cbowles said:
well I was looking at buying
this SYE, along with
this CV drive shaft. My overall plan was to put a 4.5" Rubicon Express lift with Warrior 1.5" lift shackles. I thought I might ask and see if it would be cheaper to get it lengthened, but I guess it would be better to go with a SYE and a CV DS....
when it comes to your driveline its kind of important to do it right. lets look at this in two parts.
first, the benefits of the SYE (Slip Yoke Eliminator kit)
1. the kit replaces the factory output shaft with a shorter and generally beefier unit
2. the new tail cone and yoke will seal the transfercase. Why is this good? if and when you throw or break a rear driveshaft or u-joint, you can drive the Jeep in 4wd (front wheel drive) to get it home. you cant do this without the SYE as the slip yoke on the drvieshaft is the only thing keeping the fluid in the t-case. without it, you will be puking fluid all the way home and will likeley destroy your T-case. trust me, it happened to me.
3. the SYE kit will usually come with all new seals for the t-case.
4. the SYE will allow you to run a longer driveshaft. this will cut down the driveline angle, thus reducing vibrations and u-joint wear and tear. I was lifted with 3.5"s of suspension and 2" shackles, right the suspension height you are looking at. I did not do an SYE intiially. I was blowing a rear u-joint practically once a week, and as I said, from driving it in front wheel drive with no means of keeping the fluid in, I grenaded my t-case.
Now the benefits of the CV driveshaft
1. basically when you do the SYE, you need to change to a CV shaft with a slip joint on the shaft since you are eliminating the slip yoke. the driveshaft needs to be able to extend and collapse as the suspension travels.
2. With the CV shaft, the CV joint will overcome any additional angle issues you may have, and with that much suspension lift, you will need it. the benefit is you should not have any vibes from the rear driveline.
below is a picture for reference. these are both front CV driveshafts from a Jeep cherokee XJ. these are a good option because they are relatively strong, they are cheap and easy to find in most junkyards, they use the same u-joints that your YJ uses, and most shaft shops will cut them down for you for around 50 bucks. the top one in the picture is the one I use in my YJ, the bottom one is stock length. you can see the difference between these and your stock shafts.
I hope this helps, and if you have any more questions please ask