New SYE is has missing Oil Gallery

Hey Guys. I just got a new SYE and was really pumped until I started comparing it with other SYE shafts in the shop. This new one is missing the hole where the drive sprocket ride.


I called the manufacture and they said its not needed. However I'm a bit concerned about the drive sprocket getting lubed when in 2wd. Has anyone seen a SYE shaft with the hole missing before? Any thoughts? Thanks!

Get that in writing from the manufacturer. Then if it fails, they can fix it.

I was thinking about that. But I'm hitting the Rubicon, Fordyce and a couple other trails where breakage means up a creek without a ..... Last year at Cow Mountain I had a Terablow and that sucked :anon: I bought this SYE to replace the one in the Terablow. The Terablow busted a few planetary gears but the AA SYE was in OK. It just got a bit hot on the planetary end of the shaft I wanted to retire it to an old NP231 I keep as a spare.

I was told this oil gallery is not needed. I'm skeptical but might be wrong. They explain to me many OEM NP231 shafts came this way from Jeep and some years had it, some did not. Hopefully someone has seen this before and it's completely normal. But my gut tells me lube flowing to this area would be better.

bring it to a machine shop and have them put one in!

LOL! Maybe even my Milwaukee. Duct tape it to the floor and hold er steady..... The way I left it they said they'd check their inventory for one with a hole in it. They'd swap it out if they find one. Maybe they got a Makita. :doh:

you know i've installed quite a few SYE kits, but never noticed whether or not they had that oil passage. but i just did some digging and according to JB conversions and their super short SYE it is supposed to have that oil passage.

i would probably call whoever makes it and ask them instead of a sales person somewhere.

Scorpio_Vette,
Thanks for checking into it and the good advice. I called the mfr and they said their design requires no hole and they stand by it. So I called back the company who sold it to me and he is going to let me trade up to a Rubicon Express 1811 one. The RE1811 has the hole. I wonder who makes it for them. The main thing is it has a hole for lubrication!
Thanks,
XJCreeper

just curious so i can do some research and make a few phone calls.

what brand SYE did you order that DID NOT have the oil passage??? might be good to know for future reference since i seem to do alot of those.

My SYE is from JB conversions and it is the same way. The instructions say that the OEM manufacturers have done this to improve strength of the shaft. The parts get enough oil without the hole. Also, it improves the volume of oil that reaches the more critical parts, the bearings.

Thanks for the heads up on the JB conversions brand. Also thanks for confirming that another manufacturer is doing this too. The Omix-ada brand also has no hole. I ran a JB shaft about 5 years ago and it had the hole. Put it in the stock case and beat the hell out of it rockclimbing all over the Sierra's. I think the guy I sold it to is still rolling with it. The AA SYE I bought 3 years ago for the Teralow had the hole too. It was solid and is still in good shape after the Terablow event. Just a little burned on the end. :flame: I wonder if the Teraflex brand has the hole?

The two I've see busted got chewed up on the planetary end. These were in Teralows. The planetary end got too hot and grenaded the little bearing in the planetary. I really doubt the little hole no being there makes it a whole lot stronger and impacts the AFT pressure to the other oil galleries much. That's what Omix-Ada said and it sounds good. I'm just used to seeing a hole here to lube this area and every shaft I've seen has had it.

I'm not knocking Omix-Ada or JB for doing this. Maybe in the future I feel different. My feeling is it has more to do with saving a few dollars on manufacturing cost. No hole here means less cost. I see that the Omix-ada and JB SYE prices have come down quite a bit which is good for all jeepers! Not everyone beats the hell out of thier Jeep and having an affordable option is cool. eace: But for me I'm gonna stick with AA and RE express brand. When they no longer come with holes I'll sucumb to using the drill. :jester:

My JB kit is fully drilled,if they have changed that would suck!