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C8.25 swap and SYE complete

1990JEEPXJ

NAXJA Forum User
NAXJA Member
Location
San Diego
so i got the SYE all done. it went really smooth. i really took my time and fiddled around. i was in no rush. the only thing i have left to do is take out the t-case drop, and get new e-brake cables. right now im not running them at all.

well here is my output shaft ready to cut

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and after i cut it. initially i tried cutting it with a small pnuematic cutting wheel, but i quickly went to the 4.5" grinder. didnt get it totally straight at first but after some time with the shaft spinning with the grinder i had it nice and square

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now this was the scariest part, drilling the hole. i wanted to get an centered as possible so i looked at the swirl marks on the shaft and marked it with a sharpie and spun the shaft to make sure it was centered. then i got a decent sized punch and went to town. luckily i got it almost perfectly in the center.

IMG_0016-2.jpg

and i learned good drill bits make all the difference. i used bits i had at my house, probably old and dull. after 15 minutes of drilling i got maybe 1/10th" into the shaft. so i made a trip to home depot and got some new dewalt bits with a pilot piont. WORLD OF DIFFERENCE! i was done drilling in about 20 minutes. i took my time and started smaller than suggested and went up two sizes at a time until i got to the 21/64" bit with the kit. that method worked well.

and then came the tapping. the hardest part is getting it started and keeping it clean while you go. i probably completely took the tap out to clean the tap and threads four or five times. i also ended up using my own tap, the supplied one is junk and got dull about halfway through and i didnt want it to snap. mine made it a breeze

IMG_0017-3.jpg


then the seal and flange. this part is self explanatory. but the flange is a very tight fit on the shaft. i had to tap it on with a hammer but i went on no problem

IMG_0019-2.jpg


all bolted up. i have about another inch of extension left in the shaft. plus i think the suspension will settle some since i swapped the leafs left to right and it now sits higher in the rear whereas it was level before front to back.

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i also changed the t-case fluid, it was really brown and smelly for some reason.
 
awesome looks great. the part about drilling slow is very key.

i have 2 things to say:
1. the case fluid was probably mixed with your tranny fluid (i'm betting you have a manual tranny) and the output seal of the tranny and input seal of the case are probably bad, so they leak into each other.

2. the flange was probably hard to get on due to a little bit of burs on the edge of the shaft from cutting, no big deal really. it would be a PITA to go around each spline with a file to cut that down.
 
awesome looks great. the part about drilling slow is very key.

i have 2 things to say:
1. the case fluid was probably mixed with your tranny fluid (i'm betting you have a manual tranny) and the output seal of the tranny and input seal of the case are probably bad, so they leak into each other.

2. the flange was probably hard to get on due to a little bit of burs on the edge of the shaft from cutting, no big deal really. it would be a PITA to go around each spline with a file to cut that down.


nope i have an auto. it was probably from playing in the mud and water. but there have been no ill effects so its all good. and thats what i figured about the flange. way i see it is that its tight on there so the bolt in the shaft doesnt have to do as much to hold it on.


It's amazing how much easier things are when you have sharp drill bits and taps. Using a dull tap is horrible.

yeah no kidding. the provided one began to get harder and harder to turn so i just grabbed my own, and it went so much faster. mine is even just a cheap HF set of taps too. haha
 
the paint is dry. it was painted like two weeks ago. just got dirty, greasy hand on it when switching the brake line over. im not that anal that i need to wipe it off...yet haha. but it did cross my mind.
 
I was planning on doing a complete SYE rather than a hack n tap. My reasoning was that the xj has about 160,000 miles on it and the chain is bound to be stretched and needing replaced. So, I kinda think I need to take it apart anyhow. What do you all think?
It also seems to be leaking oil around the shift shaft.
 
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