T-Case drop questions

My 2000 XJ has a 2" lift, dana 35 and NP231. The Jeep had some vibes after installing the lift, so I put in a transfer case drop. Vibes have been eliminated as far as I can tell. I have been driving with this setup for around a year.

This past week I had a high flow cat welded on at the local midas. The guy there has a few Wranglers, and he told me that the T-Case drop was really bad for my jeep, because the transfer case was not meant to sit at that angle, and it could destroy itself. I take what the midas guys say with a grain of salt, but I had never heard something like that before. I have a 1" drop, but has anyone heard of this? I doubt a slight increase in angle would destroy the T-case as long as the fluid is full.

it should be fine. you have a 2" lift so thats pushing the axle down 2", then the 1" tcase drop will drop it so the angles are only off an 1". by buddy has either a 2 or 3 on his and im pretty sure he dropped his t case.

It is reasonable to assume that tilting the engine/trans/t-case adds extra stress to the motor mounts and to the output bearings on the t-case. At 2" lift/1" drop the stress is probably minimal. At about 3-54" of lift installing an SYE is more important to reduce vibrations that will reduce the lifespan of your t-case, u-joints, and pinion bearings.

Tim_MN said:

It is reasonable to assume that tilting the engine/trans/t-case adds extra stress to the motor mounts and to the output bearings on the t-case. At 2" lift/1" drop the stress is probably minimal. At about 3-54" of lift installing an SYE is more important to reduce vibrations that will reduce the lifespan of your t-case, u-joints, and pinion bearings.

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54 inches of lift eh? :looney:

Tim_MN said:

It is reasonable to assume that tilting the engine/trans/t-case adds extra stress to the motor mounts and to the output bearings on the t-case. At 2" lift/1" drop the stress is probably minimal. At about 3-54" of lift installing an SYE is more important to reduce vibrations that will reduce the lifespan of your t-case, u-joints, and pinion bearings.

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That is what I figured. A SYE is next on my list, but the guy made it sound like my T-case was going to blow apart on the way home.

I had a transfer case drop on my yj for 14 years. Sold it with 160k miles never had an issue. Made it for my xj again works fine.

If a slight angle on the t-case made it wear out faster then everyone who lived in the mountains would have a shorter life on their t-cases and manual transmissions. The whole concept is nonsense. The only thing he could possibly be referring to is oiling the input shaft bearing and planetary (if he evens knows what those are) but this t-case has an oil pump. Besides, even if it didn't have an oil pump it wouldn't matter.

Thanks for the advice, figured I'd check with the experts just to make sure. :wave1:

It's not the fluid level that matters, it is the vibrations you want to avoid. If you have 2" of lift and never lift any higher, chances are very good you will be fine. At about 3-4" of lift you may not be so fine. One of the local XJ's had 4.5" of lift and he ran it for almost 3 years on a T-Case drop before the transfer blew wide open on the freeway, 150 miles from home. Do, or don't do, whatever you want, just so you know that there is a potential for problems in the future.

It's different with Wranglers too because they have much shorter wheel base and drive shafts. I had a 2" drop kit on my lifted YJ and it put the whole driveline system at a very steep angle even though I only had a 3" lift. I split the difference with a 1" drop kit and it was all good. If your kit got rid of the vibes then it's doing something right.

heck , my 98 came from the factory with a transfer case drop

Ridr said:

heck , my 98 came from the factory with a transfer case drop

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Yes, I remember that some dealers had to install T-case drops due to vibration complaints, especially with XJs that had the C8.25 and upcountry suspension.