Front RK CA's & EVO 3" coils: Advice!

Landman

Landman

New member
OK so I just pulled the trigger on front adjustable RK control arms, front RK adjustable Track Bar, rear synergy track bar bracket, 3" plush rides, extended front and rear brake lines and the longer Rancho 9000s. I will be taking my aev 2.5 off and swapping it to a friends JKU. I'm sure of my decent knowledge to do this but is there anything I should watch out for? I know about the passenger upper front ca bolt but I'm hoping that will be the toughest deal. Any advice would really be appreciated as I've only helped put my buddies 2 inch spacer lift on. Thanks!!!!!:thumbup:

Edit: I also have the RR exhaust spacer and a stock front DS and jks discos.
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Landman said:
OK so I just pulled the trigger on front adjustable RK control arms, front RK adjustable Track Bar, rear synergy track bar bracket, 3" plush rides, extended front and rear brake lines and the longer Rancho 9000s. I will be taking my aev 2.5 off and swapping it to a friends JKU. I'm sure of my decent knowledge to do this but is there anything I should watch out for? I know about the passenger upper front ca bolt but I'm hoping that will be the toughest deal. Any advice would really be appreciated as I've only helped put my buddies 2 inch spacer lift on. Thanks!!!!!:thumbup:

Edit: I also have the RR exhaust spacer and a stock front DS and jks discos.
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Here are a couple of write-ups I've done for other lifts that will cover the bases on what you will need to do and should help out:

http://project-jk.com/jeep-jk-write...er-long-travel-lift-kit-installation-write-up
http://project-jk.com/jeep-jk-write...rangler-4-flex-arm-lift-installation-write-up

Don't think you will be able to set your control arms to the lengths I would recommend being that RK seems to think you should be setting them much longer but aside from that, you should be good to go.
 
wayoflife said:
Don't think you will be able to set your control arms to the lengths I would recommend being that RK seems to think you should be setting them much longer but aside from that, you should be good to go.
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This was something I wasn't sure about. I've seen multiple threads especially with 2doors having trouble with the rears but I wasn't sure about the fronts! Thanks and I'll take some pics of the install and report back!

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Landman said:
This was something I wasn't sure about. I've seen multiple threads especially with 2doors having trouble with the rears but I wasn't sure about the fronts! Thanks and I'll take some pics of the install and report back!

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It's front and rear with the rears on a 2-door being really pronounced due to the spring bow. This is really a problem when running an aftermarket drive shaft.

I would also lube up the polyurethane joints thoroughly before installing them as it'll be hard to do well after the fact and that will lead to big time squeaking.
 
Ok, so I shouldn't hopefully have any interference in the front? Just the axle shifted a bit forward?

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Landman said:
Ok, so I shouldn't hopefully have any interference in the front? Just the axle shifted a bit forward?

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Hard to say being that the Plush Ride coils are softer and because of it, can be influenced more easily. The front passenger coil will bow to toward the back a bit and may catch on the jounce stop cup edge. The driver side will bow toward the front and may rub against the end of the sway bar arm. Neither are critical but it can be annoying as when you flex, the catching and rubbing will make a loud noise.
 
i had both front and rear RK control arms. Long story short, i sold the front for the EVO front lowers, reinstalled the stock uppers, and had the rear lowers cut down to stock length so i could properly set my pinion angle because my rear track bar was stuck in between my coils. my :.02: is get the evo front lower arms and keep your stock uppers.
 
Well I really appreciate the heads up guys! I'm going to try it out and see how it turns out but I don't think I'll sell them yet lol!

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cozdude said:
i had both front and rear RK control arms. Long story short, i sold the front for the EVO front lowers, reinstalled the stock uppers, and had the rear lowers cut down to stock length so i could properly set my pinion angle because my rear track bar was stuck in between my coils. my :.02: is get the evo front lower arms and keep your stock uppers.
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How'd this happen? Were you mildy stretched?
 
I spoke to both RK and ORE and just like Eddie mentioned, there's a good chance my springs will bow. Unfortunately the rest of my stuff was delayed on a UPS truck:banghead: Should be here Tuesday.

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liljohn850 said:
How'd this happen? Were you mildy stretched?
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At their shortest length the RK arms are an inch longer than stock so to set you caster and pinion angle right you need to push them even farther back and forward. Front bowed into my sway bar links and the rears were so bowed I couldn't even drive my jeep even with the correction wedges they have.


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cozdude said:
At their shortest length the RK arms are an inch longer than stock so to set you caster and pinion angle right you need to push them even farther back and forward. Front bowed into my sway bar links and the rears were so bowed I couldn't even drive my jeep even with the correction wedges they have.


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Gahh don't tell me this!! I have all 8 control arms sitting in my jeep waiting for me to put them in! I knew about the 1 inch "stretch" but sheesh. I also have the AEV drop brackets up front. So this oughta make things interested. Poor man long arms!!
 
liljohn850 said:
Gahh don't tell me this!! I have all 8 control arms sitting in my jeep waiting for me to put them in! I knew about the 1 inch "stretch" but sheesh. I also have the AEV drop brackets up front. So this oughta make things interested. Poor man long arms!!
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I would, from what info I have gathered, remove the drop brackets completely. Hopefully someone else with a little more knowledge will chime in.

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Landman said:
I would, from what info I have gathered, remove the drop brackets completely. Hopefully someone else with a little more knowledge will chime in.

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I mean...they both serve different purposes. the drop brackets correct the geometry and caster, the control arms correct the caster. I'm gonna see how it works with the drop brackets. I will praise the ride quality and handling improvement of the drop the brackets all day long. Im sure I'll catch flack for that -_-
 
liljohn850 said:
I mean...they both serve different purposes. the drop brackets correct the geometry and caster, the control arms correct the caster. I'm gonna see how it works with the drop brackets. I will praise the ride quality and handling improvement of the drop the brackets all day long. Im sure I'll catch flack for that -_-
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I have the aev 2.5 and rk advised against keeping them but I haven't tried lol!

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liljohn850 said:
Gahh don't tell me this!! I have all 8 control arms sitting in my jeep waiting for me to put them in! I knew about the 1 inch "stretch" but sheesh. I also have the AEV drop brackets up front. So this oughta make things interested. Poor man long arms!!
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1" longer arms are just that, 1" longer arms - far from being anything close to a long arm.
 
Landman said:
I have the aev 2.5 and rk advised against keeping them but I haven't tried lol!

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They recommend against it because you would have way too much positive caster. That will lead to severe driveline angle and can potentially damage your transfer case.
 
liljohn850 said:
Good to know!! I emailed aev to see their take.
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:cheesy: You do know that AEV made their drop brackets as a cheap way to get around the need for adjustable control arms and to get away from their god awful cam bolts they used to sell with their kits, right? It's all about geometry - their drop bracket correct for it and adding 1" longer than stock arms WILL drastically change your caster angle.
 
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