AEV high steer kit / drag link flip kit
#1
JK Freak
Thread Starter
AEV high steer kit / drag link flip kit
I just wanted to provide some feedback on the AEV high steer kit I just put on. For a little background, I have a 2 door soft top rubicon. I put a 3" teraflex lift on it which netted me a TON of lift. I ended up putting in the 2 door specific 3" coils (which I believe are the 4 door 2.5" coils) which put me closer to 3" of true lift.
I did the front end alignment and had it verified by a shop. I'm running 6 degrees of caster and 1/8" of toe.
The jeep drives pretty good around town. I do get a lot of feedback into the steering wheel from the tires going over bumps. The jeep also tends to pull whichever way the road is crowned. We have a lot of divided roads here where the right lane crowns right and the left lane crowns left.
At highway speeds (75 mph) the jeep has a tendency to wander. The steering around center felt pretty "dead" and it would shift from pulling right to pulling left. Large vehicles pulling up next to me would cause the jeep to pull pretty hard in the opposite direction from them. Likewise crosswinds would blow me all over the road. It was liveable but I wouldn't be comfortable letting anyone else drive it on the highway.
I suspected that my steering geometry was off just enough that inputs into the suspension (bumps, aerodynamic lift due to wind / large vehicles, or weight shift due to road crowning) was causing small steering inputs. So I started looking into drag link flip kits to correct the geometry.
Teraflex has been awesome to me, so that's the kit I considered first. But after doing some research their kit is designed for a lot more lift than I have. I read reviews from a couple people with less than the recommended amount of lift and expectedly their steering geometry did not end up correct.
I'm fortunate that I have an awesome local 4x4 shop that builds tons of jeeps. I talked to them and they told me they do the AEV high steer kit on every single JK lift they do. So after a month or so of hemming and hawing I decided to do it.
The jeep is much more well behaved now! Bumps don't move the steering wheel. The jeep doesn't pull when the road is crowned. When a big truck pulls next to me on the highway the jeep doesn't want to exit to the opposite lane. Crosswinds don't make for a white knuckled ride. I wouldn't hesitate to let me girlfriend take the jeep out on the highway now.
As a bonus the kit also came with shock relocation brackets. I had frame contact with my OME long travels so this was a nice bonus.
I just wanted to post this up because I was very hesitant about doing this. You have to drill the knuckle out so it's not easy to change your mind and go back. That was the main reason I waited so long. My fear was that I'd end up with my steering geometry even more out of whack with no easy way to go back. But I'm sure glad I did it. The jeep is a pleasure to drive now. So if you have 3" - 4" inches of lift and you have the symptoms I had, give the AEV high steer kit a serious look.
I did the front end alignment and had it verified by a shop. I'm running 6 degrees of caster and 1/8" of toe.
The jeep drives pretty good around town. I do get a lot of feedback into the steering wheel from the tires going over bumps. The jeep also tends to pull whichever way the road is crowned. We have a lot of divided roads here where the right lane crowns right and the left lane crowns left.
At highway speeds (75 mph) the jeep has a tendency to wander. The steering around center felt pretty "dead" and it would shift from pulling right to pulling left. Large vehicles pulling up next to me would cause the jeep to pull pretty hard in the opposite direction from them. Likewise crosswinds would blow me all over the road. It was liveable but I wouldn't be comfortable letting anyone else drive it on the highway.
I suspected that my steering geometry was off just enough that inputs into the suspension (bumps, aerodynamic lift due to wind / large vehicles, or weight shift due to road crowning) was causing small steering inputs. So I started looking into drag link flip kits to correct the geometry.
Teraflex has been awesome to me, so that's the kit I considered first. But after doing some research their kit is designed for a lot more lift than I have. I read reviews from a couple people with less than the recommended amount of lift and expectedly their steering geometry did not end up correct.
I'm fortunate that I have an awesome local 4x4 shop that builds tons of jeeps. I talked to them and they told me they do the AEV high steer kit on every single JK lift they do. So after a month or so of hemming and hawing I decided to do it.
The jeep is much more well behaved now! Bumps don't move the steering wheel. The jeep doesn't pull when the road is crowned. When a big truck pulls next to me on the highway the jeep doesn't want to exit to the opposite lane. Crosswinds don't make for a white knuckled ride. I wouldn't hesitate to let me girlfriend take the jeep out on the highway now.
As a bonus the kit also came with shock relocation brackets. I had frame contact with my OME long travels so this was a nice bonus.
I just wanted to post this up because I was very hesitant about doing this. You have to drill the knuckle out so it's not easy to change your mind and go back. That was the main reason I waited so long. My fear was that I'd end up with my steering geometry even more out of whack with no easy way to go back. But I'm sure glad I did it. The jeep is a pleasure to drive now. So if you have 3" - 4" inches of lift and you have the symptoms I had, give the AEV high steer kit a serious look.
#3
I put the 3.5 AEV kit on this past weekend. The high steer kit was included...no wander at all. The steering feels the same as stock to me...easy to install...just have to drill the knuckle to 7/8's.
#4
JK Freak
Thread Starter
Unlimited Offroad Centers in Fenton. I normally do all my own wrenching. I pretty much hate anyone besides myself turning wrenches on my rig (trust issues ). But when it came time to do a set of gears, I decided to leave it to the experts. My experience getting my gears done with UORC was so good and my schedule is so tight I decided to have them install the high steer kit as well. Again they did an awesome job and gave me great service.
Those guys have been great and have a serious passion for their jeeps. When they did my gears they noticed my ball joints were bad. They installed a low mileage set of take offs they had for no charge.
Last edited by Doc_D; 07-26-2010 at 09:02 AM.
#5
Hey guys I have a 2007 JKU with a 3.5 seriesII lift. I just ordered 315/75/16 Falken AT's. I'm secretly hoping this will help with my DW problem. It might be more of a shimmy now. I only have to slow down to 25 to get it to stop. I have already replaced the tie rod and everything else seems good. My question: I have been looking at getting a drag link flip kit and a jks front adjustable track bar. Would these go well together or do I not need one if I have the other. Also is there a flip kit that is better or would work better with my setup than another ?