When is drive angle on a lift too much for stock parts?

[GreenReaper93]

1047519

Hey there all you Jeep enthusyists! I'm 19 and just purchased a '93 YJ. It's pretty stock with the 4.0 and all, except for the tires... they're 30's. I read the board from TJ, so I'm humbling myself by telling you right know I some, but I would still like to learn more. I've talk to a couple of good ol' boys on this forum, and I'd like to ask the opinion from others

I plan to mod my YJ for some small/med. rocking, up the tires slightly, and get a lift. I'm wanting 31's or 33's, but I've been told too many different decisions with the lift part. I'm debating on 2.5" or 3", but will this mean buying a slip yoke eliminator kit? Also, I've been told that I can use stock parts still on 2.5" lift, but then they tell me no, or that I can go up to 3" without having to replace the pitman arm, drive shafts, and whatnot. I'm totally confused now

Thanks for your time in reading.[addsig]

 

[Quik8slvr]

1047525

before my engine mods i was running 5" lift, and 31's on my stock driveshaft with no SYE, also never got around to installing the dropped pitman arm but all that did was make the steering wheel unalligned, still drove fine, pretty much all the lift kits out there come with everything you need, if you want to not add a SYE you'll have to lower your T-Case atleast 1", add some axle shims and you should be ok, although i did this under a 2.5L engine, but the way i drive it was definitely not easy on it, so if you're careful you should be alright, i'd install the pitman arm though since most of the kits come with it, i just didnt have the right sized socket[addsig]

 

[GreenReaper93]

1047527

So the 3" lift will still be ok? I'll still have to lower the T-case right?

[addsig]

 

[Quik8slvr]

1047548

yeah, if you dont lower the t-case you're really likely to snap a u joint, I put the SYE kit in when i did my engine swap and it was well worth it, lowering the t-case can make shifting into 2nd, 4th, and R a bitch, and then you have to go trim some metal away to make it smooth, dont have that problem with an SYE, because you dont have to lower your t-case, www.4xshaft.com has a SYE kit and custom tom woods drive shaft on sale for $475, thats what i put in my baby and it was worth every penny of it

[addsig]

 

[BigBlackJeep]

1047562

I did the SOA on my YJ along with the typical easy shackle lift, which totals about 7.5-8 inches of total lift. I have the stock driveshaft in the rear. We also dropped the transfer case 1.5" and rotated the axles to help eliminate some of the driveshaft angle. Believe it or not, the rear axle ended up right were it should be, in the middle of the travel on the slip yoke. As to the shifting, haven't noticed any difference in gettin into 2,4, or R. So far on our SOA converstion, we spent a total of $70. That consisted of 3 shocks, two in the front and 1 in the rear that we messed up in the process, the other we reused. The rest was in various fittings to extend the brakelines. Which BTW, is the WORST part of the job. But the end process was worth it. If you want to go a little bigger than 3", SOA is the way to go- gives you approx. 5.5" lift, and it uses almost all your old parts. We are workin on gettin a website to show all the custom stuff we did. I'll keep you posted on when its done-



-A Jeep always looks good in brown....-[addsig]

 

[BigBlackJeep]

1047566

Just to clear up any confusion, what I meant was the 'Believe it or not, the rear DRIVESHAFT ended up right where it should be...' Just to clear up any possible questions about what I said...



-Get your Jeep a brown coat for Christmas...-[addsig]

 

[GreenReaper93]

1047572

So BBJ, you didn't put a SYE on your jeep? I wonder... how hard is it to lower the T-case? How hard is it to install SYE? Just asking.... thanks guys for the feedback thus far. It's really been worth it.[addsig]

 

[BigBlackJeep]

1047580

GR93- Lowering the transfer case is pretty easy. It took us about 10 minutes to do the actual lowering. All you need to do is take out one of the skidplate bolts you have now, go to a hardware store to match up the threads, buy 6 bolts and washers that are about 1.5" longer and some square tubing. We used 1.5" tubing cut to match the length of the skidplate on both sides, drilled 3 holes in each for the bolts to go through. Now, when it comes to actually lowering the plate/transfer case, its just a process of switching the bolts over. Take out 1 bolt at either end, thread in the longer one enough to hold, then take out the remaining two, the skidplate will drop down enough to install the tubing at the opposite end. From there its just a matter of putting in the longer bolts. Really not that hard at all. Also, you could always put the tubing at the bolts and not the entire length, but the pieces of tubing don't look as strong to me. Either way, it works. I will be posting pics of our SOA soon...I'll keep you posted on it.



