Daily driver lift and transfer case

I was looking at the plethera of information on this site, and you guys rock. But I still have a grey area that I need some help on. I have a 2000 XJ Sport and had to put new tires on it when I bought it. Good tread just not good off road =) So I have 235/75-15 Grabber AT2 and am ordering a Rough County 2" lift next week with spacers and shakles. This will be a daily driver. I want to run 31s at a MAX and go no higher than a 3.5" lift for a tradeoff of street manners and off road capability. I understand that with a 2" lift I should not have any vibrations, but
1) should I use a pinion shim if there are vibrations?
and
2) with 3.5" lift and a transfer case drop kit, do I REALLY need a SYE if this is just a mild trail rig?
Thanks for any help. =)

I needed a TC drop at 2" lift, and an SYE after going over 3" on my 2000 Sport. But I've heard of guys with 5" of lift on nothing more than a TC drop. The vibes were just more than I was willing to tolerate.

with a 2000, the vibration from my experience can come from the front or the rear shaft. The problem is the low pinion Dana 30 you have on your 2000. If you get a transfer case drop, it helps with driveline issues front and rear. The SYE helps only the rear.

Honestly with a 3.5" lift you may need nothing more

the 2inch you just ordered is all you need. going to 3.5 maybe a transfercase drop and thats it.

z06elmo said:

with a 2000, the vibration from my experience can come from the front or the rear shaft. The problem is the low pinion Dana 30 you have on your 2000. If you get a transfer case drop, it helps with driveline issues front and rear. The SYE helps only the rear.

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A T-case drop actually makes the front driveline angles worse.

bails85 said:

the 2inch you just ordered is all you need. going to 3.5 maybe a transfercase drop and thats it.

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The late model T-case can have vibe issues even when the Jeep is NOT lifted,Jeep put out a TSB on the problem including a cheap fix.

On my 2000 with a 3.5" lift I tried several different shims and nothing helped the vibes. A SYE was the fix.

RCP Phx said:

The late model T-case can have vibe issues even when the Jeep is NOT lifted,Jeep put out a TSB on the problem including a cheap fix.

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DO you know the TSB number off hand? I hadn't heard of it but I know I had issues with the LP D30 in fulltime when stock.

Thanks for the great replies! Looks like I'll go with the 2" kit alone, and if something develops try a a Tcase lowering kit. When I go to 3.5" I'll look into the angles and try a pinion shim with that if need be. Hopefully I'll get my hands on a '95 2door and me and my best friend will take it up 6.5" for a full on trail rig. =)

Also remember that your lift will settle form it's initial height. My vibes weren't bad when I installed my lift, RE Superflex 3.5", but now that it's been a few months my vibes are gone.

CarbonXJ said:

2) with 3.5" lift and a transfer case drop kit, do I REALLY need a SYE if this is just a mild trail rig?
Thanks for any help. =)

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YES, yes you do. The SYE is far better. It also doesn't rob clearance, as for a T-case drop, more than an inch is way too much. Due to differences in the tail shaft design between 95- models and 96+ models, post 96+ models are more prone to vibrations. You should be fine on 2 inches but a 3.5" lift and a t-case drop will get you buy until you can afford a SYE.

My 97 with 8.25/HP D30 had very noticeable vibes in the rear at just 2". A drop did cure them for now, but it's a band-aid fix, and an ugly one at that.