transfer case drop on 3 inch lift with 31's

I'm debating whether or not to buy a transfer case drop with a Rusty's 3 inch lift. I haven't bought the lift yet so wanted to ask before I ordered everything.
Thanks

I would pick up an sye rather than t-case drop. It fixes any problems you might get with a 3" lift, but doesn't lower your clearance at all

what year is your jeep? not all years will need an sye for 3". you could also go with shims if needed, which is probably more preferred of a tc drop.

Wait on the Drop. You can get the parts you need at any hardware store for less than $10. Do your lift, and get the rig aligned, then if you have vibes, decide how to fix. You might be able to fix with Axel shims, TC Drop or SYE. At 3" you shouldn't need the expense of the SYE, any higher is another story. TC drop and/or shims usually works for 3" or less.

SYE is pretty cheap if you do it the way some have - get the iron rock offroad kit ($200, or $220 if you want the required drill and taps as well) or get a 3103-27CV yoke ($80) online and pick up a front driveshaft out of an automatic XJ at a junkyard for 20-75 bucks. My local place charges 20 bucks but also wants 20 bucks to put the car on a stand so you can get at it. You will probably also want an angle finder ($10 at Lowes) and might need shims to bring the loaded pinion U-joint angle to a few degrees from straight (so that spring wrap will make the pinion U-joint angle zero when accelerating), that's what I'm currently working on.

See also:
http://www.stu-offroad.com/axle/pinion/pinion-1.htm - describes finding pinion angles
http://www.naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?t=959008 - describes everything, including a huge long discussion on finding the required yoke with LOTS of misinformation and people posting the wrong part numbers and being corrected, read carefully
http://www.ironrockoffroad.com/Merc...en=PROD&Store_Code=IROR&Product_Code=IR-X_HNT - the iron rock offroad kit
http://www.go.jeep-xj.info/HowtoSYEconversion.htm - GoJeep's article on how to do this - excellent

My question related to this... What's the easiest method for finding required shim angle before installing the SYE? I know trigonometry and such, I'm just wondering if there is an easier way before I crawl under there and start measuring.

i have a 99 and rusty's 3" hd springs. when installed it had vibs. i got a tc drop and still have issues. im going to order some 3d shims to see if i can fix it. basicly i keep wearing out ujoints.

if you can drop the coins on an sye then that is the way to go.

definitely dont have the money for a SYE. i guess ill just lift it then see where it goes from there. thanks for all your help

to answer fuel90's question its a 2000, auto.

you may or may not need one with 3". buy the lift and see if you have vibes. also make sure your tires are balanced. if you have vibes check the pinion on the rear ds. if its not bad then start by dropping the tcase about 1/2" with some washers. see if that helps. if no more vibes, youre done, if you have vibes, go another 1/4." up to about 1". at that point you can go to your local steel supply and buy some scrap and make your own drop for about 5$ worth of steel and 10 minuntes of measuring and drilling. dont just blindly buy a drop and think its a fix. you have to realize that the lift is putting your pinion and tcase output angles out of whack, and they need to be same. the idea is that the t case drop drops your back of your tcase down a bit to get the tcase output angle even with the newly pointed up pinion angle.
instead of a drop you could use degree shims, in this case pointing the opposite direction when you do a sye, that is, put em fat part forward. all you need to do is measure the pinion and output angles and then buy shims accordingly. buy the 8$ home depot angle finder and read up.
you shouldnt need to do a drop and shims at 3" of lift.
keep in mind that a jy auto front cv shaft is about 30$ and you can get sye's for about 190-200$. plus youll need to lengthen the rear shaft.
also an idea , if youre at the jy check for a yj slip yoke. this could be a cheap and better alternative as well. it has way more clearancing around the ears and is 5/8" longer for more slip. they are 50$ new at any driveline shop and would be a better idea than lengthening your shaft id say.
ive done all the above things ive mentioned numerous times.
if your budget truly is only 20-40$ for a vibration fix, consider one of the three, either washers for a drop, then steel, or shims, or a yj slip yoke, those are all reasonably cheap ways of addressing vibes.
this is only for rear driveline vibes also.
if your budget is around 250 then do the sye.
remember you need to check for worn out steering components and make sure your front ds doesnt have a bad pinion u joint.
lastly make sure your trackbar, stock or not, is in good shape if youre lifting it for the first time.

thanks a lot blondejon. huge help!