When I get my 3.5" lift for my xj, should I drop the transfer case? Or get an sye?

 

a tc drop may or may not work, but you lose ground clearance if that matters to you.the sye is a sure fix just more money , or should i say the right fix for the long run. a 4 " lift on my 98 gave it bad vibes , only a sye cured the problem, also shim up the rear 4 degrees.

 

im at 5.5" with just a case drop and its manageable. if your looking for a cheep option go with a hack n tap. about 100-150 with a stock xj front drive shaft

 

I have the iron rock OR hack and tap and it's worked great for me so far. I previously had a t case drop but I was tired of the decreased ground clearance and my exhaust dragging over everything, and I thought it was a pretty good idea to have the same front and rear driveshafts, so that's why I got the sye. My t case drop was working well for me as far as functionality and drivability... I just didn't like the ground clearance.

 

T/C drop is a good band-aid fix that may work long term.

Hack & Tap is a lower cost option to a full-on JB Conversions or Advance Adapters SYE and, as such, is a step up from just a t/c drop.

If you want to properly fix the issue, get a proper SYE. Especially if you plan to go higher with the lift.

Another up-side to the SYE is that your rear driveshaft slip-yoke will no longer be your T/C's rear output seal. SO, if you pretzel our rear shaft (or bust a u-joint) you can remove the rear shaft and not lose your t/c fluid all over the trail.

Just remember though: for both the hack & tapand proper SYEs you will need to replace your rear driveshaft with a double cardan shaft. So don't forget to factor that into your budget.

 

X2^^^^^^^^^

 

An SYE is a good idea and some can be bought for as little as $150 if you shop around and not a H&T either,

 

A lot of people run the t-case drop until they can afford a SYE (people like me). Also the driveline vibes can depend on your trans and axle. I e the AW4 + C8.25 combo makes for a shorter rear drivrshaft and worse vibes at lesser lift heights. I would advise budgeting in a SYE for the near future, run a 1" t-case drop in the meantime if there are any vibes.

 

Same here. I have a case drop now and will be doing a hack and tap soon, but only cause im throwing my long arms on soon and can't run the case drop with the belly pan.

 

You can just run it like it is before spending money on either. Every Jeep is different so you may not even get vibes...Course the newer xjs like yours are more prone to vibes than the old ones

 

The majority of the time you will "NOT" be able to run it like it is without problems. At the very least a 1" drop which I hate to use because of the clearance you lose when you do it.

$150 for an SYE to do it right and no more problems even if you go higher is worth the cost to do it now. I did mine when I went from 3-4 1/2"'s of lift with shims also.

If you can fit it into your budget I would suggest that you try and do it.