2013 JKU Sahara : Genevieve

stephenspake

stephenspake

New Member
Joined
May 7, 2020
Messages
11
Location
Ft. Benning, GA
I traded my 2010 Toyota CrewMax Tundra for this a few days ago. The Tundra served me well, but I wanted a fun adventure vehicle that we could throw kayaks on, fill with dogs, and just go wherever we wanted. Take to the middle of nowhere for a photoshoot, but still comfortable drive through big cities like Atlanta, or D.C. The truck got 13mpg at best, and was like driving a boat. So I decided it was time. I looked at LJ's for a few months, and after considering where I was in life, a JKU seemed more practical, so I ended up paying a little more, and just having a more comfortable vehicle right out of the gates. I stumbled across this JKU, which was my favorite color available of any year, and managed to get the dealer to just what I needed, so we called it good, and I drove her home in an hour. Has 118K on the ODO, and the only modifications to it are LED headlights and taillights, a LED 3rd brake light in the spare, and the "angry" bezels on the headlights, which I ordered replacements for before I left the dealership because they made me cringe. Other than that, its got the 2 tone leather interior, power everything, heated seats, bluetooth, and no issues. I love it. My daily driver is a 2019 Ford Fiesta ST, which I think is the most underrated car produced in the last 20 years, and I love that thing. But the JKU will be getting a lot of drive time now!!

Planned changes are:
Normal Headlight Bezels
Hard Top
2.5-3.5" Lift - Suggestions welcomed
35x12.5 Tires
Safari Rack
Front and Rear Bumpers w/ Winch
Superchips Tuner? Anyone mess with this before?

I think thats it!

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Can you just take the headlight bezels out without replacing them? I would imagine that they just pop out. Good looking Jeep though. Welcome to being broke lol.
 
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Love it, that's a rare color too, one you don't see very often (which makes it even better).

Good call on getting factory headlight bezels, not a fan of those angry eye things.

As for quality lifts, there's so many to choose from. AEV is one of my favorites, Teraflex is supposed to be good, and @Clayton Off Road is another top choice as well.
 
Chris said:
Love it, that's a rare color too, one you don't see very often (which makes it even better).

Good call on getting factory headlight bezels, not a fan of those angry eye things.

As for quality lifts, there's so many to choose from. AEV is one of my favorites, Teraflex is supposed to be good, and @Clayton Off Road is another top choice as well.
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Yeah that was a big factor for me, I just love the Commando Green. It makes me happy. Just what I needed too, more Army green stuff in my life lol.

I was looking at the AEV 2.5, which for $1k seems pretty all encompassing. Teraflex was my second choice. I just want to make sure that avoiding the Rough Country is a sensible choice. The kits are dirt cheap, but I also haven't ever been in one that rode well, and I hate the "Its a Jeep" statement that justifies it riding like a freight train. So I want to put my money into the suspension if I'm going to put it somewhere.
 
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KCsJKU said:
Can you just take the headlight bezels out without replacing them? I would imagine that they just pop out. Good looking Jeep though. Welcome to being broke lol.
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Thanks man, I appreciate it! I saw you're from ATL, I live here most of the time with my girl, even though I'm stationed at Benning, so if you ever need a hand or want a trail buddy, hit me up! I live right by Ponce, in Druid Hills!
 
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As far as lift goes, I'm intending to go with the AEV 2.5", but have some questions. I intend to install them with my future brother in law, who is an engineer, and a Land Rover guy, but has a shop with everything we would need. I've lifted TJ's and CJ's, but never messed with a JK. For the AEV lift, would I be an idiot for hoping it comes with instructions to at least get me in the general area? And I would want to spend the extra $100 and get the geometry correction brackets, but are they bolt in or weld in, and do those come with instructions as well?

Before you guys think I'm crazy for wanting instructions, I gotta learn somehow, right?

Does AEV have a rep on here? I know some forums have active reps for tactical medical supplies, which is my industry.
 
stephenspake said:
Yeah that was a big factor for me, I just love the Commando Green. It makes me happy. Just what I needed too, more Army green stuff in my life lol.

I was looking at the AEV 2.5, which for $1k seems pretty all encompassing. Teraflex was my second choice. I just want to make sure that avoiding the Rough Country is a sensible choice. The kits are dirt cheap, but I also haven't ever been in one that rode well, and I hate the "Its a Jeep" statement that justifies it riding like a freight train. So I want to put my money into the suspension if I'm going to put it somewhere.
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I have the AEV 3.5" DualSport on my JK Rubicon, and I love the way it rides. It's a very good kit, but I wouldn't expect anything less from AEV.

I personally have owned Rough Country before, and I would never own any of their products again. The shocks are the equivalent of pogo sticks, and their "engineering" is sketchy at best. This is of course my opinion. Some people like their stuff, but I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy. Buy a lift from a company (like AEV) that focuses solely on Jeeps, not the entire market, including trucks.
 
stephenspake said:
As far as lift goes, I'm intending to go with the AEV 2.5", but have some questions. I intend to install them with my future brother in law, who is an engineer, and a Land Rover guy, but has a shop with everything we would need. I've lifted TJ's and CJ's, but never messed with a JK. For the AEV lift, would I be an idiot for hoping it comes with instructions to at least get me in the general area? And I would want to spend the extra $100 and get the geometry correction brackets, but are they bolt in or weld in, and do those come with instructions as well?

