Like I mentioned, it's best to seek to understand before seeking to be understood. Just in this discussion there were already 2 incorrect assumptions made practicing communications the other way around. Fortunately, RKS was kind enough to still share the correct information.

 

Absolutely we can elaborate on our joints. We have one of the tightest joints in the industry today. Often times when people believe their joint is frozen they're just experiencing a tight joint. Example: During install you will need to insert a bolt, screw driver, or something into the ball assembly to move the joint. If you're actually able to move it with your hand it would be quite an achievement.

There are some great benefits to having a tight joint assembly: Increased life with lower distortion/deformation, they are almost impenetrable for water/dirt, and minimal grease consumption.

On vehicles that see a lot of road driving where the joint isn't flexing much, the outer portions of the bushing can become dry. This is not a big deal but can cause the joint to be sticky. Some call this frozen but the weight of the vehicle is still able to get the joint to operate through it's full range of use. Trying to get a joint with dry edges to move by hand (even with a bolt or screwdriver is difficult). This is where we often see people saying their joint is frozen.

Our joint assembly has a milled central grease way. I actually found a picture of one torn apart (old style but same internal design and a new style so we cover our bases) pictures below. The grease enters from the center of the joint and flows outward. I put red on the outer edge and the grease valley so you can see where we are talking about.



When the joint dries on the edges it will not want to move as freely as it did with the grease. The larger that surface area gets the harder it is to move. To fix, it will simply need ran though it's range of motion to introduce new grease to the dry locations on the raceways. A simple/easy way to help this is to spray the joint down with some wd 40 and work it by hand (out of the vehicle). If the joint is in the vehicle you can add some grease and start flexing. The weight of the vehicle will work the joint and spread the grease.

The big tip is to keep up with greasing. Trying to get some grease in every oil change is helpful. If you're worried you can spray the assembly down with WD40 at the same time.

 

Below is a copy and paste from another thread from some who went cheap and is now paying for it. "I have actually read through you suspension thread before Dirtman. I had read a lot about the crappy 2.2 shocks so I guess I will start out with that was suggest earlier and replace them with some Bilsteins. I like the fact that I can move to a bigger lift and still use them later. My plan is to move to a standard tire when these retreads wear out. As for the lift, no, nothing has been done except for what came with it. Basically shocks and springs. My next lift will be a more complete system. Thanks again for all the info. Let this be a lesson to all. You might think you could be happy with a crappy lift, but you wont!"

Here's the thread https://www.jk-forum.com/forums/modi...e-ride-326260/

 

So did you ever make a final decision and what were the justification reasons? I have similar preferences as you for a lift.

I have a ways to go before I make a decision on a lift but have narrowed my list down to the following criteria. It would be great to hear what you learned.

My Preferred Lift Brands:
AEV
Rock Crawler
OME
Mopar

Lift height: 2.5" or lower

 

Another vote for MetalCloak! I run the 2.5" Dual Rate kit, and couldn't be happier. It was actually between MC and RK when it came down to it. MC had free shipping and I was attracted to the zinc coated chromo, brake lines, and LT OME shocks. Its preformed really well for me off road, and I have no complaints of on ride quality.

First picture is with 33s. Next two are 35's and flat fenders.

 

When talking about lifts most people on this forum seem to put an emphasis on it's off-road performance and flexing capabilities, and understandably so since that's the main point in getting a lift.

However, I'm probably on the opposite side of fence wanting to learn more about the on-road performance. I'm at the realization that my JKU is my DD first and foremost where I'll likely make an off-road trek with some friends maybe 2-4 times a year, along with some camping and hunting expeditions thrown in as well. My main incentive in getting a lift is to provide improved offroad performance by being able to put on bigger tires to reduce my chances of getting stuck in mud/water and/or damaging the underside of my JKU.

My overall preference is that I maintain stock or improved on road drive performance for DD use after putting on a lift, including not interfering with steering performance. Also I would like to feel comfortable in knowing that I won't be in a continuous repair mode of parts breaking or wearing out prematurely due to the lift and larger tires. To be honest, I hate working on cars but I do so because I can, which allows me to save a buck when something needs fixing or upgrading, and on the most part don't trust most repair shops. However, working on my JKU continuously due to having bigger tires and a higher lift is not what I consider to be a fun hobby, like some do. I rather spend time having fun with the family instead.

It's for these reasons I'm currently leaning more towards the AEV 2.5" lift, as well as the Mopar lifts. AEV seems to be one of the few vendors who seem to put an emphasis on maintaining the on-road performance in their designs to ensure the JK is at or above OEM performance and reliability standards. However, that could just be AEV's marketing niche and I don't want to get caught by that either.

So if anyone would like to talk MORE about their on-road performance and reliability aspect of their lifts, then I'm all ears. If you want to talk about how much flex it has and how you were able to climb over a 6 foot boulder, then I'm not all that interested. I won't be participating in any flexing competitions and would likely steer around those 6 foot boulders.

 

My RK 3.5" drove better on the road than it did stock. Bumps , turns, curvy roads,

 

Thanks, one of the reasons I'm still looking at RK. Maintenance and additional items you learned needed to put on, after having the lift installed?

 

I had the 3.5 mid arm flex kit, didn't come with upper control arms. I had 5100 Blisten shocks too. Other than what came with the kit didn't add anything suspension wise. It was maintenance free. If you live up north with salted roads that might be different. Just an alignment every once in a while.

 

I'm in exactly the same boat, 1500 budget to get my jeep lifted and looking silly on 32s for now! On a side note I see RK At every jeep event I go to and their Suspension parts I see on display are beefy... My point being only that if your excursions ever take you somewhere where your worried about the bottom of your jeep RK Control arms might give you the peace of mind. AEV Always does a good and Metal Cloak is just down right impressive. Between the three vendors they pretty much represent the consumer top tier.

On a side note RK is the only one I see backing their S*** up right now.