AEV 3.5″ DualSport SC Install

No Jeep should be without a lift, and AEV’s 3.5″ DualSport SC is one of the best options on the market. 

We always knew that a major suspension upgrade would be a part of the JK build. In preparation for this, we wanted to make sure that we selected a suspension system that would provide us with a strong foundation, but it would also have to be compatible with other aftermarket components.

After deciding that a coilover conversion wouldn’t be in our future, we selected the AEV 3.5″ DualSport SC suspension system. AEV is the closest thing you can get to an OEM lift so it fit the bill perfectly.

The criteria that we used in coming to this conclusion were:

• Must be compatible with remote reservoir shocks.
• Overall height of the vehicle on 35″ tires must be under 6′ 10″ (so it fits into my garage).
• Maintain stock handling and ride dynamics.
• All components must be bolt on, and not make any permanent changes (no weld on brackets etc.)

This install is going to be very abbreviated because AEV provides excellent instructions with all of their components.

Some of the Professionals here at DirtRoadTrip

Total install time is about 8 hours without a lift, but you could probably do the entire job in 4 with one. I highly recommend that you seek out a professional if you don’t have any experience working on solid axle suspension components.

What You’ll Need:

• A good floor jack (remember your jeep is going to be 3.5-4″ taller than factory)
• Jack Stands
• Metric Wrenches and Sockets
• Drill with assorted drill bits
• Screwdrivers
• I recommend air tools if you have them, it makes life so much easier.

The rear was pretty straight forward, just jack up the truck, unbolt all of the factory suspension components, and swap in the new AEV ones. Also make sure to be careful when relocating the brake lines as you don’t want any rub.

At this point you’ll also have to drill a new hole for the supplied bracket, I prefer using a step drill rather than standard bits. It gives you substantially more control and you can use a regular bit to finish reaming it out once you get close to your desired diameter.

Now the front is where things get really tricky right off the bat. First you’ll have to jack up the front end and you soon realize how much travel these trucks really have. We utilized a wood block under the front axle and it gave us just enough lift to get the truck onto stands.

Again you’ll repeat the same steps as the rear. Remove the OEM components and replace them with the supplied AEV components. Now if you don’t have any experience working on a solid front axle suspension setup I recommend that you find someone that does. We spent a lot more time then necessary on this portion but we wanted to make sure we got things right.

We finished up pretty late in the evening, but as always, you can’t beat spending a day in the garage. There wasn’t anything overly tricky about working on the Jeep, and it’s substantially easier than working on a IFS truck. The thing that surprised me the most about the whole experience is how much of a learning curve that we had to overcome during the install. We’d never worked on a non IFS truck in the garage before, but we took away a lot of good lessons to make things easier next time.

A big thank you goes out to Pop’s, Tony, and Victor for all of their help in getting the truck up and running. I wouldn’t be able to do any of these modifications without their continued support and beer drinking abilities.