grumpy1

My first lift kit I every had on a Jeep was a RC and like others on here have said that every thing got replaced that came with the kit.
My question to the OP is this, if you plan on upgrading the RC track bar in the future anyway why not buy what you want in the first place and only have to pay for one. Yes the JKS and TeraFlex track bars are more expensive but you have to compare apples to apples. How and what are they made of (ie thickness of the tubes, what tie rod ends are use....). I think once you do that you will realize that RC doesn't have the same quality as other brands out there. Why do something halfassed when you can do it right the first time. Remember if you get the RC and then replace it you've spent money on two track bars, two wheel alingements, two shipping costs plus have had to do everything twice. I don't see the logic in this methood. If you can't afford the JKS or TeraFlex track bar yet make sure you rotate your tires very often so all your tires were the same and hopefully you can avoid ruining your tires and have to add that to you list that needs to be replace. To me is sounds like you have an idea of what needs to be fixed you just need to prioritize that list and make go investments with your money.

For those that think that guys just want to bash on a brand such as RC just to bash a brand to make them selves feel better, I disagree. My reasons come from first hand experiance with the brands I bash or don't recomend. I've had many of my friends start off with RC lifts kits and every one of them has moved on to other better brands of lifts because they realized that the quality of the RC products was not up to the standard set by so many other manufactures out there. Like the saying goes, YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR.

dasbus

Sympathize with you.

Bought my 07 JK used a couple of years ago with a nice FullTraction 4" long travel lift that had the front and rear adjustable track bars and all the correct stuff to go with it. Was installed by "professional" shop (guy I went to high school with turned out). some of the things I found that they did wrong.

Installed lower control arms upside down, basically the zerk fittings were face down instead of up. Thus they where ripped off on the first big rock they where drug over.

Control arms where sent to incorrect lengths. So not only was drive shaft at the wrong angle but the axle was back to far.

Front track bar- This is good. An adjustable track bar does not mean that you adjust the track bar to fit where the holes line up, which is what they did and had the body 2" left of center. When I had the front end aligned everything starting going crazy, driver side tire was starting rub when turning and ABS started to coming on at strange times at least more often.

All the steering and front end geometry was totally messed up and had to redo 60% of everything. And this was done by "Professionals".

Recommendation, get a copy of the install instructions and measurements and start comparing. Also measure everything, use cross measurements underneath to see how far off everything is. Once you lift goes 2.5" or more things start to shift and get out of alignment. This is where adjustable control arms come into play as well, correcting drive shaft angels and positioning axels etc.

When your track bar goes from a horizontal potion to a diagonal one you need to lengthen it, but remember as your suspension cycles it will be off more when traveling one direction then the other. Thus keeping that track bar horizontal is critical, using either a drop down bracket or raise the axel side is the better solution then lengthening. On my 4" lift it came with a drop down rear track bar bracket, once I went to 6" springs my rear end shifted enough that I needed to either lengthen the track bar or better solution I put on a JKS bracket that lifted the track bar on the axel side, thus returning the track bar to a nicer more level position.

I have now totally redone the front with Reid Knuckles and drag link flip and can't believe how much better everything rides and steers. Geometry is everything, as I have learned the hard way and a new set of tires later due to the excessive ware.

Good Luck!

arjeeper

Thats sad. I can imagine that discussion at the shop. "Oh good. It's an adjustable bar. Don't have to fight to make it fit!"

chermes55

Well after about three hours, some blood sweat and beers, it is now all good. Fixed my geometry on both ends. I thought it was just trackbar issues but quickly realized all the arms were diff. lengths. Got everythin squared up and on the road. My springs actually stand up straight now. I do have plenty of mechanical know how by the way. My father was a heavy truck mechanic in the USAF for 30 yrs and a gear head for the last 50. I have followed in his steps and with the two of us combined we have no problem tackling any repairs. I ended up sleeving and welding the frt track bar(which i know im gonna get a lot of haters on that) but i know what im doing with a welder and some dom tubing. Custom made track bars frt/rr to come. If i stay at the same height i see no need for adjustability any ways. That is just a way for mfgs. to make one trackbar for everyone out there. Beleive me a solid bar is far superior than one with a weak point. anyways most add-ons are designed for the everyday guy that has some open box wrenches and sockets to bolt on and go.

I really just posted this thread as a warning to other people who have bought modded jeeps. Like i said previously "shame on me" w/ my mech. background and know how i should have payed more attn. I know how easy it would be for someone with no mech. exp. to end up in a complete nightmare costing them a ton of money for what it took me 4 hrs of hard wrenching in my shop.

jkuforu

I glade you got it all straitened out. This is one of the reasons I didn't want to buy a jeep modified. Never know what you might get.

Sharkey

Almost lost my orange juice out my nose on that one.

Tripp

Wow, very informative article. I am picking up my Jeep next week and a living room full of parts waiting to go on, my dealer is doing the lift for me so this makes me think of maybe doing the lift myself now

chermes55

What lift are you going with?

aldaman

....Yup, if you are capable do it yourself rather than the dealer. That way you have that piece of mind & confidence knowing it's done right + save a ton on money that can be used to buy more MODS for the JK.....

MOPWR2U

Very interesting thread, being as I just went through the process of selling my last JK, and buying a new one. When going through Kelly Blue Book to determine a selling price on my last JK I found out that there is a big deduction in value if the Jeep has an aftermarket suspension on it. According to Kelly Blue Book, if there is an aftermarket suspension installed, there is an automatic $5000 deduction in the value of the vehicle. This thread helps explain why that is the case.