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Rough Country Long Arm kit for my TJ?

84K views 103 replies 38 participants last post by  joe_jeep 
#1 ·
Hi all, I am kinda-sorta getting back into the Jeep thing. I haven't been offroading in about 5 years and my '98 TJ (never taken this particular TJ offroad) has been sitting undriven for about 2 years because it was a 2nd/3rd vehicle for a while. I recently started working on it again and was thinking about upgrading my 4" Teraflex lift by replacing it completely with the 4" Rough Country long arm kit.

My health isn't as great as it used to be, and I have issues with back pain and and sore muscles. The TJ is now my only means of transportation so I figured I would try to improve the ride and save my back and kidneys. Otherwise, the alternative is to sell my TJ and buy something more economical/comfortable because I'm currently unemployed so having 2 vehicles is no longer an option. On the bright side, I suppose I have the time to install a lift kit :D

For those of you who have the RC LA kit, how's the on-road ride? I'm curious to know what kind of comments you get from non-4wheeling passengers as far as the rough Jeep ride. I am not expecting car-like road manners, but I'd be happy if it road like a truck or an XJ.

Also, can someone recommend where to order the 4" LA kit for the best price shipped to CA? I'll be doing the install myself, so I don't necessarily need the source to be a local vendor.

I've attached some pics of what my TJ currently looks like and will post more after its upgraded )
 

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#61 ·
Hey guys, sorry for the lack of updates! I'm still unemployed so believe it or not, my progress has been ridiculously slow to non-existent. How slow you ask? Well, I had my TJ smogged and registered (was in non-op) back around May, installed the long arm kit in Aug, had a muffler shop modify the exhaust pipe to clear the rear axle in Sep, replaced my cracked exhaust manifold in Dec, and gonna replace my radiator today. Total mileage accumulated from May to now is ~160mi. My '98 TJ has ~69700mi.

I'll be starting a new job soon in the next few weeks that will be a 90mi round-trip commute, so I'm back working on the Jeep. I still need to get over to Vanco to have my hydroboost system fixed. The SYE, driveshaft, and RC slid, will all have to wait a few months...so lets hope I don't blow out my TC before then.

Ok, now that I've established my slow progress and usage, I'll try my best to answer some of your questions.

The fitment of parts was impressive as everything went on easy. The only issue I had was with a broken grease fitting. The joints came with fittings already installed and unfortunately one had broken off in the box. After burning out 2 ez-outs, it still wouldn't come out so I just sprayed a ton of lithium grease in there for now.

The ride is an improvement over the 4" short arm lift I had before. The RC shocks are stiffer than I would like, but they seem to handle railroad crossings fine without needing to slow down. Front-to-back rocking is fine, but side-to-side is still pretty rough.

My front end is still lower than the rear due to my winch and front bumper. This is a bummer since it creates an even worse driveshaft angle in the rear due to my lowered TC skid. My rig was fairly level with my old 4" Tera lift. I know I haven't accumulated enough miles yet, but I sure hope it evens out.

I'll add more details and some pics later.
 
#62 ·
My front end is still lower than the rear due to my winch and front bumper. This is a bummer since it creates an even worse driveshaft angle in the rear due to my lowered TC skid.
The angle should be exactly the same in the rear regardless of the amount of lift in the front. The height difference just tilts everything.
 
#66 ·
Came out nice. Can't wait to get mine finished. Have the rear done, but got stalled after I removed most of the front suspension with the holidays and baby. Hope to get back to it by the end of the month.

Not looking forward to messing with the exhaust. I ended up removing everything from the manifold back so I could drill the inside frame holes. I'm considering just welding the track bar bracket on b/c I don't want to drill more holes in the frame. I figure a couple beads around the edge will be plenty strong enough. Plus I still have to cut the front LCA brackets off. I left the original weld bead on the frame as a guide incase I ever want to weld the brackets on again and return the vehicle to stock.
 
#68 ·
Hey, Element X. I hope you don't mind me chiming in here. I already have the 3.75" R/C lift. I want to get the long arm kit as well. My question is with the tranny case lowering kit I already have. It looks like this kit can be installed without a SYE? The new control arm brackets fit between the skid plate spacers and frame? (Transmission) I wanted to buy this kit but didn't want to end up buying thousands of extra parts to make it ride nice. SYE etc. and have some death wobble. When I bought my kit originally the instructions say to loosen one side at a time on the transfer case skid plate. I noticed you took the whole thing off. Is their something else that supports the transmission? (Cross member) and was it easy to align back up?

Thanks guys.
 
#70 ·
pladead, what kit did you have previously and how would you compare the two? I've been thinking of installing this kit as well but have been waiting to hear feedback before spending the money.
 
#71 ·
I had the Skyjacker 4" short arm.
It eliminated the harsh ride of a 4" short arm kit. Also, the flex has improved.

I can't compare it to any other long arm kit however, it out performs my old lift.

If you're going to get it, get the high clearance skid also.

I skipped a lot of steps in the directions and it still went together fairly easy.
The measurements they gave for the long arm initial setting worked perfect.

My Jeep does have a SYE kit.
 
#72 ·
pladead, how bad was the slip yoke eliminator to install? Did you have to reroute the exhaust at all? more pics would be great if you have the time.:thumbsup: I read on your specs that you're thinking about getting an aussie locker, two thumbs up for aussies.:2thumbsup:
 
#73 ·
The SYE is fairly easy if you follow the directions... Just watch your torque on the bolts on the housing.
The Aussie should be here on Friday.
As far as the exhaust, I installed everything first then had a smaller muffler (Magnaflow) installed and re-routed the pipe by the oil pan. This all was for the control arms to have more room.

I'll add more pictures soon.
 
#75 ·
Ordered my RC LA from JC Whitney last saturday. Got 15% off and free shipping. It was on back order and should have shipped yesterday. Pics to follow when it arrives. I also opted to go with Undercover Fabworks extra-clearance skid plate. A few members run them with the RC kit and are very happy with it. I also like how its just a little longer and covers more underneath.
 
#76 ·
2003X said:
Ordered my RC LA from JC Whitney last saturday. Got 15% off and free shipping. It was on back order and should have shipped yesterday. Pics to follow when it arrives. I also opted to go with Undercover Fabworks extra-clearance skid plate. A few members run them with the RC kit and are very happy with it. I also like how its just a little longer and covers more underneath.http://www.jeepforum.com/forum/editpost.php?do=editpost&p=11379016
1. Rough country sucks buy new shocks atleast.
2. JC Whitney gives better prices than RC does even with JF Discount.
3. UCF UHC is kick *** and I will be ordering one soon, do you know how to get the JF discount for $274 shipped?
 
#85 ·
I know this is old, but how are you all liking the kits so far? May be doing this with a 3 in lift instead of 4 I'm not sure yet though. How are all the bushings and brackets on the control arms holding up, anyone experience any damage due to the quality of the control arms
 
#87 ·
I have been using the new style adj short arms for just over 2.5 years and I have been very happy with them. I think both the long and short arms use the same bushings. A few years back RC changed the bushing in both end of their adj arms. The older ones (maybe the ones the OP has or had) seem to have problems and left many unhappy customers.

As far as anything else about the long arms I can't help you but I have been very happy with their newer style short arms.
 
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