. TerraFlex has those for about $43 delivered. The OTT kit with rear poly spacers is $159.00, and extended rear shocks for a 2003 Dodge Durango 4WD (stock height) can be had from Napa for $22 each - they're gas and made by Monroe (Tenneco).

Napa rear shocks:
http://www.napaonline.com/MasterPages/N ... nse+-+Rear

TerraFlex bumpstops (call and ask for just the bumpstops):
http://www.teraflexplus.com/shop/produc ... ucts_id=79

Rusty's (tell them you already have the rear shocks):
http://rustysoffroad.com/mm5/merchant.m ... sus_kj_kit

With some Rubicon rims, the ride is a lot like stock, but with a stock Wrangler feel...but not rough. I put about 15 - 20 miles of highway driving on the KJ everyday, and the ride is close to stock. Now, if you plan on wheeling this lightweight, that's a different story. Then you'd want to go with different struts, springs and other components to handle the ruts, rocks, and articulation. But if you aren't going do that, this seems to be working very well, with no clunking or a-arm contact....and its cheap enough.

Daystar is a much better lift. It looks like All J's is having a sale. You can get front and rear 2.5" lift with bumpstops and sway bar bushing for $155. Cheaper and much better than Rusty's OTT + Teraflex bumpstops.

Edit: Forgot to add the link: http://www.boulderbars.com/kjproducts.htm

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2002 Jeep KJ Sport 3.7L 4x4

245/75-16 Mastercraft Courser HSX, 16x7 Cragar, 2" OME MD Lift, ARB Bumper
AEM Brute Force Cold Air Intake, Flowmaster Super 44 Muffler

Currently working on: Full service on transmission & bed-lining ARB bumper

viewtopic.php?f=43&t=84650

no stay as far away as humanly possible from any OTT lift, and like Jeepkj02 said as far as a spacer lift goes Daystar is the best

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1980 Jeep CJ7 Buggy
SOA, D44/ FF14B, SBC 350, SM465, NP205, 108" WB, 37" MTs

http://www.dpgoffroad.com/
http://www.ucora.org/
http://www.christianoffroad.com/
http://jeepinbyal.com/

.........you guys are quick on the trigger

I'm very happy with mine. For the use my KJ sees (as in my post), it's the smoothest ride I've felt for a 2.5" lift.

Besides, the Daystar kit price quoted is without shocks....the OTT costs the same otherwise. And with longer bumpstops, the travel is limited to the struts stock travel range. And no need to disassemble the strut.

If/when my struts need replacing, I'll swap the OE top strut plate with a Daystar plate (or BDS) and add the OTT on top of it.

EDIT: the $275 price includes shipping costs. Otherwise it's $229 WITH longer rear shocks.
~M

I guarantee you a lift that replaces the springs, shocks, and struts will ride better than stock...on the same tires as pre-lift. Any aftermarket gas shocks/struts are better then the stock ones. Depending on what shocks and struts, it will also handle better than stock, usually regardless of tires. Most people with lifts have A/Ts or M/Ts, whichs makes a huge difference in the ride.

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2003 Limited, Silver - L.O.S.T. # 068957 Rockies
http://www.cardomain.com/ride/2127390/14
2006 Kawasaki KLR650

I hear ya.....but, like I posted, from personal experience, for an inexpensive daily driver vehicle that is on-road 98% of the time, this works fine...for the money. I just happen to be that 1% that actually does not find the stock ride to be offensive for how I drive this thing. And to be able to sucessfully lift it 2.5" for $229. ..........I just disagree that this approach should be discounted entirely since it's not a complete damper/spring replacement. It can be made to work acceptably for a mostly on-road daily driver.

I have no doubt that an aftermarket co. would design a better suspension for offroad durability than stock....for a higher price. Hell, I may even get some custom coils made from National Spring some day for this thing when it's time to thrash it.

If I want a rougher ride (and have WAY more fun in the corners), I'll drive my Porsche (with an RoW M030 suspension)... a much more engineered suspension

I had Firestone Destination A/T's (255/70/16) on the stock wheels, and when the Goodyear M/T's that are on the Rubi wheels finally wear out I'll swap them. The Goodyears don't work too good out west...too heavy and not much mud. I'm in Nevada often (lots of highway miles), so the A/T's are just fine.

...some boring reading....http://www.pca.org/panorama/sample_article_3.html

~M

just wait for a few thousand miles you will be back saying I wished I would of listened, lots of others have since I came on here 4 years ago, but spend the money the way you want to its yours to waste

Oh and I have a set of the OTT lift blocks in my garage that came with my used ARB, I would not give them to my worst enemy!
they do make great door stops though!

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MUDD'S MOTORSPORT'S We do IFS lift installs ,
03 OVERLAND EDITION /Kilby-Skidrow-Mopar-4XGuard skids/ 2.5 inch TOTAL CONTROL JBA coilovers -JBA Arms/MOABS-31 FALKEN WILDPEAK AT3W / 4.10's etc, 04 Kilimanjaro Edition loaded, plus 05 KJ limited

I appreciate you're wanting to save me from myself and see to it that everyone buys OME or Frankenlifts! The companies I bought the parts from didn't do me any favors, so I have no vested interest in them.

