PumpinIron

Okay so I bought my 2000 Cherokee roughly a year ago. The previous owner had installed an OME (Old Man Emu) lift kit on it. He claimed it was 2.5 in the front and 3 inches in the rear. He said after he did this he was getting bad vibrations from the drive train so he bought some brackets to lower the transfer case about an inch.

Lowing the transfer case got rid of the vibrations he said and now as the current owner I can say for certain there are no vibrations.

My question is this: At what point do you need to install a SYE? What I mean by that is I would assume that lifting the Jeep an inch or so wouldn't cause any vibrations, so at what point do the vibrations start happening?

I don't want those brackets on there forever lowering the transfer case so at some point I either need to get a SYE or lower the thing a little bit. It's not an off road Jeep by any means so it doesn't need to be super jacked up or anything. Maybe it's just me but the thing seems like it's a lot higher than a 2.5 inch lift.

Here's a picture (you can see the transfer case drop brackets under there if you look hard enough)...

Atmos

damn that's a clean jeep


if it starts vibing or leaking at the rear output tailcone that's when I say SYE it. but as is, if you don't offroad, there should be no dire need to install one. although it cant hurt

some people vibe at 3.5" and I've had friends run 5" of lift without any problems besides leaking. every jeep is different

unidentifiedbomb

You'll find out from here that each Jeep is different but it is generally known that the older the jeeps the more lift friendly they are and it's common for a later model to get vibes at only 3"s of lift. I'm at 3.5-4" of lift on my 88' and have no issues with the vibes

PumpinIron

Thanks for that info guys! I'll probably leave the transfercase drop brackets on there for a while but eventually I'll buy a SYE just for the hell of it.

I got lucky with my Jeep. I bought it from the original owner (who happened to be the Master Tech at an Inifinty dealership). It had the typical 0331 cracked head issue so instead of just replacing the head he bought a brand new crate motor for it and installed it in the Jeep. I bought it with 150k on the body and only 20k on the motor! He have me all the paperwork for the motor and everything so not a bad deal I would say!

One reason I don't want to off-road it much... It doesn't have a single scratch or door ding anywhere on it. It's literally flawless inside and out. If I'm going to off-road something I'll buy an older Cherokee that's already not in the best of condition.

elistwrt

I have a 97 with 4.5 inch lift which really made 5.25 inch lift and I only had vibes at 35mph. So I spaced the crossmember and all the vibes went away.

PumpinIron

I've never actually run the Jeep without the transfercase drop brackets (they came on the Jeep when I bought them) so I guess in order to really know how bad it is I'd have to remove them and drive it for a bit.

I still don't know how much of a lift I have though. Previous owner said it was a 2.5 inch but it seems a lot taller than that.

unidentifiedbomb

What size tires? and if you don't plan on doing anything then I wouldn't waste your money on an sye, there's no point to it for you honestly. And don't let the quality scare you from the offroad scene, you can be fine going down some light trails just for the enjoyment of being outdoors

Kaktus

You need a SYE when you start getting vibes.

PumpinIron

Well, it's time for new tires so I'm putting on some Cooper Discoverer STTs in a 31x10.50x15.

I agree. I should have been more clear to begin with. I do the occasional light trails, driving on the beach, taking it to the mountain in the snow, and all that. I just meant to say that I don't plan on rock crawling it or anything where I'll be causing body damage to it.

Tony_SS

I would say if it's not vibing, then don't mess with it. Leave it as is and enjoy it.

OverlandZJ

If your curious enough break out the tape measure. Stock would be 17" bottom of flare to wheel hub center.. 17.5" rear.

Previous being a Tech he probably did what he needed to get the driveline geometry close enough that you don't feel a heavy vibe. Probably with the drop and maybe a degree shim added between leafs and perch mount.

You could visit Tom Woods site and follow the directions to see what your operating angles are.. settle your curiosity on whether you need an SYE.

PumpinIron

That's good info! I'll measure it just to be sure. I trust the guy being a Master Tech, just seems like the lift is more than a few inches.