My rocky road lift experience

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bjohnson3827

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Hey guys im brand new to the forum and honestly the jeep community in general. I have an 03 jeep liberty and purchased the rockfather deluxe lift kit. Im having a huge issue trying to get the new strut in place correctly. Directions said to remove the front bolt on the lower control arm and also the sway bar. After doing that no matter how hard I pry im still about an inch away from getting the U spacer from the bottom of the strut to the lower control arm. I have also tried removing the back bolt on the lower control arm to get the U spacer attatched but now I cant get the lower control arm any where near the frame to bolt it in. Im at a loss and would really like some direction on how to handle this. If you guys have ideas I would love to get this completed so I can have my jeep back.

Thanks in advance.

Brandon
 

renegade 04

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The first issue is the fact you bought a low quality lift kit. I would recommend returning the lift kit you bought and then buying a good quality lift kit like OME or Ironman.
 

tommudd

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Hey guys im brand new to the forum and honestly the jeep community in general. I have an 03 jeep liberty and purchased the rockfather deluxe lift kit. Im having a huge issue trying to get the new strut in place correctly. Directions said to remove the front bolt on the lower control arm and also the sway bar. After doing that no matter how hard I pry im still about an inch away from getting the U spacer from the bottom of the strut to the lower control arm. I have also tried removing the back bolt on the lower control arm to get the U spacer attatched but now I cant get the lower control arm any where near the frame to bolt it in. Im at a loss and would really like some direction on how to handle this. If you guys have ideas I would love to get this completed so I can have my jeep back.

Thanks in advance.

Brandon

First welcome to the forum
Second too bad you were not here first to find out about RRO
Third, I have done at least 10 lifts testing them on my 04, just did the one on my 03 and have done over 35 other KJ lifts and NEVER have I had to loosen the LCA bolts
Is it too late to return the kit ?
If so then possibly I can help some hopefully you didn;t buy the UCAs they sell as well
 

rjkj2005

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Use a ratchet starp to pull the clevis toward the mounting location.
If you components are good you will be fine with the ride. If your suspension was saged. All your really doing is taking up the sag. Factory ride hight is 19 inches from center of wheel to bottom of finder flair.

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dude1116

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Everyone has clearly mentioned the issue with your lift.

That being said...you can use a ratchet strap to get it in place. This is necessary in all full spring lifts as well as the lift you purchased.
 

u2slow

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Sometimes I think half the forum consists of JBA and OME commissioned sales staff :mwah1: :signs75:

My Teraflex lift is similar.... it takes some work to 'pre-compress' the strut a bit to get the clevis and LCA to line up. I used a ratchet strap and a cable come-a-long the first time. I've since picked up this style compressor... makes life easier

Lisle Corporation
 
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bjohnson3827

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Thanks for the advice everybody. I went with RRO and not OME because I cant afford a $4,000 lift. I know its not the best but I have ridden in a couple of jeeps with the lift and I liked how they rode on and off road and the price isn't outrageous. I don't drive it much I just hate looking at a stock vehicle. I will have to try the ratchet strap idea because I just read about that yesterday as well. This may not be a kit you recommend but its the kit I could afford.

I can still send it back (verified that today) so if I did would somebody be able to point me in the direction of getting a 2.5 to 3 inch lift. I already have my tires 31x10.5 so the kit would need to clear those (willing to trim what I need to to keep from rubbing).
If there are certain shocks and springs and a arm could you please post the name and model number. I thought about piecing it together before but since I have never lifted my own jeep I wasn't sure what all was needed from start to finish.

Also I paid a total of 1300 for the lift and the upper a arms. If you can piece something for me in that price range then I would love to look into it
 

JasonJ

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I went with RRO and not OME because I cant afford a $4,000 lift.

...

Also I paid a total of 1300 for the lift and the upper a arms. If you can piece something for me in that price range then I would love to look into it

Whoa Nelly... pretty much everything you need right here for $166 more.

Tommudd's Econo 3.5" Lift Kit

Bare bones get you lifted right here (also note, that while it says 1.5", it actually yields a 2.5" lift): Only $835.

OME 1.50" lift kit KJ

You'd want to add in some extended bump stops, maybe an extra rear isolator for about $12.. but should be well under your original $1300 when all said and done.
 

bjohnson3827

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Econo Lift Kits for the KJ

Check these out

Also note that the OME lift is actually 2.5"
Thanks for the link. Now my only confusion is what's the differnece between those ome struts thru AL and the ome struts thru RRO?

