question about friends xj??

well guys, i have a few questions about my firends xj...

1st off...im a tj guy, never owned an xj so i have only did limited research on xj's....

sepcs so far:
84' 2 door..
2.8 liter 5 speed
D30 disco (now non-disco) and pretty sure D35...
32X11.50
im assuming a 3" rancho lift (square galvanized LCA's w/ red coils)???

now for the questions:
he is wanting to lift it about 2" more (coil spacers and shackles)
will 4.5"-5" of lift be too much for the driveshafts? will he need a SYE for the rear or can he get by w/ shims and a x-fer case drop?
how much drop and how big of shims are needed if that is possible?

can the open D35 handle 33" tires with steel rims with easy throttle (i know this is pushing it) haha

need longer brake lines w/ the 5" of lift or can you just mod the oem ones?

will the front rancho LCA's be enough for 5" of lift? he doesnt really wanna have to get adj./new contol arms...how will the driveshaft angles be?

what about the front driveshaft? its got some wierd GKN (i believe is what they call it) driveshaft.....what about it w/ 5" of lift...


looks like were gonna have to grind down the bottom shock mounts so the LCA's can flex???


anyway to change from the cv joints to normal u-joints in the front axle? tj shafts?
if not/for the mean time, the cv boots are ripped...can they be replaced? or just filled w/ grease frequantly or what?

just for your info, we will be trimming the fenders for clearance (limited to 33's b/c of D35...if not for that, we would be trimming for 35's and might possibly do that after a rear axle swap)

we will also be getting front sway bar disco and removing the rear altogether...

this is also a 75% trail driving vehicle...

i think that is about it, but if i think of more, ill ask...
sorry bout all the questions, but im used to my tj w/ a D44 and a SYE after 3"....haha

Not a criticism, but all of your questions can easily be answered here with a little time...

:wave:

now for the questions:

---he is wanting to lift it about 2" more (coil spacers and shackles)
will 4.5"-5" of lift be too much for the driveshafts? Probably not.

---Will he need a SYE for the rear or can he get by w/ shims and a x-fer case drop?He may only need a shim. Start with that and go from there. Also, get a YJ slip yoke. It'll get you the extra length and extra room in the ears that you'll need.

---how much drop and how big of shims are needed if that is possible?I'd say 6* and no TC drop or 4* with a TC drop.

---can the open D35 handle 33" tires with steel rims with easy throttle (i know this is pushing it)Yeah, the 35 will handle it until it breaks. He just needs to keep in mind that it has weak tubes and they are prone to bending.

---need longer brake lines w/ the 5" of lift or can you just mod the oem ones?New lines would be best, of course, but he can relocate the mounts for a little more length.

---will the front rancho LCA's be enough for 5" of lift? he doesnt really wanna have to get adj./new contol arms...how will the driveshaft angles be?They'll be iffy, but I think they'll be okay. The angles will be getting out of hand without longer uppers.

---what about the front driveshaft? its got some wierd GKN (i believe is what they call it) driveshaft.....what about it w/ 5" of lift...You'll just have to try it. Most of the time the stock shaft will work up to 6+" of lift.


---looks like were gonna have to grind down the bottom shock mounts so the LCA's can flex???Yes.


---anyway to change from the cv joints to normal u-joints in the front axle? tj shafts?Yeah, just swap them out. However, on the disco axle, you will need to use a new inner seal and make a blockoff plate for the disco motor. In the end, the u-joints will be the stronger 297 joints (if you use TJ shafts).

---if not/for the mean time, the cv boots are ripped...can they be replaced? or just filled w/ grease frequantly or what?Fill them with whatever, it won't stay in there.

meinert said:

sepcs so far:
84' 2 door..
2.8 liter 5 speed
D30 disco (now non-disco) and pretty sure D35...
32X11.50
im assuming a 3" rancho lift (square galvanized LCA's w/ red coils)???

now for the questions:
he is wanting to lift it about 2" more (coil spacers and shackles)
will 4.5"-5" of lift be too much for the driveshafts?

