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TC drop...help please

J

jlong956

NAXJA Forum User
Location
cobleskill, NY
i got a 4.5" lift in my 2000 XJ and needless to say i have some driveline vibs w/o a SYE or a TC Drop....im looking into doing the drop first and the SYE kit in the winter. i took a quick glance under my rig lastnight and i noticed out the 4 hold downs, two are bolts and two are nuts....the longer bolt issue seems pretty straight forward but what do i do about the 2 bolts that are bolted in from inside the frame? and im not a fan of cutting a notch in my frame to access it!


please give me some help guys...i know its been done world wide, i just want to know the most hassle-free way!
will my shifter or 4wd lever be affected to a point where i need extended linkage?
 
they are studs. They can be removed and replaced with longer bolts. I just welded to the nut to the stud. They came out nice and easy after the heat cycle was through with them.
 
Stud puller or you can try double-nutting them.

That said, I don't think you are going to end up a happy camper with a t-case drop on a 2000-2001 with the LP D30 as your front pinion angle is going to be in the toilet.

Good luck.
 
so theres a nut on the other side of that stud? once i get the stud out is there a welded nut on the inside of the frame? i feel like im missing something....whats holding in that stud once the nuts are off?

so whats the most efficient way of improving my front driveshaft angle? i dont want the quick way i want the right way b/c this is my daily driver that i put 10kmi's a year on. even with a SYE that only helps my rear angle
 
If you do a SYE, you shouldn't have to fix the front driveline angle. Just for information - the easiest way to fix the front driveline angle is to get a high-pinion Dana 30 axle used up thru 1999 models.

If you do a Tcase drop, the front driveline angle gets worse because you are tilting the case to to the rear to make the rear driveline angle better.
 
A TC drop will make the front angle worse and the rear angle better. The best solution is to do an SYE on the back, which leaves the front alone and makes the rear perfect... the only way to make front angle better is to adjust your control arm lengths, and past a certain amount of lift the caster gets intolerable if you get the front driveshaft angle right, the only way to get front driveshaft + pinion angle right then is to rotate the steering knuckles and/or brackets on the axle housing. Really the best way would be to rotate the center casting but since it's welded at the factory, it is easier to rotate the mounts and steering knuckles.

EDIT: but the point at which front angle gets really bad is the "nosebleed lift" point where most people have already thrown good engineering to the winds and won't care anyways.
 
Yes, there are nuts welded to the unibody holding the studs.
 
so in all reality a TC drop is goin to hurt more than help. i need a SYE and keep the TC the same to make things right....thanks guys you saved me a lotta work and a big headache.

just a quick off topic question...so 2000 is when they changed the front pinion angle? b/c i just picked up a 1999 XJ Sport that i was goin to make strictly my offroading jeep and keep the "00 on the road. since im gathering that the pinion angle of the front diff in the '99 is greater(higher) does that mean i could put in the same size lift and just get away with a TC drop on that one? would the front DS be tolerable enough?
 
With a 4.5" lift you are really at the point of a SYE with an automatic transmission.

A t/c drop is going to be iffy at that height. You could, depending on the gear ratios, swap the 99 D30 HP into the 2000, then ATTEMPT the t/c drop without creating more problems in the front.

Good luck.
 
maybe if i can get away with it ill jus put the 3in lift back in the 2000 like i had and keep it my DD and put the 4.5in in the '99 with the HP D30 and jus do a TC Drop....

any input?
 
jlong956 said:
what does the gearing have to do with droping the TC or installing a SYE? im sure its 3.55 like the rest... no?
Click to expand...

IF you were going to swap D30s between the 99 and 00, you would want them to be the same ratios as the rears in the receiving vehicles--unless I missed it you didn't mention how each is equipped--wouldn't want a 3.07 D30 matched to a 3.55 rear, or the reverse on another XJ, right?
 
jlong956 said:
maybe if i can get away with it ill jus put the 3in lift back in the 2000 like i had and keep it my DD and put the 4.5in in the '99 with the HP D30 and jus do a TC Drop....

any input?
Click to expand...

That might work, but just to let you know the 97+ have seemed to be more sensitive to lifts than the earlier XJs.

If you do it on the 99 with the 4.5 and t/c drop it MAY or MAY NOT give you an acceptable rear pinion angle--you may have to shim and even then it might not be trouble free. That said, I think you will have better luck trying it with the 99 than the 00.

Good luck.
 
alright...hey thanks for all the info! i think im jus goin to go back to a 3" in the 2000 so everything is alot less risky as a DD and take my chances with the 99'.....hey its a jeep right? gotta gamble every once in a while. lol
 
jlong956 said:
alright...hey thanks for all the info! i think im jus goin to go back to a 3" in the 2000 so everything is alot less risky as a DD and take my chances with the 99'.....hey its a jeep right? gotta gamble every once in a while. lol
Click to expand...

Ok, sounds like a good plan.

Good luck.
 
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