kjeeper10

The control arms ? Best way to tighten is off the jeep with 1 or two vises. I made some spacers to hold the joints straight. Maxed out my torque wrench at 260 ft lbs, then leaned into with a breaker bar. These suckers are not coming loose.

Track bar i tighten the frame side in a vice, mount up and tighten axle end on the jeep.

Rancho

Love hearing all the shout out's for the RS9000XL shocks.
Thanks all.

Bjorn

Hey guys, new to the forum but long time lurker.

I read through this thread and had to put my thoughts in as well.

I do not own an RK lift but many I know do. Not a bad ride at all but I went with MC as I just liked all of the information and how informative their website was. I went and got their 2.5" lift with their RockSport shocks.

First impressions is that everything is beefy as hell when it comes to the springs as well as the control arms. I love the way my jeep rides although I still have to dial in my pinion angle. I'm in south jersey and if you ever want to grab a ride with me OP just hit me up.

The lift as it sits now rides much smoother than my friends with RK's, and will only get better once I set my lower control arms correctly.

Instructions on how to install the lift needs a bit of work, and personally I think that the length of their sway bar links are a bit too much but otherwise I couldn't be happier. The lift has been on for about 4 months now, and there is no sagging or any issues to speak about. Very happy with the quality and the control arm zinc coating apparently does very well with stopping rust even here where they salt the hell out of the roads.

Edit: If you want this saturday there is a Jeep meet where you can see and ride in some different jeeps with different lifts.

Wbradshaw6

I have had several keeps over the years with products from all different companies and I will never recommend anyone more than Metalcloak. My current jeep is decked out in metalcloak everything, lift, control arms, steering, bumpers, fenders, skid plates, everything! They have the best customer service hands down. Only drawback that I had was that it took them a couple weeks to build all the components that I ordered, but well worth the wait.

After getting everything installed, coincidentally metal cloak was having an event at a local jeep dealership and brought their flex trailer to give suggestions on how people can improve their lifts and performance. The only thing the guy running the show could recommend for mine was relocating where the bottom of the shock mounts because it would arc at full flex. Well metalcloak offered a product that does just that. I called metalcloak and told them what the guy at the event told me and they mailed me the relocation brackets for free. Go metalcloak, you will not regret it!


My jeep fully decked out in Metalcloak everything.


Jeep on metalcloak trailer at an event, looking for week points in my suspension and set up

Rancho

What was your score/tire size?
It really is a good test to see where the "hold up" is on a system.
For us it is often the front stock shock mounts.

Wbradshaw6

38x13.50, I think my score was a 940, and that was before doing the shock mounts, control arms, or steering components

JKphotoshoot

I am going on almost 5 years with the MC control arms still on the original bushings on my 1st jeep.

So I am putting nothing but MC on my new jeep. Ordering the 3.5 game changer in the next few days.

Rednroll

So it seems MC walks away as the obvious choice in this one?

If you like this more rustic look, then RK could be a good choice instead.

ShutterBug

Were you under my Jeep? LOL!

Mine looked like that until I wire wheeled them, painted them with rust bullet and over sprayed with black. You would think that a company from NY would have a powder coat process better than this.

Rotti54

Well, I greatly appreciate all of your guys input on the suspension question. I decided to go with Rock Krawler, and I had a few reasons for doing so.
1. They continue to develope and improve their joints regularly, and their newest joint seem to be more road friendly than those in the past.
2 Cost was the second reason. I spent a little less on the RK 2.5 X-Factor Kit due to a buddy's 4x4 shop selling it to me a his cost. My only hope is that if I keep the powder coat coated in fluid film it will resist rust and corrosion. If it doesn't and starts to turn lousy and such I will prob swap in upper and lower Metal Cloak arms!