Driveshaft Issues...

[XJNick]

intakes?

Hi,

Well, I've been working on the Cherokee for some time now...
I put a Rusty's 3" suspension lift on it a while ago, and am just now getting the other mods done to where it'll be driveable soon...

Anyways, I've heard others having problems with their rear driveshafts after a lift, and although I was hoping my stock shaft would work it's a no go. The stock driveshaft fits in length, but the angle has become too steep and the U-joints on the T-case side of the shaft bind.

So, I'm guessing my options are to buy a T-case lowering kit, or a new driveshaft, or both? I see the T-case kits aren't very expensive, but am wondering if a new driveshaft would be a better/safer way to go (don't want it to bind while driving)?

The T-case lowering kits I saw apparently are blocks or something that go between the crossmember and frame... and I am worried if I use one of these that it'll cause my transmission/T-case angle to change enough that I have problems with the T-case linkage and transmission shifter lining up properly (trust me, I had a hell of a time getting everything to line up correctly, this Peugeot is mounted very unusually)

Any opinions/thoughts welcome... :mrgreen:
Thanks
-Nick :!:

 

[Bounty__Hunter]

Did you use Rusty's 3" leaf pack for the rear?

Never heard of a binding problem on that old of a Cherokee with only 3" of lift. Our '98 had vibes with 3" of lift, but that's common on '97+ XJs. We dropped the transfer case .5" with no shifter issues. Made the TC drop myself.

If you used Rusty's leaf pack and not the AAL I'm guessing the rear lift was closer to 4" than 3". The ones I've seen are.

Double check for binding with the weight on the tires and cycling the suspension a few times. If there are any problems I'd drop the TC .5" and be done.

 

[thomasw]

Quadratec sells a t-case lowering kit made by skyjacker for pretty much all of the xj years... i installed it on my 97 after i put on a 6 inch lift, it includes a linkage extender, 30 minute installation, cheap price, no driveline vibrations at ALL...feels like stock

 

[Snitty]

i would never spend money on a manufactured TC lowering kit... they are way too easily made

 

[ecor]

A 3" kit should come with a lowering kit, the xj can't be run without one. I have done probably 40 xj's and all of them required it. A lowering kit is all of $24.00, Skyjacker, BDS, Superlift, Trailmaster, even pro-comp comes with a tc lowering kit in there 3" kit. It's one of those things that get me going in this business, people are not honest and will make there kit as least expensive as possible even if they have to cut corners, lie and then put a spin on it later to sell you another part that should have been part of the kit to begin with. You can make a TC lowering kit with 3/4" x 1" rectangular box tube. You will need 2 peices about 5" long, drill 2 holes each and get 4 new bolts. sorry about the going off it just gets to me some days :?

 

[XJNick]

I still haven't gotten around to addressing this issue yet (been working on other things), but I probably will make a spacer to use between the transmission crossmember and frame.

-Nick :!:

 

[Bounty__Hunter]

The pics

I still don't think you'll have any vibration issues with a 3" lift on that old of an XJ. Don't worry about it until you drive it to verify. I've never seen the need for a TC drop on a pre-'97 XJ with only 3" of lift.

'97+ XJ is just the opposite, you need a TC drop with any amount of lift. My buddy had vibes on his '99 XJ with only the factory 1" UpCountry package and the stealership installed a TC drop to fix it under warranty.

 

[Sound_Man]

exhaust manifold leak

I still haven't gotten around to addressing this issue yet (been working on other things), but I probably will make a spacer to use between the transmission crossmember and frame.

-Nick :!:

Hi Nick,

My first question to you would be what is the intended use of the XJ once the lift is done?

If it is to go out and do some serious rock-crawling or heavy off road use I would not drop the T-case at all. Clearance is a major issue for people that do that. I for one wanted to try to find a way to tuck my drivetrain up higher into the chasis just for clearance.

If you are going after the urban assault / mall-crawler then dropping the t-case should be the route to go. This does some other funny stuff to motor mounts, fan and shroud, throttle and transmission linkage, and fluids so be sure to watch that.

A SYE kit will fix the issues for your drive saft and either wedging or shakeling or both wil take care of angles. If you are lifting it beyond what those can handle then you might need to get drive shafts made or cut for it.

I have a 6" lift on mine now. I picked up a SYE kit, shackled the rear end and have a 3 degree wedge on my rear end. When fully flexed out the stock drive safts were to short so I had a set made for me by a local shop. I don't have any vibration or binding going on and it has held up really nice so far.

Just my $.02
Curt

 

[XJNick]

If you are going after the urban assault / mall-crawler then dropping the t-case should be the route to go. This does some other funny stuff to motor mounts, fan and shroud, throttle and transmission linkage, and fluids so be sure to watch that.

Just my $.02
Curt

This is exactly what I'm worried about too... the angle of the entire drivetrain would shift if I lower the transmission cross-member. I'd thought of a SYE, but they're pretty expensive. For the same price I could just have a custom CV driveshaft made for the rear (with double-cardan joints), which would solve the problem.

There will be more weight in the Jeep when it is done than there is now, so I'm hoping the suspension drops just enough to make it a non-issue :mrgreen:

-Nick :!:

 

[Bounty__Hunter]

Why are you worried about all this with only a 3" suspension lift? It's a non-issue IMO.

 

[90Xjay]

Nick,

When I installed my Rusty's 3" AAL about 8 weeks ago on my 90 model XJ , I went ahead and bought their TC lowering spacer kit ($12). So while I can't tell you how it would have been without it, it has ran perfect since day one, took less than and hour to install, and no difference in shift linkage behavior at all. Their kits are made from machined aluminum and come with the longer bolts, I did the math and figured it was worth the $12 bucks not to make trips to Lowes... Like we PMed about a few weeks back, the only problems I have had with my Rusty's 3: AAL, was that retarded read brake line extension( now in the trash) . Good Luck

Mark