-If you have never gotten your Jeep stuck, you aren't trying hard enough...-[addsig]

 

[Quik8slvr]

1047581

if you dont want to be snapping u joints, i'd recomend the SYE if you have the money it is more then worth it, if you dont, remember to carrie a 20oz soda bottle with you in your jeep because when you do break those u-joints, you'll have to take the drive shaft off, cut part of the bottle off and tape it into the transfercase so that all of your t-case oil doesnt go spitting out, and then you can atleast limp home with front wheel drive[addsig]

 

[GreenReaper93]

1047606

Thanks guys! You've given me some great ideas! Keep me posted on you SOA BBJ. If ya' think of anything else, write me. Thanks Q8S! You've helped out alot. I saw the link you gave me. Sounds like a sturdy plan. How long did it take for you to install the SYE?[addsig]

 

[RayOvac]

1047628

Hey there...congrats on the jeep purchase...I'm sure you'll love it. Anyway I did a 4 inch suspension lift on my 95YJ and honestly I would get the pitman arm if I could...the one from a cherokee works good I have heard...my kit came with one so I just had it put on after I finished the lift. Without the drop pitman arm on the bumpsteer was pretty bad but once it was changed out it cleared that up. As far as driveshaft angles you will need to do something...whether it be lowering the case or getting SYE. I didn't do either at first and the vibrations were real bad. I ended up lowering the case...which was about the easiest part of the whole project. All you need is six bolts that are about 2 inches longer than the ones on your skidplate and 12 washers for them and six 1 inch by 1/2 inch dia pipe fittings. Put a jack under the skidplate and take all the bolts out from one side and lower it a bit and put in your fittings with a washer on top and bottom...then put the bolts in. Take out the ones from the other side and do the same...takes just a few minutes and it cost me just a few dollars for the hardware. There are kits that you can get but this is basically the same thing...The kits run from $30-$100.[addsig]

 

[Snitty]

1047629

Lowering the case and installing the SYE are both simply jobs. The lowering setup that BBJ used is quite a good setup. The driveshaft angle is pretty nice. There is the same amount of slip yoke exposed as I have on my near stock height wrangler. Either way works. I would suggest the SYE.. But if you are like me... then you have to do everything with the "wallet friendly" method. Good luck

here is a picture... we torqued this end down a little much... but it got the job done... we should have welded a cap over the end to prevent crap from getting in... but we'll take care of that anothe time[addsig]

 

[Snitty]

1047630

if that doesn't work... click here[addsig]

 

[Snitty]

1047631

poop poop poop[addsig]

 

[Snitty]

1047632

IF THIS DOESNT WORK... I'M DONE TRYING[addsig]

 

[GreenReaper93]

1047639

Thanks everyone for the great advice! I think I'll use both ideas. For the time being (and the wallet size being) I'll drop the T-case. Later in the summer I'll buy a kit like the one from Tom Wood, and install it. I'll save the OEM bolts from the drop. Thanks again for the suggestions!

[addsig]

 

[flyboy]

1047651

This might be a stupid question, but what is an SYE? This conversation is very interesting, it's helping me too!!

[addsig]

 

[dingus]

1047652

SYE = slip yoke eliminator[addsig]

 

[Joopin]

1047655

what about SOA? what does that stand for? I'm in the same shoes this is all very helpfull![addsig]

 

[dingus]

1047657

SOA = spring over axle (a lifting technique)[addsig]