Click to expand...

Yes.

will he need a SYE for the rear or can he get by w/ shims and a x-fer case drop?

Click to expand...

He can "get by" with shims and/or t-case drop for u-joint angles, but the stock driveshaft will be too short. Once you're into modifying the drive shaft, it doesn't make sense not to do an SYE.

can the open D35 handle 33" tires with steel rims with easy throttle (i know this is pushing it) haha

Click to expand...

For awhile -- with a very easy right foot. (But then again, he has a 2.8L so he has no choice)

need longer brake lines w/ the 5" of lift or can you just mod the oem ones?

Click to expand...

He already needs longer brake lines. A 2" lift is as far as you should try to stretch the OEMs.

will the front rancho LCA's be enough for 5" of lift? he doesnt really wanna have to get adj./new contol arms

Click to expand...

He can "get by" with the Ranchos (stock length?) but the ride quality will be terrible, and he'll possibly encounter death wobble due to not being able to get back enough caster angle.

...how will the driveshaft angles be?

Click to expand...

Worse than optimum ... but I'm sure you knew that.

what about the front driveshaft? its got some wierd GKN (i believe is what they call it) driveshaft.....what about it w/ 5" of lift...

Click to expand...

Does he have a CV front driveshaft? Not a double cardan, but a true CV ... the "beer can on a popsicle stick" driveshaft?

Eagle said:

Yes.

He can "get by" with shims and/or t-case drop for u-joint angles, but the stock driveshaft will be too short. Once you're into modifying the drive shaft, it doesn't make sense not to do an SYE.

Does he have a CV front driveshaft? Not a double cardan, but a true CV ... the "beer can on a popsicle stick" driveshaft?

Click to expand...

he has a 207 t-case i dont believe they make a SYE for that i am haveing to just mod my d/s longer

beer can, and it binds on mine at 4.5", then i went to 7" and it came apart on the first rotation of the shaft ( i had a feeling it would so i watched it ) POP!

ya he has the 207 case....they dont make a sye for it?
so will the rear shaft be long enough?
more info on the YJ slip yoke shaft if you dont mine terry....or anyone???


haha..ya..beer can on a stick is what it looks like to me also, and ill agree, the other day, i was lookin at it and just w/ the 3" it looks like it would bind...

how do you fix this binding in the front? new/longer driveshaft or a new/different end drive shaft.... i know the new d/s are good for about 6" but i dont know shit about this kind of shaft.....

i believe the lca's are longer than stock inorder to fix the angle for the 3" lift....i just dont know if it will be enough for the 2 extra inches...if not, it wouldnt be hard to get some uca....

thinking about it in my head, longer LCA will lower the pinion towards the ground and fixing the wheelbase...with 2 more inches, it will be even worse...probably have to get UCA to fix the angle and just suck up the lost wheelbase for the lift.....correct? or am i thinking backwards?


the trackbar is OEM...could he redrill a new hole for the stock bar with 5" of lift to fix it or will he have to get a new adj. bar....do they make relocation brackets for an xj?


trying to get by w/ a decent setup w/ not alot of money...haha

RE makes a spacer to use their hack and tap on a 207 t-case. Do a search for the front driveshaft problem. I saw a thread a couple of weeks ago about replacing it with a real shaft.

meinert said:

ya he has the 207 case....they dont make a sye for it?
so will the rear shaft be long enough?

Click to expand...

At 5" the stock driveshaft will probably not be long enough. As someone else noted, you can use the RE "hack-&-tap" SYE with the 207 t-case.

BTW -- unless the forum rules have been revised recently, bumping your own thread is prohibited. If you're going to hang around here we'd appreciate it if you'd play by the rules.

Here's a decent thread on YJ yoke -vs- sye.