Before you guys think I'm crazy for wanting instructions, I gotta learn somehow, right?

Does AEV have a rep on here? I know some forums have active reps for tactical medical supplies, which is my industry.
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AEV doesn't have a rep on here, but you'll find their customer service to be super easy to get ahold of.

Mine has the geometry correction brackets, and they are bolt-in. Nothing on the AEV lift requires any welding whatsoever.

Having installed many TJ suspensions, the AEV JK suspension is just as easy to install, so I wouldn't be worried about it one bit. If you've installed TJ suspensions like I have, the AEV 2.5" lift will be an easy install.
 
Chris said:
AEV doesn't have a rep on here, but you'll find their customer service to be super easy to get ahold of.

Mine has the geometry correction brackets, and they are bolt-in. Nothing on the AEV lift requires any welding whatsoever.

Having installed many TJ suspensions, the AEV JK suspension is just as easy to install, so I wouldn't be worried about it one bit. If you've installed TJ suspensions like I have, the AEV 2.5" lift will be an easy install.
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Awesome! Thats a relief for sure. I'm fixing the headlight bezels today, and then I'll do some little things until I save up to snag the lift. And as far as Commando goes, I used to have a Jeepster Commando. Check it out, ugliest damn mud buggy ever. It had an AMC 304 in it, Toyota axles, and homemade half Jeep, half Toyota driveshafts. In my defense, I acquired it halfway done, so I just made it drive, and traded it for a CJ-7 with rust issues so I could learn to do bodywork.

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stephenspake said:
Awesome! Thats a relief for sure. I'm fixing the headlight bezels today, and then I'll do some little things until I save up to snag the lift. And as far as Commando goes, I used to have a Jeepster Commando. Check it out, ugliest damn mud buggy ever. It had an AMC 304 in it, Toyota axles, and homemade half Jeep, half Toyota driveshafts. In my defense, I acquired it halfway done, so I just made it drive, and traded it for a CJ-7 with rust issues so I could learn to do bodywork.

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I don't think I've even see one of those things before!

Definitely looks like a blast from the past though :LOL:
 
So my only update so far isn't a great one. We woke up to the sounds of a large tree falling on top of vehicles in our condos parking lot here in ATL. My jeep took the brunt of it. Fortunately I have insurance (if USAA ever responds to my claim), and nobody was hurt. My future brother in law is an engineer and a gear-head, but a Land Rover guy (I don't hold it against him), and once I get a claim finished, hopefully its substantial, so we can put some time into it. The windshield and frame, hood, cowl, drivers fender, quarter panel, and grille are bent to shit. The suspension gemoetry feels off, and it pulls hard to the left now. Brakes or suspension are making a god-awful noise. Didnt want to fiddle with it too much before insurance looks at it. I've never made a claim before, so I'm going to try and get my moneys worth.

Plans are to do all the work ourselves and save some money there. Looking to do a 3.5" lift with a progressive coil (likely AEV), replace the hood, windshield and frame, bumpers, tire carrier, quarter panel and fenders (fenders are not a high priority), and move to 35's. Brakes will likely be done as well, just because they've always felt a little soft. And now that I've popped my "ding cherry", I'll play with it a little harder.
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Damn man, I'm sorry to hear about that. That sucks big time.

I guess the good news is you can probably turn this into a blessing disguise and get some good parts / upgrades out of it. Just make sure for the parts you replace (body panels I mean) that you use OE Mopar parts and not any of that ill-fitting off-brand crap.
 
Chris said:
Damn man, I'm sorry to hear about that. That sucks big time.

I guess the good news is you can probably turn this into a blessing disguise and get some good parts / upgrades out of it. Just make sure for the parts you replace (body panels I mean) that you use OE Mopar parts and not any of that ill-fitting off-brand crap.
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Shit happens though, so no biggie in the long run. Hopefully its a good payout if nothing else. I'll for sure replace the hood and cowl and windshield and frame. The quarter panel is probably good enough, I'll just use that money elsewhere. I'll definitely look at the mopar OE replacement panels though, and paint them before putting them on, so its less of a PITA.
 
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Please make sure you get the frame and suspension thoroughly checked. Although the tree itself doesn't weigh that much, it was likely a couple thousand pounds of force coming down on your front end.
 
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Anybodyhome said:
Please make sure you get the frame and suspension thoroughly checked. Although the tree itself doesn't weigh that much, it was likely a couple thousand pounds of force coming down on your front end.
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I’ve never gone through this process before, so I’m not sure if I have to take it somewhere to get inspected or if USAA will come to look at it, or if it’s done through pictures, which will make it difficult to show how the Jeep pulls hard to the right now, and the brakes and suspension scream when it moves. So I’ll start that fight today. I appreciate you man!
 
It looks as if it may not be a total loss, but has substantial damage to the body, and suspension. My brother-in-law and I are repairing it under his LLC if thats the case, and am starting to put together a parts list. That being said, if anyone has pictures of their JKU on 35's with the AEV 2.5" lift, I'd love to see it. Alternatively, if anyone has a suggestion for a progressive spring lift that is shock-less, I'd love to put a decent set of springs with Fox or Falcon reservoir shocks. I'll spend a good deal of time on the road, forestry service roads, and mild-ish off roading. Nothing too nuts.
 
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