Jeep long arm upgrade ?'s

D94R

Member
Location
Eagle Mountain
I had parts of Rusty's 4.5" short arm kit on my XJ. Have put roughly 8000 miles on the kit. In that time I've wheeled Moab twice with it. Outcome: All bushings on the control arms are shot (but I did upgrade to long arms last week, just not Rusty's). All bushings in rear leafs are completely shot to being almost non existant. Trac bar, total garbage. For quality sakes, I'll never buy another Rusty's product, though unfortunately I do (did) have to keep buying the leaf bushings from him because he uses non stock sizes that don't cross reference very well into aftermarket poly bushings that can be bought cheaper. The actual arms and leafs themselves are OK, just the bushings suck. But quality speaks tons when it comes to how fast stuff wears out and how soon or often you're gonna be raplacing those parts and suffering from their effects when worn.

That said, your kit is obviously different, but I'd expect the same issues if I were looking to buy thier kit for my TJ, and I'd pass. Hindsight being 20/20 and all.

Then again, on the flip side. Xtreme 4x4 built the Scout with Rusty's JK long arm kit (might have been the TJ kit), and puts its arms against the rocks a few times while wheeling without damage. So again, the metal isn't the issue, but only time will tell if the bushings will wear at an accelerated pace.

As well, I have a friend who installed the XJ long arm upgrade kit from Rusty's on his XJ. So far, no issues other than at 4.5" of lift he hits the uniframe with the arms on compression. The kit is designed for 4.5+ inches of lift so it might just be a bumpstop issue for him.

Asking for opinions though on kits you're gonna get the guys who love and hate them. I was told to steer clear of Rusty's before I bought. I should have listened.
 
thanks for your input guys any one else wanna chime in ? any sugestions on any other LA upgrades ? i was also looking at CLAYTON OFFroad mfg ????????
CA-LCAK.jpg
 

DOSS

Poker of the Hornets Nest
Location
Suncrest
I second the Rustys arms eat bushings and I also had a problem with them making noise on the Acme threads they used.. (this was on upper and lower XJ arms 4.5 inches of lift).. Running RE and Teraflex arms now and I love them.
 

GOAT

Back from the beyond
Location
Roanoke, VA
http://rustysoffroad.com/mm5/mercha...duct_Code=RK-LT10-TJ&Category_Code=sus_tj_kit does any one have any experience with rustys ? any input would be great . what do y'all think about this kit ? :cool: also what do you think on arm style ? standard or high clearance ?

Rusty's LA kit, like rough country's suffers from terrible suspension geometry and is just basically a POS entry level kit.


thanks for your input guys any one else wanna chime in ? any sugestions on any other LA upgrades ? i was also looking at CLAYTON OFFroad mfg ????????
CA-LCAK.jpg





Clayton is lightyears ahead of the rest in terms of quality and customer service. Their kits work well, even with radius arms.
 

D94R

Member
Location
Eagle Mountain
How is the Clayton radius arm setup any better than any other radius arm setup? The Rough Country, RE, Clayton, Rusty's etc radius arm setups are same design. They all suffer from the same design elements, flaws, and consequences. How's it any better than the others?
 

GOAT

Back from the beyond
Location
Roanoke, VA
How is the Clayton radius arm setup any better than any other radius arm setup? The Rough Country, RE, Clayton, Rusty's etc radius arm setups are same design. They all suffer from the same design elements, flaws, and consequences. How's it any better than the others?

Rough country is cheap junk. RE tears itself to pieces and has weak lower arms. Rustys is the same as RC. Clayton indeed has radius arms, just like I mentioned, but has a triangulated 4 link with decent geometry and beefy components. That is why it works well. FWIW, I wouldn't run any radius kit without a minimum of a center limiting strap. Call Clayton up, he'll answer, and even help you.
 

jeep-N-montero

Formerly black_ZJ
Location
Bountiful
Clayton's is about the best there is right now and ZJ owners have been abusing them for years, if they work so well on a heavier rig then they will work that much better on a lighter one.
 
Location
Logan, UT
when i was into the whole xj scene the new rough country long arm kit made a pretty good impression on some of the jeep forums i was a part of, If i remember correctly they also had one for the tj. Just food for thought. Might want to also check out ironrockoffroad.
 

waynehartwig

www.jeeperman.com
Location
Mead, WA
Another for Clayton. Good people and good product. The only complaint you may ever have is the cost. but after you beat on it for years, you'll never look back.
 

Cody

Random Quote Generator
Supporting Member
Location
Gastown
I would vote for Clayton as well. I've seen a lot of his parts go through some serious abuse and survive.
 

D94R

Member
Location
Eagle Mountain
the rustys and the clayton ug's are both 1.350 without shipping but so far claytons is winning my vote so far :D i dunno



I would without a doubt at that point go with Clayton's then if you've made up your mind to spend that much. Lack of belly pan, but it's not hard to make one yourself if you feel the need.
 
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