My notes on installing an SYE.

  • Just installed the Rugged Ridge SYE for Diablo last night. (Pretty sure her mom will be mad at me for a couple months… nothing like the sound of an impact gun at 3am.) It went pretty smoothly for a first attempt, but it would have been a lot easier if I had a couple extra things. Specifically, the 3 little bolts (12mm) that could have been used to remove the harmonic balancer. We didn’t have access to those (Sunday evening, all parts stores closed) so we switched to her older tcase which just had the dust protector/oil slinger. A larger set of lock-ring pliers would have been wonderful, as the set I had were 1/4" too small to remove the ring holding the gears onto the mainshaft. I won in the end, though. :razz:


    Aside from the tool issues, it would be been a little easier if I remembered to loosen the nut on the front yoke when the tcase was still in the Jeep, but the trusty impact gun was able to break it loose on the second tcase we worked on.


    Here’s a parts list copied from http://www.4x4xplor.com/SYE-CV.html


    • 10,15,19,21mm Socket/Wrenches
    • 10mm - 12 Point Socket
    • 5/16,1/2,1-1/8" Socket/Wrenches
    • 10mm Allen Bit
    • Ratchet
    • 3" Ratchet Extension
    • 1-1/2" Crescent Wrench
    • Torque Wrench - 150 ft.lb. Capacity
    • Breaker Bar
    • Large Monkey Wrench
    • Flat Head Screwdriver
    • Rubber Mallet
    • Flat Wood Chisel
    • Hammer
    • HD Snap Ring Pliers - Lisle 49200
    • Lock Ring Pliers - Lisle 44900
    • Needle Nose & Regular Pliers
    • Angle Finder
    • 2 - Jack Stands
    • Floor Jack
    • Gear Puller w/5"+ Reach
    • Gasket Scraper
    • RTV Gasket Sealer
    • 2 - Pints ATF+3 or Higher
    • Bottle Pump or Yorker Spout
    • Oil Catch Pan
    • Rags
    * PB Blaster
    * Brake cleaner
    * Anti-sieze


    I crossed out a couple things that weren’t needed. The gear puller wasn’t big enough, a flathead screwdriver works fine instead of a chisel and the 1-1/2” Crescent wrench in his writeup was for control arms. I also added PB Blaster, Brake Cleaner and Anti-sieze to the list, as those are needed for all jobs. Brake cleaner is really needed to help clean out the tcase of the old fluids and any junk you may have gotten into the case.


    We removed the tcase from her Jeep due to room restrictions, but I’ll probably install my SYE with the tcase still in the Jeep. Mainly because it’s a huge hassle to remove the tcase from the Jeep and get it back in without a trans jack. For a first timer, though… I’d have to recommend pulling the tcase as it’s a lot easier to work on when you have a lot of room. :) If you have any questions, I'll be glad to answer what I can. (But I won't install it for you! At least without being well-fed and paid for gas. lol)

    Jerry / Whatevah

    2020 Gladiator Mojave - 33" Falken mud tires, LoD side steps, Zroadz bed rack, Quadratec QRC winch bumper, Superwinch EPi 9.0, Kleinn on-board air, Kleinn air horns, lots of lights, Yaesu ham radio with GPS tracker.

    Gone- 2012 JK Rubicon with stuff. Long gone- Long-arm 2001 Cherokee with stuff.

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