Question,
I am almost done with this conversion..... The tranny is in but the crossmember does not line up with the brackets on the frame...I know that i have to re-locate them but just wondering if anyone else had to do this with a sm420/3spd T case conversion and if there are any other snags i will run into with that crossmember??....OH..i used to have a 3sp tranny in it....

The tranny is in but the crossmember does not line up with the brackets on the frame...

What brackets? There are no stock "brackets" on the frame, so is it possible that you forgot to mention that you have a V-8 and already were using a rear support crossmember? If so, yeah you're gonna have to chop off those brackets and build new ones in correct location.

Jeff

I have the crossmember bolted up to the T case and the driver side is about 3" higher than the pass side, i guess i could just weld the new brackets to fit the crossmember but it seems like it should be straight across. any suggestions would help..... I took a couple of pics of this but cant figure out how to get them on this page...do they need to be on the net or can i load them from my hard drive....

Jeff, Yes i do already have a V8 conversion...the crossmember is advance adapters i believe.....but like i said, the crossmember seems to be higher on the drivers side alot higher....

Sounds to me like the adapter plate is clocked, so it's causeing your crossmember to sit at an angle. Perhaps you should just add some more rubber bushings inbetween the mounts. Send the picks to dogwalker@pirate4x4.com and I'll post them for you.

Jeff

My t-case AA mount is not level either... I wondered about that for the longest time, and it would always make me second guess whether or not I put it in right. But I guess so.

Good to know that I'm not the only one- :fj:

Mine is not exactly level either its off about an 1 1/2 in so instead of using those expensive "disk" type mounts I went to the local Surf and Skate and bought some "soft" skate board wheels and used them as trans mounts I set the transfer case in the right spot and measured and cut down the wheels for just the right height then with fender washers I sandwitched in the mount between the cut one and a small 1/2 piece on the top. I even sleaved the wheel so they would fit the 1/2 bolt tight by taking a piece of square steel, smaller than the mount so it can still custion vibraiton, and heated it so it would melt its way through the wheels plastic center.

Either or would work, but before doing so, have you tried lossening your motor mounts up just to make sure that they dont self align themselves? If that does'nt solve the problem, then either reweld the mounts to the proper location, or add bushing/spacers.

Jeff

Here's your pics:

next...

Most SM420 adapter plates clock the tcase clockwise to give added front driveshaft room. Therefore the bolt pattern on the back of the t-case for the cross member is rotated slightly so the drivers side arm of the t-case crossmember is higher and pass side is lower. The pass side mount on the frame needs to be lower and the drivers side higher in order to keep the engine(crankshaft)/trans/tcase centerline in the same plane... Other wise it will tilt the rear of the drivetrain up towards the floorboards.

Since you have to move the mounts rearward, raise the driverside and lower the pass side.

Thanks for the help guys,
When i re-locate the mounts do i need to do anything special to alighn everything? Does the eng/tran/t case need to be level? In the pic the engine is sitting on a jack stand about 2" higher than it was sitting b4 i dissasembled everything so what your seeing is probably a bit higher than it should sit. I guess i will do like you said and just mount the driver side higher and the pass side lower.

also, in the pic if you cant already tell the mounts are definately too far forward to re-use with any kind of bushings to make up the difference.

When I replaced my adapter (the old one was not clocked)
I did not want to torch off the old brackets and reweld new ones
and have the cross member angled. What I did was to cut the crossmember int 3 peices, rotate the center and re-weld it.

Can anyone tell me who makes the adpters that are clocked and who makes the ones that aren't? With the ones that are do you still need to grind the case on the 420 to fit the front yoke?

Why not just drill 6 new holes in the brace ? Would that work? You would still have to move the frame brackets........?

We just went thru this on my bothers fj40. we did like Rockhugger, whacked the crossmember & rotated it ten degrees & welded it back. drilling will not work unless you weld the existing holes shut. other wise you will end up w/ slotted holes. we had the same exact problem as yellow cruiser & had to move the mounts back. we were converting from a 350/3spd to an sm420 w/ wardens adapter.

HTH

for another option you could junk the bracket.

Then use a steal bell houseing that has the
trany mounts.

Some peopple argue that the brace you are useing
does not alow the case to flex enugh and leads to
cracks in the case.

I dont know for shure if this is true but
it does make some sence.

Eather way I would highly recomend a
transfer case saver bracket.

You might want to look in to this now as it might
afect the placement of your brace.

I had a piece of a chevy mount/bellhousing attached to a used 3spd tranny I bought once. the entire tranny & t-case dropped b/c the bell housing snapped. the lady driving the fj40 it was in hit, a tree :rolleyes: (women drivers) but I think a rear mount would have been better & those old chevy bellhousing (atleast the ones I've seen ) were not that strong especially w/ a 420 attached. but it is still an option. It took us about 1 hour to cut & reweld the crossmember.

Originally posted by t wrecks
Can anyone tell me who makes the adpters that are clocked and who makes the ones that aren't? With the ones that are do you still need to grind the case on the 420 to fit the front yoke?

Wardens, Extreme Bends and the little guy, me. I'm sure there are others.

Extreme Bends is clocked the furthest and according to them (Steve here on the board) no grinding whatsoever is needed. Don't quote me or use my name.

Wardens newest plate and the one I have are clocked the same. Some grinding is required, either on the flange and yoke if you use 3speed stuff, or also on the tranny if you use the 4speed stuff. Using either of these plates will allow the use of your stock skid plate without lowering it. Not so if the case is clocked further.

Now with that said, and I'm treading lightly here. If at least 5 people commit with the money for plates clocked further than what I have today, I will make the minor program changes and sell you plates that are clocked to the max, for the same price as I have listed. Doesn't matter to me, I prefer my tcase as far from the ground as possible.

Check the page below and shop around.

All of that info is great...
I am having a local metal shop make new brackets for me, I am going to cut off the old ones and weld the new brackets to fit the crossmember. I wish i had the skills(and money) to do all the welding myself so i have to get someone to come over to weld the new brackets on. I like the idea of cutting the crossmember and re alighning it horizontal. But i think for me the best any cheapest thing to do since i have to re-locate the brackets towards the rear anyway i might as well just position them to fit the crossmembers angle....

Any other suggestions to this is much appreciated....