NewKindOfClown

Most SYEs are the same, unless you get a kit that says "Hack n Tap." Those are for NP242 cases. Does your 4WD shifter have a position that says "Full Time"?

Jaster343

so on the topic of SYE's is it a good option to use an XJ front drive shaft or should that be a temporary fix until I can scratch up the loot for a new drive shaft?

salad

XJ front drive shaft is perfectly fine on a permanent basis. Cleaned, painted, and new moving parts and it will be indistinguishable from new.

*IF* it's the right size. Some XJs need longer, like the front drive shaft from a ZJ. There's a chart floating around on Google that lists stock front drive shaft lengths.

NewKindOfClown

Do you have a picture of an XJ front handy? I only have Wranglers in the lot to look at. If it's the same size as a YJ shaft, I'd use it as a temporary thing and then keep it as a spare.

Did this to my YJ front with an auto trans, 3.07 gears, and about half throttle:

Squidd

I finally pulled the trigger and bought the Rubicon Express 3.5" super flex kit and monotube shocks. I'm super excited about getting the kit. I'll be doing a write up on the install. Thanks for the help everybody!

sycoglitch

Youre not like most people with jeeps lol

NewKindOfClown

Good choice!

salad

lol nice job.

No, I'm afraid I do not. I probably have a shot of all the rust under my XJ though. There's not much to tell... slip yoke in the center, single-cardan 1310 at one end, double-cardan 1310 at the other.

McCaffrey

I don't know about putting a front drive shaft in the rear. It looks quite small and in extreme situations I find myself, and see others, being forced to slide over a rock directly on the rear shaft.

okee87

My 87 auto has 2L/4H/N/4L pretty sure it is the NP231 ..... I also looked at my OE front drive shaft and it appears significantly smaller in diameter to my stock rear DS. Original equip is with Dana 44 in the rear if that impacted size of rear drive shaft. I've not had a chance to do actual length measurements yet. And yes, DO NOT want to do hack 'n tap.

GoingForBroke

I'm just getting familiar with having a lifted vehicle and have a question pertaining to leaf spring replacements. The XJ I just bought has a 3" RC lift installed along with a steering stabilizer. However, the leaf springs don't look nearly as new (surface rust). Is it possible they installed a 3" lift without replacing leaf springs? I really thought that 3"+ lift needed new leafs.

Along with that, If I were to replace the leaf springs would I need to buy 3" lift leaf springs? Sorry if this is a dumb question, I just don't know if a kit would always come with leafs or if certain coordination of shocks/leafs/springs is required.

Thanks for any clarification!

salad

Yes that's an NP231 shift pattern. A full shaft replacement SYE will work fine. There are some minor differences throughout the years of NP231 so make sure to read the directions when installing (some require the shift sector shaft to be trimmed) down a tad).

As for rear DS length a Dana 44 has a longer pinion, you'll use a shorter DS than someone with a Dana 35 would. The absolute shortest rear DS an XJ could have had from the factory is with an AW4 and D44 or C8.25 rear end. The longest would be an AX-5 or -15 and D35. (All 4x4, naturally 2WD shafts are longer but you can't SYE them...) Guys like me with an AX-15 (short transmission) and C8.25 (long axle) need to use a ZJ front drive shaft to fit a 3" lift with SYE.

There's no harm in driving around in 4WD without your rear DS installed. It'll just be a FWD vehicle. Since your XJ is prior to 1996, though, you'll need to plug or cover the slip yoke coming out of the transfer case, or it'll **** fluid everywhere and go dry fast.

Very often people will purchase an Add-A-Leaf for a 3" lift. Especially with Rough Country. They're installed by disassembling the leaf pack and inserting a very stiff, steeply-arched "helper spring", then putting the leaf pack back together. If you look closer you might notice one of the leaves has more paint on it.

But yes you'll need to replace the entire spring pack if you want to replace the entire spring pack Lift components are all sized to work together, so grab a 3" lift spring.

bzeug

So I put a 3 inch lift on about a week and a half ago.it was riding pretty rough so I put a one inch drop on my transfer case same day as the lift. Now (and it just started) when I hit the brakes and I'm slowing down I'm getting a sort of thud sound which sounds like once per rotation of the axle. It's hard to tell where it's coming from but I think the rear. I tried moving my rear drive shaft around by hand to see if it was loose and it seems to be solid. Does anybody know what could be causing this? And I am panning on getting an sye asap!!!

Jaster343

so we're thinking temp solution until the piggy bank is swollen. Sounds like a plan.

NewKindOfClown

That's my stance, but I stopped taking shortcuts and started doing things right once I got a Wrangler. I had a Cherokee and a Comanche before this, and I got things done... But it was questionable work cause I wanted to maximize my dollar