I had some questions regarding my cherokee no longer needed to be highway friendly. Most modifications i've made so far have been keeping road manners in mind. Well that is no longer the case.

My questions are:

Do I need a SYE if the car will no longer be a daily?

What modifcations can I do with the car no longer needing to be "highway" friendly?

Thanks

 

a sye isn't about keeping it road friendly. The output shaft is bigger, which mean it is less likely to break. And it use double cardan driveshaft which is better.

 

Remove any leaf spring clamps, grease in between leafs if you want to get fancy, remove sway bars, get bias ply tires, run non-DOT lights and beadlock rims, install hand throttle and rear cutting brakes.. not sure what kind of stuff you've done already, therefore its tough to gauge what kind of suggestions you're looking for.

 

Existing Specs might be helpful

There's alot of little stuff done but here is the most important:
Rusty HD 3" Coil upfront
RC 2in shackle in rear w/ Rusty 1.5in AAL
RC HD LCA's
Pro Comp shocks all around for 3in lift (the rear dont max out and the front do but its probably the only thing saving the control arm mounts from removing themselves)
Rear sway removed and quick disconnects in the front.
ZJ "HD" Steering

And i should revise, it would be nice to be able to occasionally take it on road. Probably no more than 40/45 MPH/ 10 mile trips.

I'm trying to stay very conservative on funds for these mods (is that even a thing?) but I figured theres gotta be few things you can do when highway is no longer a thing.

I know, i'm picky. The new toy is a 07 4Runner, fully loaded V8. I can keep 80+ up i70!!! and the seat warmers are also awesome.. of course I've already squeezed the biggest pair of Duratracs on it, however on my very mild off road camping trip I wanted to break out a pair of hedgers so i wouldn't slide against pertruding branches...

SYE-
I've concluded that the SYE was mainly to alieve drive line vibes caused by steep angles binding the yoke. The double cardigan shaft just gives an extra bend, and people seem to use the front shaft more often than not, and i'd imagine there pretty similar in strength. I could be totally wrong.

 

Sye shafts are really thicker, along with more splines to compensate for the width in diameter. I have seen stock shafts snap simply because it's too thin.

 

Having a slip yoke if you flex the suspension enough it can slide right out of the t case.With a sye the driveshaft is bolted in and can't fall out like that.

 

Install a full set of new Rustys 3" leaf springs in the rear. For an off road XJ it should have armor at least TC, fuel tank and rocker panel sliders. But first are very good recovery points front and rear and a winch later is a good idea. Till then you can use a Hi-Lift jack for a winch if you have to a very handy piece of equipment one I wouldn't be without.