......for what I paid, the education is cheap. New struts aren't too expensive. If I wanted to spend the time/money, I'd let my Baja racing buds down south have it for a month and make new long arms and coil-overs and do it right. It just ain't worth it for what I'm using it for.

And, tommudd, I'll make you a deal, after a few thousand miles (it's at 25k now) I'll be the first to tell you when it self-destructs, as predicted to be inevitable. In return, if it doesn't, you can step up and say you were wrong. Deal? It won't take long to get a few thousand miles on this ride as I mkae a half dozen 800-1000 mile drives to Nevada towing my ATV's each year....as well as about 20 of miles daily commuting. I'll soon find out.

Enjoy your highly engineered, top quality suspension....I'll enjoy my Mesozoic-era mods.
~M

No problem I admit any time I am wrong but the kid I got the ARB from had the OTT on for less than 10000 miles, tore up the upper control arms, fenders, everything, thats how I got it due to him thinking there was no way to properly lift a KJ. I have close to 70,000 miles on mine now with zero problems, (70,000 on the lift, 106,000 on the KJ) . I do at least 500 to 600 every weekend and I don't cut it any slack, I haul trailers behind it, off road it, go anywhere I want to.

But no problems and don't want to upset you just stating what I have seen, heard , and read about. Just don't want some newby thinking well I have 200 bucks saved up so this is the route I will go.

Also since you are a two wheel drive it may take a little longer since you don't have the weight etc to deal with also will not be where a 4 wheel drive goes

Friends ?????

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MUDD'S MOTORSPORT'S We do IFS lift installs ,
03 OVERLAND EDITION /Kilby-Skidrow-Mopar-4XGuard skids/ 2.5 inch TOTAL CONTROL JBA coilovers -JBA Arms/MOABS-31 FALKEN WILDPEAK AT3W / 4.10's etc, 04 Kilimanjaro Edition loaded, plus 05 KJ limited

tommudd, absolutely amigos.....we're just talking Jeeps here!

Mine's a 4WD, and I WILL report if/when it fails.....I don't mind being wrong....just like experimenting.

I'm kind of interested in taking the coil out of the strut, then reinstalling the coil-less strut (and disconnecting the steering and swaybar) to "bench check" the travel of the piston to see if it tops or bottoms before hitting the extended bumpstop or overextending.

My point is that most KJ's will prob never see 10% of what you guys here do with your KJ's, and for them, a simple lift CAN be made to work acceptably. I know I'll never take my KJ where I take my ATV's, waaaay out and up to those remote, forgotten Nevada ghost towns (gotta love locked diffs, full independent suspension, and a Cadillac ride at 65mph). But I do need to trailer to the staging areas.

I enjoy reading to what extremes some of you guys have taken your KJ's in building a go-anywhere wheeler. That's how new ideas and contraptions get created. I think it's the garage fabricators that are going to be the source for most new improvements for KJ's since the big offroad manu'facturers are more interested in trucks and straight axle Jeeps.
~M

Your not the only one! I love the way it rides But, I do get some comments from my riders on my stiff and bumpy the ride is, even for in the city. I will admit, there is a lot of "movement" compared to some other vehicles, but I like that, and frankly when I do drop the coin for a lift, I'm probably going to miss that.

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02 KJ "Frank The Turtle"
http://www.cardomain.com/ride/3111598

You all have a huge misconception on what a lift does and the way it rides. One with the right set up rides WAY better than stock, for example OME are designed for control and ride that comes first, the lift part is just a bonus.
Don't think you know what you are putting out there and confusing others!

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MUDD'S MOTORSPORT'S We do IFS lift installs ,
03 OVERLAND EDITION /Kilby-Skidrow-Mopar-4XGuard skids/ 2.5 inch TOTAL CONTROL JBA coilovers -JBA Arms/MOABS-31 FALKEN WILDPEAK AT3W / 4.10's etc, 04 Kilimanjaro Edition loaded, plus 05 KJ limited

ObiHann:

SSSSSSHHH......you might be spanked for being confused, misled, uninformed, and spreading half-truths on L.O.S.T. !

JUST KIDDING!

If/when I swap coils, I'll get some OME light ones instead of having National Spring in SoCal wind some for me....why re-invent the wheel?
Until then, my stock coils and shocks spring rate/valving are just fine for me. What a heretic, eh?


tommudd
I'm sure you're a nice guy...we just butt heads on this one area. I've spent way too many hours fabricating, welding, and wrenching on Jeep and Toyota suspensions in the past...building spring packs, welding shock mounts, working within spring and shocks travel ranges. I'm done with that. But I learned a lot thru my own hands-on, real-world experience. Trial and error, the experience of others. When it stops being fun, I'll quit altogether.
Not everything comes out of a box, pre-made, ready to go, perfect for everyone.

