Jeep JK Jack Base by AEV
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Installing a suspension lift on your Jeep Wrangler is one of the most exciting and most common upgrades any Jeep owner can think of. Lifting your Jeep results in better approach, departure and break over angles, as well as the ability to put on larger tires. When you install larger tires, that’s when you actually increase your vehicles ground clearance. Since the lowest point on your live-axle Jeep is the differential, and it’s part of the axle, only increasing the size of your tires will give you more ground clearance. One aspect of installing a lift and putting on larger tires, which many Jeep owners forget about, is the ability to change your new tires in case you get a flat. Due to your axles being raised, your factory “scissor” jack becomes unsafe to use (remember: since the axle tubes are the proper jack points on your Jeep, it’s the tire size that impacts the location of those points and not the amount of your suspension lift).
You have to consider what you want to use from now on in the event of a flat tire. There are of course several options available. The simplest is to get yourself a couple of pieces of 2×6 lumber and store it somewhere in the Jeep. They would be wide enough to provide a stable base for your stock jack and would raise the jack about 3 inches from the ground.
Other options are: an aftermarket base for the factory jack, a high-lift jack, a bottle jack, or an inflatable exhaust jack.
Here is a good video explaining the differences and advantages of the different options.
A high-lift jack is a very useful recovery tool and can perform several functions on the trail, however it was never really designed for tire changing and can be very dangerous if you are not careful when using it.
A bottle jack is a very good option for lifted vehicles, especially for maintenance performed in your garage on a hard, level surface. It is however a very heavy tool with a small footprint, that will need to be stored in your Jeep, together with probably a couple of pieces of 2×6 lumber serving as a base in soft terrain.
Inflatable exhaust jack offers a very wide footprint preventing it from sinking on soft surfaces, however it will not provide much lift, is very bulky and heavy making it difficult to store inside the Jeep, and is quite expensive. For those reasons exhaust jacks are not very popular in offroading community.
After considering pro’s and con’s of all the options I decided that for everyday driving as well as wheeling trips, I am going to stick with the factory scissor jack. It comes standard with a Jeep, it’s compact, easy to use, much more practical and safer to use than a Hi-Lift jack for changing tires and stores away nicely and out of sight when not in use.
For all the maintenance tasks I perform on my Jeep, I keep a floor jack and a bottle jack in my garage as well. Based on experience installing my lift kit, there are situations when you might need all three jacks at the same time.
Since the stock jack will get extended beyond it’s safe limit when using on my lifted Jeep with 35″ tires, I considered simply carrying couple of pieces of 2×6’s, however after coming across the AEV’s Jeep JK Jack Base and seeing how it perfectly fits inside my rear floor compartment, I decided to give it a try.
I understand that due to it’s pretty high price, it might be considered a luxury item by some Jeep owners.
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Installing a suspension lift on your Jeep Wrangler is one of the most exciting and most common upgrades any Jeep owner can think of. Lifting your Jeep results in higher ground clearance, better approach, departure and break over angles, as well as the ability to put on larger tires. Upgrading your tire size will require a new tire carrier to accommodate both the heavier weight and larger diameter. Factory tire carrier of a Jeep JK is made of thin aluminum and designed to carry a maximum weight of 50 lbs. under normal to light trail conditions. Exceeding that weight limit could cause damage to the tire carrier or even the tailgate itself. The Wrangler’s tailgate is comprised of an outer and inner shell, spot welded on the inside. When more weight is introduced to the tire carrier, it pulls the carrier back, along with the outer shell. Eventually, the force will begin to pop the welds along the inner shell, separating both pieces and causing damage to the tailgate.
Installing a suspension lift on your Jeep Wrangler is one of the most exciting and most common upgrades any Jeep owner can think of. Lifting your Jeep Wrangler results in higher ground clearance, better approach, departure and break over angles and ability to put on larger tires. That means you can take your Jeep out to the backcountry and enjoy some real offroading. With all that fun, you might eventually find yourself doing a water crossing, or simply playing in mud.
I have never been a big fan of the netting used by Chrysler on the doors and dashboard of the Jeep Wrangler JK, instead of actual pockets. I honestly do not use the door netting at all, since I try do drive doorless as much as possible. I am lucky to live in a warm climate of Arizona, which makes it possible to enjoy doorless driving most of the year.
Any Jeep Wrangler owner have experienced weird noises their vehicle makes occasionally. We all realize that Jeeps are not really known for comfort and refinement. They are made for offroading and that’s where they shine, however daily driving, although fun, might make you go insane if you listen to every little unexplained noise your Jeep makes. Some of those noises are due to Wrangler’s shape, resulting in terrible aerodynamics. If you take the top off and install it back without making sure all the seals are perfectly aligned, you will experience loud wind noise. If you upgrade your front bumper or the fenders, you’ll increase drag and the noise will become even louder. Larger, more aggressive tires can be very noisy on asphalt. During daily driving you will most likely hear some squeaking inside the cabin, from the doors or seats for example. There might sometimes be some whining sounds coming from behind the dashboard.
Lifting your Jeep Wrangler JK results not only in higher ground clearance, better approach, departure and break over angles and ability to put on larger tires, but it also causes changes to your driveline as well as steering geometry. Make sure you educate yourself on this topic before installing a lift on your Jeep, especially anything over 3″.
Really popular modification that most Jeep owners will do to their Wranglers is to replace the factory front plastic bumper that came with their stock Jeep JK, with a heavy duty offroad bumper. Aftermarket bumpers offer a ton of advantages over the factory bumper, providing better protection for the front of the Jeep, but most of all allowing you to install a winch and additional offroad lighting. Depending on the design, aftermarket offroad front bumper might also increase your Jeep’s approach angle and expose the front wheels, making it easier to put tires on large obstacles. It might also include steel skid plate, protecting the electronic sway bar disconnect motor, if your Jeep has one.
Jeep Wrangler JK unfortunately lacks proper lighting in the rear cargo area. Any Wrangler owner probably experienced a situation when they were loading or unloading their Jeep after dark and could not see anything in the cargo area behind the back seats.
Changing the fluid in your Jeep JK front and rear differentials is an important part of routine maintenance. Fresh gear oil insures your differentials are well lubricated and function properly. And, unlike previous Jeep Wranglers, it is not necessary to remove the differential cover in order to do this. It is however recommended that you do so anyway from time to time (possibly every other fluid change) as it will give you a chance to inspect your gears and catch any damage or unusual wear. 
The most common situation when extended brake lines are necessary is when you install a lift on your Jeep. The distance between the frame/body of the Jeep and axles increases after a suspension lift, therefore longer brake lines are required during articulation. You might also want to replace your stock rubber brake lines with stainless steel braided brake lines when you realize that the stock lines are deteriorating due to weather conditions (very high temperatures in the summer or lots of salt on the road due to ice and snow in the winter) and when you begin noticing a much softer, spongy brake pedal feel. That feeling is most likely due to moisture getting into the brake lines, which leads to reduced boiling point of the fluid and forming of air bubbles, as well as corrosion of the metal components of the system and consequently contamination of the fluid.
When it comes to Jeep upgrades, brakes are often very low on the list of priorities. After upgrading wheels and installing larger 35″ tires, your stock brakes will have a very difficult time stopping your vehicle, both on the road and especially while negotiating thru an obstacle while offroading. When you increase the size and weight of your tires, you should really think about upgrading your brakes as well. It will improve your confidence while driving and just might help you avoid a collision or an accident. New, upgraded brakes are not cheap, however knowing that your braking power has been increased and stopping distance has been reduced is definitely worth the investment.