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Newbie Build '13 JKU

1K views 9 replies 3 participants last post by  Usual Susepct 
#1 ·
I picked up a new to me 13 Sahara JKU last year. Things I have learned, plan ahead for electrical, and probably just about anything else you want to do.
The JKU came with aftermarket round LED's someone had drilled in the bumper. Took 3 days to find the switch, it was taped to a wiring harness under the dash. It also has 2 pillar mounted lights. Finding the switch for it was also like the hunt for Red October, it was taped up under the passenger side dash. I decided to replace them with with LED light bars, and after seeing the wiring mess bought an sPOD to clean it all up, well worth the investment, and really cleaned up the previous owner's mishmash of wiring. As an added bonus I picked up the sPOD from the manufacturer and met the owners, really nice folks.
 
#2 ·
Now to my next phase, the lift. To a newbie lifts can be daunting and confusing. This 3.5" lift is really a 3" lift, this one is a 3", but is really a 4", and this one a 3" is really 3". I had to read 100's of threads, and was still confused. I also found all kits are not equal, some have the exhaust extension pieces, some don't, and it takes some research once you have it narrowed down to find out what is included in what they call the base kit.
Asking Jeep Owner's, they will tell you what they own is the best, and they highly recommend it, which means they are happy with their purchase.
In the end I ordered a BDS 3" with the Fox shock upgrade, front and rear adjustable track bars, and a BDS 5500 steering stabilizer.
Now to wait for it to be shipped, and install it.

Next task, trying to find a set of wheels and tires for the lift.
Questions I forgot to ask -
Do I need spacers if I run the stock wheels and tires for a day or two?
Will the stock spare tire mount and tailgate hold a larger and heavier wheel and tire, or will be buying a new rear bumper and tire carrier, then the 3rd brake light question, will the stock work or not?
 
#3 ·
#4 ·
Good deal, have fun!

On the lift, the BDS lift uses cam/octo washers for caster correction... Do yourself a favor and buy a set of geometry brackets for $100 to put on with that kit and don't use the octo washers.

AEV Conversions NTH20410AD - AEV Geometry Correction Front Control Arm Brackets for 07-16 Jeep® Wrangler & Wrangler Unlimited JK - Quadratec
Thank you for the advice, did a search and read some threads on this, and will spend the extra $$ on it. :Thanx: I should take a before and after picture, always nice to compare them. T
 
#6 ·
My first mod I did not get any pictures of. I added the sPOD switch unit, and LED's to the front bumper and pillars.
This past weekend I was quite busy. Friday FedEx has a nice surprise, my HotHead Headliners in it. I should have done this when the rig was new. I no longer feel the heat penetrating the hardtop, and the amount of road noise eliminated made me happy. You can see the SPOD switches in the pic.
I am not sure why the picture is 90 degrees rotated, the original is not.
 

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