Modifying the Rockfather Lift

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Ruby

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Allright, so I see a lot of dislike for the Rockfather lift kits from rocky road.

However they all seem to be much older posts and the alternatives they suggest have either failed hyperlinks or the product doesn't exist anymore.
I don't want to rehash an old discussion but from what I can find still out there the Rockfather deluxe seems to be the most comprehensive kit available. I would go with the OME version and probably install it myself.

My question for those who do not like the Rockfather deluxe, what pieces would you recommend replacing and where would I still be able to get them/what is the better kit to buy?

(I'm looking for a full coil lift.)

ROCKFATHER DELUXE contains:
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New Old Man Emu front custom springs.
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Under-the-Top
® strut cap and spacers for 3" leveling lift in front.
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Old Man Emu or Heavy Duty GR2 front strut shocks.
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Custom full height rear springs. Full height! Not small springs with a spacer included.
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Rocky Road engineered rear shocks

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Optional pre-assembly of the front struts.
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UPPER CONTROL ARMS upper A-arm control arms included. More information on these
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UCA bumpstop extensions.
 

tommudd

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First thing if you just buy OME springs and the correct shocks , and then JBA UCAs it will be cheaper and better
RRO likes to slip in their own shocks or their own springs
The 948 rear springs are FULL HEIGHT , no small springs with a spacer added
If RRO was the only place to buy a lift I would be driving a stocker ( and I own 3 lifted KJs )

The RRO kits uses a top spacer type extra lift which is not good
Plus RRO UCAs do not always fit and then it is your fault
Think again before you spend your hard earned money
 

Ruby

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First thing if you just buy OME springs and the correct shocks , and then JBA UCAs it will be cheaper and better
RRO likes to slip in their own shocks or their own springs
The 948 rear springs are FULL HEIGHT , no small springs with a spacer added
If RRO was the only place to buy a lift I would be driving a stocker ( and I own 3 lifted KJs )

The RRO kits uses a top spacer type extra lift which is not good
Plus RRO UCAs do not always fit and then it is your fault
Think again before you spend your hard earned money
Okay, so what would be the names of those parts I would want to buy individually to get that 3 inch lift.
 

klc

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Old Man Emu 2948, I think it’s 2947 for the front springs. Offroadwarehouse.com is a good source for OME parts. They also sell Bilstein shocks if you prefer those. UCA’s order directly from JBA.
 

Ruby

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2948 for the rear springs? Are there rear shocks? All I currently see inside the spring on the rear wheels is a rubber stopper of some sort?

And then 2947 for the front springs? What about the front shocks? I've seen several posts where people have ordered the wrong lengths and screwed stuff up.

And can anyone else confirm that this works for a 3 inch lift?
Also is there any way to contact old man emus company itself? I haven't searched hard but I've been unsuccessful so far at finding anything.

(Thanks for the help so far!)
 

klc

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2948 for the rear springs? Are there rear shocks? All I currently see inside the spring on the rear wheels is a rubber stopper of some sort?

And then 2947 for the front springs? What about the front shocks? I've seen several posts where people have ordered the wrong lengths and screwed stuff up.

And can anyone else confirm that this works for a 3 inch lift?
Also is there any way to contact old man emus company itself? I haven't searched hard but I've been unsuccessful so far at finding anything.

(Thanks for the help so far!)
ARB’s head office 425 264 1391
[email protected]

I just bought some OME N132L shocks for the rear. Next I order OME 9009 struts for the front.
 

Ruby

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Thank you, how much lift did you get for those items?
 

klc

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Thank you, how much lift did you get for those items?
I’ve only just begun acquiring parts. Should be two to three inches, there are some that end up sitting a bit higher than others, from what I’ve read.
 

klc

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You might need some different things to go higher, but I’ve seen that covered in threads here. I keep searching and reading, I’m new to a lot of this.
 

Ruby

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I just want it at 3 inches. Anything more than that and I feel like libertys are too top heavy. My opinion
 

lfhoward

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With an OME lift, you’d get 2.5 inches of lift or so by itself. The other 0.5 can be made up by using the clevis lift technique in front and adding extra rubber spring isolators in the rear. At 3” it will be just about mandatory to have JBA upper control arms so you can get your alignment dialed in.
 

lfhoward

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I have a 4” lift on mine. It feels more stable and planted now than it did on sagged stock springs and worn out shocks, for sure! I can’t take corners like I’m in a sports car but it still handles really well. I think you will be surprised what OME springs and OME or Bilstein shocks will do for the handling.

Edit: My 4” lift is a JBA coilover kit that is no longer made, unfortunately.
 

Ruby

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What is the clevis lift technique?
And your vehicle is a kk, does it work on kj?
 

Ruby

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With an OME lift, you’d get 2.5 inches of lift or so by itself. The other 0.5 can be made up by using the clevis lift technique in front and adding extra rubber spring isolators in the rear. At 3” it will be just about mandatory to have JBA upper control arms so you can get your alignment dialed in.
Well, your photo at least is a kk
 

lfhoward

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The front ends of KJ’s and KK’s are pretty similar. The clevis lift is putting a spacer like a conduit nut or two between the spring/shock mount and the clevis fork at the bottom that attaches to the lower control arm. That extra height gets doubled by the suspension geometry, so 1/4” of clevis lift gets you 1/2” of lift at the wheels.
 

lfhoward

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Photo of a clevis lift I found on Google:

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The conduit nuts are silver.
 

tommudd

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Old Man Emu 2948, I think it’s 2947 for the front springs. Offroadwarehouse.com is a good source for OME parts. They also sell Bilstein shocks if you prefer those. UCA’s order directly from JBA.
Oh dear
 

Ruby

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Photo of a clevis lift I found on Google:

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The conduit nuts are silver.
Is that not bad for the suspension? I figured that's why one wanted to avoid spacer lifts because it preloads them?
 

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