Since I don't have an issue on the rear it seems like I'm just ordering the same strut but thru a different company

Also 1 more thing. I live in illinois in the quad city area (illinois iowa border) anybody decently close that has the knowledge to properly install? I can pay or supply plenty of beverages and food...
 
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tommudd

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Sometimes I think half the forum consists of JBA and OME commissioned sales staff :mwah1: :signs75:

My Teraflex lift is similar.... it takes some work to 'pre-compress' the strut a bit to get the clevis and LCA to line up. I used a ratchet strap and a cable come-a-long the first time. I've since picked up this style compressor... makes life easier

Lisle Corporation

:happy175::happy175:
No sales staff JUST what works best and best service if you don't want that then you can go any direction you want to
 

tommudd

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Thanks for the advice everybody. I went with RRO and not OME because I cant afford a $4,000 lift. I know its not the best but I have ridden in a couple of jeeps with the lift and I liked how they rode on and off road and the price isn't outrageous. I don't drive it much I just hate looking at a stock vehicle. I will have to try the ratchet strap idea because I just read about that yesterday as well. This may not be a kit you recommend but its the kit I could afford.

I can still send it back (verified that today) so if I did would somebody be able to point me in the direction of getting a 2.5 to 3 inch lift. I already have my tires 31x10.5 so the kit would need to clear those (willing to trim what I need to to keep from rubbing).
If there are certain shocks and springs and a arm could you please post the name and model number. I thought about piecing it together before but since I have never lifted my own jeep I wasn't sure what all was needed from start to finish.

Also I paid a total of 1300 for the lift and the upper a arms. If you can piece something for me in that price range then I would love to look into it

You are way off base in thinking that JBA only sells 4000 dollar lifts :happy175:
I can give you what you need for a 3- 3.25 inch luft for under 850-900 and from that site
with arms 1300 easy
 

bjohnson3827

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You are way off base in thinking that JBA only sells 4000 dollar lifts :happy175:
I can give you what you need for a 3- 3.25 inch luft for under 850-900 and from that site
with arms 1300 easy

I got a hold of RRO and I cant send the whole lift back. I was told that since I have attempted to put 1 front strut assembly on I cant send that back.

Perfect
 

JLRockies

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Yeah, it's too bad you weren't here 10 years ago.


Utah Bureau of Awesomeness Department.
 

CobraNutt

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I have the RRO Rockfather suspension installed on my '04, including the upper A-arms. Upgraded the components to OME when I ordered the kit. I think I must be the only one satisfied with my RRO lift. Lol! Going on 2 years with 4 trips to Moab and a few thousand miles of Pony Express and forest roads...and not a single issue.

Anyway...yes, as mentioned, ratchet strap to pull the coilover into place is pretty much necessary...it certainly was with mine. Once you get it installed correctly, you should be pretty happy with it. Good luck!

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JLRockies

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I have the RRO Rockfather suspension installed on my '04, including the upper A-arms. Upgraded the components to OME when I ordered the kit. I think I must be the only one satisfied with my RRO lift. Lol! Going on 2 years with 4 trips to Moab and a few thousand miles of Pony Express and forest roads...and not a single issue.

Anyway...yes, as mentioned, ratchet strap to pull the coilover into place is pretty much necessary...it certainly was with mine. Once you get it installed correctly, you should be pretty happy with it. Good luck!

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Yes. You're the only one who is happy with it. The ONLY one.


Utah Bureau of Awesomeness Department.
 

VAPoorBoy

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The Econo Lift is a good set of components. It rides great on road and handles trails very well off road. No issues with mine and I've had to hammer through some rocky areas on the trails.
 

bjohnson3827

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Update...

Well I finally got the lift on and have a few hundred miles on it. It drives very nice except for a couple issues.

If I hit a large dip it feels very rigid (almost like bottoming out) but 99% of the time its fine. Next issue I have is randomly I will hear a pretty decent pop coming from either side of the front end. It can happen randomly when I accelerate, turn, hit a bump and so on. I have rechecked everything and all seems to be tight. Could it be a sway bar issue or do you think something is hitting somewhere that I just haven't noticed yet? Do I need to look into new sway bar end links or possible extended end links?

The place I took it to also said something about the struts rubbing on the inside fender well... Just heard that yesterday after I had them change out my passenger side cv axel (found out before installing lift it was garbage)

I know you guys don't like the RRO lift but months back after I tried to put it on and failed they refused to take it back so that was the hand I was dealt. Its on and cant really come back off so im hoping for some good advice that will help me and not criticize me for my choice in lifts.

If its not fixable then I guess I will just have to drive it until it falls apart.
 

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