Eagle said:

bumping your own thread is prohibited. If you're going to hang around here we'd appreciate it if you'd play by the rules.

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eagle, was that towards me? and define bumping if you would please.
thanks.

oh yah, thank you for the info on the H/T SYE i thought it might work but wasnt sure. i didnt want to look too much like a noobe. by asking:doh:

steagall9301 said:

eagle, was that towards me? and define bumping if you would please.
thanks.

oh yah, thank you for the info on the H/T SYE i thought it might work but wasnt sure. i didnt want to look too much like a noobe. by asking:doh:

Click to expand...

He wasn't referring to you.
The original poster bumped this thread and I deleted his post.
Fugitaboutit.

Oh yeah, here's the link I meant to add to my last post,

http://www.naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?t=48047&highlight=yj+slip+yoke

steagall - I don't think it was for you - this isn't your thread...

For the unitnitiated, "bumping" is making a post of no content or consequence, in order to cycle it bck up into the lower numbers (higher up) on the active thread list. Since most message boards offer messages to users keyed chronologically by time from last response, it's easy to "bump" a thread up to keep it high on the list.

The problem with "bumping" is that it can cause a thread that someone might be interested in to be pre-empted (in some systems) by the "bumped" thread.

When you see something posted that says something like "BTT," that usually translates as "Bump To Top," "Back To Top," or "Bounce To Top," depending upon who you talk to. When "bumping" is allowed, this is an acceptable way to do it, since it's overt and readily discernable as "bumping."

Unfortunately, "bumping" also causes excess traffic on the server without providing content, which has a lot to do with why board ban "bumping" - it's a measure to keep operating overhead down and help keep the cost of keeping the board up reduced (in our case, it's to allow collected membership dues to be used for something other than paying for network traffic - hopefully.)

So, bumping is usually not allowed and often frowned upon - I hope this little missive of mine won't be construed as a "bump" - but I try to be informative as often as possible...

:soapbox:

5-90

cool and thanks ( gawd i hate that smile ) thats better

ya yall, sorry bout the bump, but i guess it tought a few people the rules that didnt know better (including myself)...

but just one more question that didnt get answered but im pretty sure i know what the answer will be:

what about the oem trackbar? can it handle 5" or lift w/ just redrilling the mounting hole on the axle, or does he need an adj. trackbar? what about relocation brackets....


i believe all the other questions have been answered by yall along w/ some searching of myself.. thanks..

meinert said:

ya yall, sorry bout the bump, but i guess it tought a few people the rules that didnt know better (including myself)...

but just one more question that didnt get answered but im pretty sure i know what the answer will be:

what about the oem trackbar? can it handle 5" or lift w/ just redrilling the mounting hole on the axle, or does he need an adj. trackbar? what about relocation brackets....


i believe all the other questions have been answered by yall along w/ some searching of myself.. thanks..

Click to expand...

5" is pushing the envelope on the track bar. Redrilling is marginally effective up to 4", but beyond that you sort of run out of bracket for redrilling the hole. Also, take a look at the geometry of the upper (frame) end tie rod end. Now envision dropping the axle end 5 inches. You can see that the tie rod end is going to be pretty much at the end of its range of vertical rotation with the vehicle at rest. Any droop on the passenger side of the axle is going to tear that puppy apart right quick.

Some vendors offer relocation brackets. I've never seen one "up close and personal," and as I think about it I also can't recall ever reading that anyone was particularly happy with one. Better to bite the bullet and go for an adjustable. Your friend can start with a Rusty's adjustable that uses the standard (but replaceable) tie rod end at the frame, and then save up to replace the frame end with the heavy duty version in the future.

meinert said:

what about the oem trackbar? can it handle 5" or lift w/ just redrilling the mounting hole on the axle, or does he need an adj. trackbar? what about relocation brackets....

Click to expand...

this is what i did



i took the stock one and canibalized it to make my own ajustable track bar, there is a thread on here called custom track bar, just search for it, it works excelent