Modification Advise

kenny,
the belly up is a pretty good design. the two-piece concept is sweet and the skid plate itself is very beefy. andrew and i put it on his jeep when we did his sye and i was very impressed with the fit and finish. the one thing i remember andrew mentioning was the time from order to delivery. i believe there were reasons behind the lengthy delay (almost a couple of months??) but he can chime in on that.

i like the aa sye kit - it has everything you need to do the conversion - i heard that jb conversion's kit is pretty comparable....but even more so maybe look towards their supershort kit. here's a shot of the supershort kit from them compared to the standard sye kit.

both will address any vibes you may be having...but if i were to do it again i'd go with the supershort kit. it's a little pricier...but having the driveshaft yet another 2.25" longer than the standard sye kit is worth it. it has a compatible speedo connector...but if you go with larger tires/different gears then you need to get the electronic signal converter that you program for your individual jeep's settings.

i like the driveshaft that i got from TW...but if i were doing it all over again i'd just check around for the cheapest price. i think a large part of their price is for that "woody" sticker that comes with it. since it's a fairly wearable part (u-joints and all) i'd just make sure that the one you get is fully splined and then go for it.
chris

Good choices, Kenny. The 33 Engineering skid is very nice. It fits well, and gives you plenty of clearance underneath. We didn't have to do any other modifications (the other versions I seen like Belly-Up say that exhaust modifications may be necessary). You need a body lift of at least 1" to put it on without spacers, but I think you have that. The only problem I had was actually getting it...Off Road Toy Store kept me waiting about two months for it. They kept telling me that it was being fabricated, but not ready yet. Also, be sure to have a 5.5mm allen wrench, that's the size of the bolts for mounting the plate to the crossmember. That odd size is annoying - I haven't been able to find a ratchet attachment that fits that, which would be helpful.

I got the Tera driveshaft. It doesn't come with a neat bumber sticker like the TW, but it works fine. It would be good to compare prices.

Whichever SYE kit you buy, check it for parts when it arrives, don't wait until installation day (I learned that one the hard way!)

Remember when you install the SYE you will need to adjust the pinion angle of the rear axle by installing adjustable rear upper control arms. I got the Tera ones as well, which are the only ones we've seen that have the brakets for the e-brake cable (like the stock ones). Shop around, there are others by RE, JKS, Currie, and others that look just as good.

Andrew

I really like the 33 engineering skid plate. Seeing Andrew's in person made me like it even more. The design is great and the plate is very beefy. I have always had good luck with the company also "offroad toystore", however, like Chris said, some have not had the same luck.

As far as the SYE is concerned, I shopped around but was still new at the whole SYE thing. Aaron suggested the JB Conversions SYE so I made the call. Customer service was great with them and they put out an extrememly strong product. Just from seeing both the JB and the AA SYEs both are pretty comprable. The JB (if I remember correctly was a little more expensive). I called up Tom Woods for the D/S and also had a great experience with customer service. I ended up going with the fully splined D/S for $20 more. If I had to do it again, I would still call Tom Woods and order one from him. His reputation and reliability is hard to contend with.

HTH

-Chris

I have the tera flex sye kit and tera drive shaft and have no problems with it. Mine came with decent directions and all the parts. Havent wheeled it yet but ive been driving it daily for 2 weeks now with no vibes. Also have the tera adjustable control arms. I like them too, although it would be alot nicer to be able to adjust them without unhooking them off of the front mount.
Ed

Quote from "fly-n-hi"

I don't really understand the difference in SYE, so I'm going to need some one on one help from ya'll to educate me alittle more before I fork out some money on somthing I don't understand.

We do that all the time!!! I just hope to learn a little about the part as the install goes forward. If I understood it before buying I'd still be driving a stocker!

There isn't a whole lot of difference in full SYE's, now there is a huge difference between a full SYE and what RE sell's as a hack and tap. Advanced adapters SYE is what I have and I have also installed another. Both fit well and I had not problems with missing parts or anything horrible like that. From what I have been told most of the SYE's are made by the same companies and resold under various brand names.

kenny,
if you're free tomorrow we're installing an sye, shaft, and upper arms on dmaster's jeep in my garage after 10...you know the way if you want to stop by and see in closer detail what's involved.
chris

no prob...just let us know when it's time for yours
chris

you have a "J" kenny. there's a round metal decal (red and silver in color) affixed to the transfer case on the back of it with the part number/model stamped into it. it should say New Process 231J Transfer Case on it.
chris

Kenny, your gonna need ATF to fill your transfer case( about 2 quarts), Dextron 3 will work. You will need some Silcone sealant for the sye, I used the blue but black and red will work. As for the drive shaft, I got the teraflex one and it is universal. I works with 3-4 inch lifts and is adjustable, i would go this route if your planning on changing the lift. My driveshaft slides in and out to the length you need. Not totally sure but getting a custom made driveshaft to fit the lift you have now may end up limiting you when you get the new lift. Purchased all the parts from bob supplee.
Ed

Instead of ordering from Tom Woods, you can call Q-tec and order the same driveshaft. Their shafts are made by Tom Woods and they just stock different lengths depending on how much lift you have. I am not sure what is meant by the driveshaft being adjustable but every CV driveshaft has slip joint as you are eliminating that from the t-case with the SYE so something needs to move in the driveline during suspension droop and compression. The driveshaft probably won't be able to be used if you change to the 3.5" lift, you will probably need to at least lengthen the driveshaft. Which can be done at any driveshaft shop for a moderate cost.

Quote from "fly-n-hi"

I just called to check the status of the skid plate and they told me it should ship tomorrow, all they were waiting on is some kind of spacers that needed to be power coated.

Call in a couple of days and keep asking for a tracking number until they give you one or your piece arrives.