But what I've learned, I'm happy to share, especially if it saves someone else the time and money I've spent. I've never claimed to have the perfect answer for everyone, nor the BEST for everyone. Neither have I claimed that anyone else's is good or bad.

As for OME, they are very good, for the money. Look at the numbers for spring rates, height, coil diameter, and wire guage. It's not rocket science. The HD springs, which OME markets for KJ's with their ARB bumper and a winch, if used on a stock bumpered KJ (no ARB bumper or winch), will ride stiffer than stock, and higher than what OME recommends as max for the KJ, 1.75". There's no one stopping you from doing it, but the numbers don't lie. The "light" coils should ride similar to stock...maybe better damping or rebound. Some folks like the ride of a 1 ton 4WD truck, others like a long travel sand rail suspension.
Shocks come in many different valve rates, from stiff to soft. I've always like the Rancho 9-way adjustable ones, when available, or you have to do some welding.
Choose what makes you happy. Ther are several suspension options for KJ owners.
~M

whatever .............I guess you have way more experence than my 37 years of building 4 WDs and wheeling them, and not only Jeeps,

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MUDD'S MOTORSPORT'S We do IFS lift installs ,
03 OVERLAND EDITION /Kilby-Skidrow-Mopar-4XGuard skids/ 2.5 inch TOTAL CONTROL JBA coilovers -JBA Arms/MOABS-31 FALKEN WILDPEAK AT3W / 4.10's etc, 04 Kilimanjaro Edition loaded, plus 05 KJ limited

This getting pretty good Ive been following it since the beginning.

Tom i know i have always been able to trust you with advice. i would feel safer by buying OME because they are a large reputable company who have been supplying jeeps and other 4wd trucks for many years. I personally don't have a lift and don't plan on one for a long time because of my warranty reasons. All i know is that Tom is a very knowledgeable and helpful guy!

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2000 TJ Sahara
Plans
4in Suspension Lift
33's
Soft 8's

Retired
2004 KJ Renegade 4x4
"Gorilla Edition"
Frankenlifted
245/75/16 BFG MT on Cragar 352's

awww, c'mon....just "whatever"? That's too Jerry Springer....just kiddin!!!

Before I got into database admin (post broken-spine....sit down job) I spent many years as a union electrician. All the guys on the jobsites brought different experience with them. I learned many ways of doing the same job....many times there was no particular "right" way, just another method. I have a lot of hobbies (too many) and always try to learn from someone who can teach me something new....so don't feel threatened.

I think everyone on L.O.S.T. knows that OME and Frankenlift are THE best lifts for a KJ. BUT, there are other ways of doing it when you don't plan on taking advantage of what the OME and Frankenlift are capable of, and you want, or have, to spend less money.

Not once have I insulted your ride, or your skills...I've no reason to. H@11 we've never met. You have me beat by about 17 years, experience-wise...but I didn't include my years of track racing and doing some shop and pit work for off-road racing down south.

But back to the post....this is just a way to lift your KJ for about $229, from my experience, for a daily driver that won't see serious wheeling.

So lighten up, have some fun...life's precious...you could be paraylzed tomorrow.

Peace out, homeboys

This KJ now has 5000 miles on the OTT lift with no noticeable difference in front strut dampening, and has no clunks or noises from the suspension linkages. Still rides like stock in front, though I did score some Rancho rear shocks that are valved more like the stock KJ rear shocks, that is, firmer than the Durango OE replacements. They require a spacer to keep the upper shock mount from clunking...you can see the tech data on the shocks and the difference in the sleeve length on the stock KJ and Durango shocks at Tenneco's website http://www.monroe.com/catalog_lookup/misc_app_docs/08_MountingLengthSheet.pdf. Much improved highway/high-speed ride.

At the Rubicon trailhead, the rocky trail was too much for the stock springs and dampening, but that falls outside the realm of "daily driver". On other Tahoe and Carson City area trails, it works just fine.

Still waiting for my front struts to blow out from the OTT lift with extended bumpstops....then I might get some Bilsteins. 5,000 miles and going strong.....

Where do you live michael_dba?

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My Jeep Build ----> Big Black

Hey man I am with you, I now have 28k on my OTT lift not one problem. I am on the road 95% of the time. I have been on the beach countless times and even gotten into some mud recently. I think the lift is just fine with the exception of the rear shocks which suck badly.

I think I would upgrade if I were to hit some rocks though but only because of the flex and articulation you get out of a full coil lift.

check out my cardomain.

nice jeep too, love white.

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06 White KJ Sport 4x4
http://www.cardomain.com/ride/2432458/1

why is a lift thread in the 4x2 performance section?

btw your kj looks good, hope your set up holds up. i'm not a fan of ott lifts.

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02' Sport- SOLD

07' Dodge Ram Quad Cab 1500 4x4
Yeah it's got a hemi!