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Front Driveshaft, LP or HP

Nuthinfancy

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Michigan
I know this has been covered a million times but I have a 98 XJ with 4.5" lift. I have to do a t case drop to relieve the binding on the front CV joint but im gonna have a SYE soon and I need to know if either the low or high pinion front drive shaft will work? Im looking to buy one soon and need to find out which will fit.
 
Nuthinfancy said:
I know this has been covered a million times but I have a 98 XJ with 4.5" lift. I have to do a t case drop to relieve the binding on the front CV joint but im gonna have a SYE soon and I need to know if either the low or high pinion front drive shaft will work? Im looking to buy one soon and need to find out which will fit.
Are you talking about the front driveshaft CV,cause a TC drop will make it worse.My LP driveshaft is the same length as my HP!
 
yup a 1" or 1.5" drop would be fine. Im at 5" with now and just did the porc sye and used an hp d/s and its a little to short. Im going to either lengthen it 1.5" or get a d/s out of a lp axle.
 
Sounds like you need a high angle driveshaft. Since I've bought one I haven't had to worry about grinding driveshafts and buying new ones.
 
So what, a t case drop wont help. My mind is thinking that it would and it would straigten it out and eliminate binding, and my shop also says the same thing. So whats the sotry on high angle driveshaft? Can you get them for relatively cheap?
 
A TC drop sounds great for the rear since its increases the downward angle at the rear.At the same time its increasing the front angle.What are your pinion/castor angles?
 
Adj. arms in stock location? If so, they probably set you at 7* positive and your pinion is to far down.

Get a angle finder.
 
Nuthinfancy said:
So what, a t case drop wont help. My mind is thinking that it would and it would straigten it out and eliminate binding, and my shop also says the same thing. So whats the sotry on high angle driveshaft? Can you get them for relatively cheap?

The TC drop is a quick cheap fix. But if you do this you give up the ground clearance that you lifted your XJ up for in the first place. And you give it up at the breakover point which is not great either. Plus dropping the rear of the engine is going to put more stress on the motor mounts. Cheap quick fix but not the most solid in the long run. In the end you'll still have a driveshaft with hardly any downflex that will be grinding itself to death. This will require much agravation in that you'll have to check and replace it often if you wheel often.

With a high alnge driveshaft you actually get more downflex without binding/grinding a maybe breaking/bending your driveshaft. This allows you more downward wheel travel. If you want to know if you'll benefit from a high angle driveshaft do this:
Disconnect the front shocks. Jack up the XJ and put jack stands under the front of the unibody. Let the front axle/tire have and check for axle bind. If you've got any major binding you need a high angle drive shaft. To find out how much you'll benefit from a high angle driveshaft disconnect the front driveshaft and see how much more down travel you can get. If you've got alot of lift you'll be surprised of the downtravel your old driveshaft has you giving up when it binds/grinds. Good luck on making the best desicion for you budget. High angle driveshaft cost $200 - $300. Here some more info:
http://jeep.off-road.com/jeep/article/articleDetail.jsp?id=261016
http://jeep.off-road.com/jeep/article/articleDetail.jsp?id=261016
http://www.driveshaftsuperstore.com/Drive_shaft_high_angle_and_long_splines.htm
 
Ill have to look into that.

Do you think for the rear I can use a longer high angle CV shaft and use the same stock output shaft that I have so I wont have to do a SYE? Does this work? Anybody ever done it?
 
i just had a cv joint driveshaft go bad so it visited my local junkyard
pulled the transfercase yolk and dbl cardon u joint drive shaft out of a newer model
and swaped it all out. works much better
 
the LP and HP front driveshafts are exactly the same - they have the same part number and everything.
 
Nuthinfancy said:
Ill have to look into that.

Do you think for the rear I can use a longer high angle CV shaft and use the same stock output shaft that I have so I wont have to do a SYE? Does this work? Anybody ever done it?

If it worked, the SYE business would go KAPUTT.

Just do an sye, and adjust your pinion angle in the front. your caster will suffer slightly, but from what i've heard from people on here (RCP especially, and he knows what he's talking about), it will be just fine.
 
If cash is a concern and don't want to hassle tearing in the transfercase go with the RE hack & tap. Not as good as a JB or AA SYE kits. But better than the stock setup.
 
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