DELTA3

Disclaimer: I have used the search function and could not really find the answers I was looking for (not new to forums, so I understand the flaming for not using the search function first).
I am not new to 4wheeling/rock crawling. I have done it several times, riding with friends.
I am new though to owning such a vehicle. I have 1999 XJ and its my first jeep and also first vehicle with a lift kit. I purchased it with the kit already on it and the jeep is very well taken care of. Almost no rust and the RC kit looks pretty new.
I have run across several people saying the RC stuff sucks. I have also read its decent, depending on what you get and I have also heard its more entry level.
As far as my plans go, I do not plan on doing major crawling. Will I be going through some pretty rough and uneven terrain? Yes. However, I do not plan on getting real crazy. Not trying to get vertical flex while the body stays horizontal (yes, that is a total exaggeration lol). It will be used a lot for camping/lake trips and mild weekend 4wheeling.
Here are my questions:

1. Is the RC kit complete junk that I should get rid of asap? If so, what would be good entry level kit to buy.

2. If it is good enough for what I need for now and I don't need to change anything immediately, but I would like to in the future, do I need to replace everything at once? Or can I piece it together? I.E. can I mix and match parts until everything is swapped out eventually.

3. If the kit is pretty new and I don't see myself getting real crazy with any sort of difficult crawling, is there any reason the get rid of it at all? The vehicle seems to drive nice, albeit a little harsh. Then again I came from a Mercedes and a BMW, so most american cars feel harsh.

Thanks in advance for any solid and educated feedback. I realize some stuff is opinion and I'm trying to formulate a consensus based on fact more so that "well its junk because my buddies uncle had an issue with one of their parts one time".

Also, if a company does suck, I would like to know why. Was it a one time bad experience? Is it a pretty consistent issue with quality of parts? Is it poor customer service? Are they unethical crooks? etc...
Dan

Cane

it's very subjective. RC is the entry level you asked about, from there you can only get better stuff, other than blocks and spacers of course. zone is another relatively cheap but still pretty good kit.

the way you explained it, there doesn't seem to be any issue with your suspension right now. you should simply expect some bushings to give in sooner or later, but other than that I haven't heard horror stories of leaf springs breaking or stuff like that. their customer service seems to be very good though.

i have some rough country stuff on my jeep, leaf springs and coils, also I ran their shocks for a little while with my first kit. overall it did what I wanted it to do. i had a control arm bushing fail but was replaced free of charge (except labor) and I also had two leaf spring bushing fail that I haven't gotten around to replace yet (so I have a pretty clunky ride if I can call it that). finally one of the four shocks I had started leaking but again, it was replaced free of charge. they have a pretty good warranty on those.

get a feel for it and then judge by yourself, 50% seem to say it's trash and to go with something else, the other 50% say they've had their products of a while and have had no issues whatsoever. my personal opinion is if it's already installed, don't waste money and time fixing something that's not broken.

to answer your other question, it's possible to change stuff one at a time (depending what it is, for example leaf springs you need to replace both at the same time, same for control arms, etc) so if you have fixed control arms and want to go adjustable, it's possible to only replace that and not touch anything else, same for coils, leaf springs, shackles, etc. just make sure you keep the same height front and back for safety reasons (let's say you get higher coil springs, you should also adjust the rear suspension so it sits level).

DELTA3

Thanks for the great response! Like I said above, all the parts are pretty new. So i suppose if I do want something different, I'll just wait until this stuff starts failing.
And yes, I'm aware things should be replaced in pairs. Springs, shocks etc.. I meant keeping the R/C springs and leafs and just switching out the shocks to a different brand. The doing springs later, and so on.

Larry's XJ

What you should do is run what you have, and decide what you don't like. Then change/up grade.
My son Larry has a 4.5 RC lift, adjustable upper and lower bars, shocks, etc. Had it for 3 1/2 yrs, no issues.
His winter DD and summer toy.
Hint: they aren't called Rough Country for a reason�� though after a while it has softened a bit.

JeremyXJ

I've been daily driving a 3" Rough Country kit for over a year and it's been fine. Like most say, it's a little stiff, but I have no real complaints. I've taken it on some really hairy mountain roads a couple of times and it's been totally fine.

I say just run it until you break something and then replace that something with a better brand. That's my plan.

forcefed44

I do SAR so my truck sees a lot of fire roads, climbs, mud and water crossings. Rough Country isn't a complete bust. I went from just a basic 2" lift and skipped the 3" to go 4.5". After 4 months and about 300# of weight in the rear constantly; my full spring packs sagged down to approx. 3". I got a reimbursement (for the rears) after the shop who sold me the kit inspected everything. I swapped out to R/E rear packs and they are much stiffer and beefier. I kept the front half: R/C lift springs, lower 45* arms, and swaybars links.. Everything else is R/E in the rear.

Then again, I am doing full adjustable arms, regear, and drop kit in the near future.

Constantine

Which rough country 4.5" lift do you have?
They have a basic lift with curved lower control arms that have bushings at each end.
They also have a X-series that uses tubular control arms with flex joints at the frame end and include both upper and lower control arms, the lower control arms with this kit are straight and have no curve in them.

xgerryx

Couple of buddies here are on RC lift kit either and never heard much issue. They don't off roading very often though but should be a good cheap kit until you can afford the quality ones.

forcefed44

I personally have the updated fixed 45* arms with the larger bushings. The older ones are the same with smaller bushings. I have a set of spare arms here from a parts truck that needs 1 of the bushings replaced and there is a noticeable difference in size.

DELTA3

I have the 4.5" basic with the curved LCAs and what appears to be the "add-a leaf" rears. I have been coming across horror stories of poorly put together add-a-leaf kits. But this one seems to be done well.
I may switch out the the leaks with an entire set if I begin to have issues.

Constantine

I personally don't have anything against add a leafs.

The only thing about that particular lift that I don't like due to personal preference is that it uses the stock track bar and pitman arm.
The tie rod at the pitman arm isn't terribly far from being maxed out.
Even mild flexing is going to cause the tie rod end and track bar end to bind and in turn limit your flex greatly.
Lots of flex can be achieved with the curved lower control arms.
Add a track bar and drop pitman and you're off to a good start, IMO.

Force

I have the RC 4.5" X series in my 96 XJ and have no complaints. I wheel the **** out of it on weekends, and it's my daily driver.
I did install the ACOS on the front, and the RC shackles and shackle relocation brackets on the rear when I installed the lift. Rides super smooth on the road.