Here is the post I said I would do. My Jeep an 03 stock TJ. Before ,during and after the 4" rough country suspension install, as well as 33" BFG mud terrains.

Here is the before shot...




















After



As far as the lift goes, It a LOT rougher than stock. It REALLY needs sway bar disconnects as there is next to no flex at all with them in. EASILY clears 33" tires, I assume I could have run 35's without a problem but I didn't know that before hand. All and all a cheap lift kit but it does the trick ...for now...




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I'm seeing a problem.... no bumpstop extensions,

this means if ya have the proper length shocks, they are what is keeping the tires from hitting the body, which is bad news for the shocks. I thought the RC kits had extensions.  

Mud, wow good eye on ya. I went back and checked the pictures from the install, I am not sure I see bumpstop extensions in there. I went and looked up the Jeep and they are not there. According to the kit list of parts and materials they are not included?  

You have to have extended bump stops!

Sway bars do not limit your up travel or your droop. They only affect side to side movement which is called articulation.

When the axles drop all the way down, that is called full droop. When your axles move all the way up into your bump stops, that is called full stuff.

Droop is limited by your shock length. Stuff is limited by your bump stops. Nothing will keep you from hitting the bump stops except the shocks bottoming out before the bump stops hit.

If you don't extend the bump stops and you use longer shocks, the shocks will be your uptravel stops. It will ruin you shocks, which might be a blessing, and the shock mounts will take a beating that they are not designed for. At minimum it will bend them and will likely break them off the axle tube in time.

Most of your rough ride is the shocks. But we've been over that.  

Wow thanks for the heads up. You sure know how to make a guy feel like a moron though =p I wonder why the hell they don't include such a necessary component in a lift kit. You get what you pay for i guess but to not throw a couple of hockey pucks in there....sigh

Now I have to drop the springs and everything in order to get those stupid extended stops in right?  

even better, ya have to put the springs in place with all that floating around in side em then bolt em up after ya get the spring seated. the soft ends are just large enough you'll have a good o'l time stuffing them through the spring after they're in.

drill and tap the axle pad first before ya install the spring also.  

In this particular case, it's not the lift kit mfg that is the problem. It's the shop that installed the lift.

It's hard to believe who ever installed the lift didn't recommend bump stop extenders. They are cheap and effortless to put in while you're installing the springs.

They really are a custom piece of the total combination of parts. The final bump stop length is affected by the tire width, tire diameter, and wheel back spacing.

I'd even bet that the RC literature/directions mention that the bump stops need to be addressed.

Talk to the shop that installed your lift and tell them they need to help you out. Look through the RC literature/directions and find the *note so you'll have something to mention to them.  

I'm pretty certain he put it on himself. I'm interested to hear what the shop that sold him the RC and said the RE is junk has to say...

Please don't tell me they say ya don't need em!, they push the product and forget to mention ya also need to purchase extensions... does that tell ya how many theve actually installed? the ones I've put on have had the extensions, either came with the kit or were included by the 4x shop I got em from.

I was looking at pictures of my shock length in relation to the tire height, I kinda think ya may have shocks that are a little short to flex out the 4" coils.

did ya get a chance to measure em yet?  

In the pictures, the Jeep was on a lift and there were a set of adjustable hi lift stands.

Dustin has either found a good friend or he's hold'n out on us.  

lol, I have stands like those for exhaust work.. yep musta found a good buddy.  

I didn't do the full installation myself, my buddy is a product service adviser at a small shop and he let me use the shop lifts and helped me out. The kit does not have extensions in it, I checked. I am going back to ask my friend today what the deal is. A good friend I thought, now this makes me question why the hell he did not mention that.

DOH

As far as what the shop I bought the lift from told me they had a lot of complaints with the ride on the RE kit and they were doing a lot of returns on them. They told me they switched to RC and have had less than half the complaints. I know its not very specific but thats the BS they sold me, and I bought it.  

it says alot though. they just needed softer shocks not an entirely different system... I think RE is about performance not ride quality.  

I have an 04 TJ that im wanting to lift badly and seeing your jeep lifted is killing me as mines almsot the same colour and im gonna run the same tires and yours looks great. Was this an easy install? I will probably have access to a garage hoist so that will help. What did you do about the T-case did u lower it or go SYE?  

Yes it was a very easy install. I was worried about doing it myself but the instructions are good.

I droppped the transfer case, which was the hardest part of the whole lift getting it to line up once the drop was installed. It worked but required 2 people. I have a SYE but I have not had the time to install it. There is MINOR driveline vibrations from the TC lowering but nothing bad at all.  

Thanks for responding i will probably just buy everything i will need and put it all in in one go. i will also be doing this at a auto garage most likely so i can get help if i need it.