New guy, new jeep, couple of questions!

Hey guys I just wanted to post up here because I just picked up my first jeep! So far I am loving it but it needs a few things and am looking for some advice from the experts. The jeep in question is a 2000 Jeep Cherokee sport with what I believe is a 4-5 inch lift, not exactly sure b/c I believe it is a combination of a one certain front lift and a different rear lift. The front has control arms from a Fabtech lift along with aftermarket coils. The rear has a spring pack w/ no lift blocks but could possibly be a stock spring pack with an add a leaf, also is running a longer than stock rear shackle. At the moment the jeep has a noticeable rake with the rear being higher than the front and I am definitely looking to cure that issue with maybe some coil spring spacers in the front.

Now onto the biggest issue I have with the jeep, it has some major driveline vibrations and from I have searched it sounds like I might need a slip yoke eliminator kit but want to give some details on what I am feeling to make sure it is what I need. From a stop there is definitely some vibration but nothing terrible, when it gets up to speed between 20mph-35mph it is pretty noticeable and vibrates everything inside the jeep but above 35mph it is pretty smooth running with not much of a vibration. Is this common that it only vibrates at certain speeds and smooths out with higher speed??? :dunno:

Now if it is a SYE kit that I need I am kind of confused on what to buy, I have to buy the actual transfer case adapter part AND a new rear driveshaft? Or just the transfer case adapter piece? I know these are probably really dumb questions but I am completely new to this jeep world but have lots of other automotive experience including Toyota 4wd knowledge, but everything has its own common "terms" and mod paths.

I know I am forgetting alot of other questions but priority one is this driveline vibration! I will post some pictures tomorrow and show off the new jeep and hopefully come up with some more questions!

Thanks in advance.

Sounds like you need a SYE and yes its the SYE and a new drive shaft you will need. There are a bunch of different kits and ways of doing a SYE. And yes it is very common for it to vibrate at different speeds, some do it off the line some do it after you start going for a bit and some just vibrate it just depends on the Jeep and the kit it has.

Search you will find a ton of info on this it is very common and there are a ton of solutions for it.

Also you can pick up a spacer for the front for around $20-40.

Your driveline angle could be off too... Do you know if you have shimms under your springs? because from what i understand you want your rear pinion at about 6* negitive in park so that when you put load on it the rear axle will twist up a bit giving your drive shaft an almost straight shot to your T case. I had some 6* shimms but once i got my shackles i had too much and needed to take them out. You might have the same problem, or the opposit where you need some shimms. PS shims look like this

http://images.google.com/images?q=l...lz=1I7ADBF_en&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&hl=en&tab=wi

Edit, this is just one possibility. If you have 4-5" of lift and don't have an SYE you should get one anyways. Tom woods is a highly trusted brand you can get the SYE and the drive shaft in a kit here.....

http://images.google.com/images?q=l...lz=1I7ADBF_en&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&hl=en&tab=wi

But by no means is this the only place to get what you need. Hope this helped!

Thanks for the help guys, I have alot of parts already on order thanks to Rustys Offroad. Now I need to find somewhere with some good buys on 33s or 35s. Any suggestions?!?

After talking to Rustys Offroad they had me measure center of hub to the body line running under the door handles and turns out I had 8 inches of lift in the back and 6 inches of lift in the front. So I have some shorter shackles coming for the rear to lower it down some.

SeeJay said:

Thanks for the help guys, I have alot of parts already on order thanks to Rustys Offroad. Now I need to find somewhere with some good buys on 33s or 35s. Any suggestions?!?

After talking to Rustys Offroad they had me measure center of hub to the body line running under the door handles and turns out I had 8 inches of lift in the back and 6 inches of lift in the front. So I have some shorter shackles coming for the rear to lower it down some.

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4 Wheel Parts or any one that sell Pro Comp has buy 3 get one free on tires right now. We are selling tons of tires its hard to beat the price.

Sorry i messed up the second link. it was to rusty's anyways lol so i think you got it under controll lol. I'd check out sam's club or costco they were the cheapest when i got my 35 KM2s. But wherever you find the lowest price on any tire Discount tire will beat it by 5% no matter what just tell em someone told you that they could beat any price by 5% and they will. They don't like to advertidse it but they do it. Even online prices, just ad shipping to the total. I got like 20$ off per tire that way.

nochance9 said:

But wherever you find the lowest price on any tire Discount tire will beat it by 5% no matter what just tell em someone told you that they could beat any price by 5% and they will. They don't like to advertidse it but they do it. Even online prices, just ad shipping to the total. I got like 20$ off per tire that way.

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I will have to remember this! That's a really good deal! :clap:

Thanks for the tire info!

Now I need to decide on size. I am pretty sure I have room or could make room for 35x12.50s but is there any reason a person wouldn't want that big of a tire on otherwise stock drivetrain? Do I need to worry about the factory front axle?

Or should I just stick with 33x12.50s and have the extra room?

i had this same problem with my jeep its called the death rattle there should be a stering bar attached to you driver side with a nut and coder pin slot just tighten that up and it should be good also do you have you sway bar ties pined in

Yeah the sway bar disconnects are pinned in, it does it regardless of those being hooked up or disconnected. I don't feel like this vibration is coming from the front or from the steering. If definitely feels driveline related to me but I will take a look either way.

If u are experiencing vibration from a stop u might want to check the trans mount bolts where it hooks to the crossmember. Also, Check ur U-bolts in the rear. Just for kicks. Though, I had similar issues with a previous XJ I owned it did turn out to be the trans mount in one case. U could be getting a combe of things fron the axle wrapping and the trans bolts being loose.
Good luck,
Stukboy


PS: They weren't stupid questions! Now if you asked how to start it or put it in 4wd they would be stupid questions!!!

Stukboy said:

If u are experiencing vibration from a stop u might want to check the trans mount bolts where it hooks to the crossmember. Also, Check ur U-bolts in the rear. Just for kicks. Though, I had similar issues with a previous XJ I owned it did turn out to be the trans mount in one case. U could be getting a combe of things fron the axle wrapping and the trans bolts being loose.
Good luck,
Stukboy


PS: They weren't stupid questions! Now if you asked how to start it or put it in 4wd they would be stupid questions!!!

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Thanks those are a couple of things I have overlooked and will definitely give them a look after work.

As far as stupid questions go...anyway I can check and confirm the jeep doesn't already have a SYE kit installed?

If there is a slip yoke in the rear axle you'll see it right on the output of the transfer case (identification depends on how old your np231 is, it could have a tail cone or not) - and more easily you'll see a solid rear axle with no articulated portion in the middle. If you have a slip yoke eliminator kit installed, you will have a double cardan CV joint at the transfer case end of the rear driveshaft and an articulated portion (it will be shiny and not painted) in the middle of the driveshaft.