Hey,
I want you all to shoot this down, give me your pro's and con's on this idea.
What do you think of adding a spacer to the front output of a 3-spd t-case between the flanges (with index recess on bolth sides) with a 3-spd pattern on one side and a pattern of choice on the other? That way you could use any U-joint flange you wanted and have the clearance.
Now keep in mind that I will be useing a Ranger torque splitter in front of my SM420 so I will have the room for a shorter front driveline.
My question is , will this spacer put any wierd stress on the t-case out put housing/bearing or flange?
Assume that the spacer will be around five of so inches, so the bigger u-joint will clear the transmission.

Thanks in advance

-Scott

u joint flange is not the only issue. THe output flange is... All you would be doing is adding a spacer to the tranny that would also have to be milled. The u joint itself does not have to be ground on..
I see no reason for it..


And the stresses would be very weird I would think..

I would be concerned about the load not being supported by a bearing. Secondly the driveline angle will increase as the spacer's size does. I ran this by my machinist, wheeling buddy a few months ago and he advised against it. I believe dcruiser did something like this on his (can't find the pics now).

Just my $.02

Originally posted by Cruzilla
What do you think of adding a spacer to the front output of a 3-spd t-case between the flanges with a 3-spd pattern on one side and a pattern of choice on the other? That way you could use any U-joint flange you wanted and have the clearance.

What's the point? The clearance between the front output and the side of the sm420 restricts you to using the small 3sp pattern flanges. If you are worried about having a weak link in the front drive shaft, you already have one anyway.

If you are talking about a spacer long enough to clear the hump on the sm420, then yes, there are going to be some wierd stresses on your front output.

Lastly, it would not be trivial to machine something like that.

Charlie,

You gonna be around on Monday the 8th? I've got an Ontario layover with a deadhead out (I can be flexible on my departure), and may get a chance to come over and see the SM420 work you did!!

i did this!!! had jesse @ high angle fab it up...ill post pics when i get home. ive had no problems at all.:rasta:

here it is. the actual yoke im using now on the d-line part is a mini truck yoke and joint. its workin out.
http://www.rivercityrockcrawlers.com/BBSups//dsc_013.jpg

One reason for this mod would be so I can run a CV and point my front pinion up to get more driveline clearance. I have plenty of front drive line for this mod the Ranger is 7.5" long and it sits between the transmission and bellhouseing.

Thanks for the flack!! and keep sending it!

I've ground the crap out of my front driveline flanges, started with the smaller three speed flanges and ground them even smaller. Then I ground all kinds of extra clearance in the little yoke quizmos where the u-joints go to keep them from binding.

I've been running that drive line for about two years now without any kind of failure and I'm SOA with out the cut and turn.
Believe me it gets well used, hard trails in the summer and snow covered highway in the winter. No problemo

BTW, I do carry a spare just in case.... ;)

My personal opinion would be to stay away from any kind of spacer. Just remember length equates to leverage and that nose cone on the front of that T-Case was only designed to take so much stress. I've seen those suckers break clean off, on a stock rig no less.

botom line is the out put shaft on
transfercase is about 1/2 inch in diameter
so you will be putting a lot of stress
on the shaft and the front cone.

but hey I cant belve that front shaft holds up at all but it does so go for it.
ps bring
plenty of spare parts.

ya, ya...your tellin me stuff i allready know....its not the coolest thang...but ill post a pic of my clearance issues when i get home...its pretty fawked!:rasta:

heres my clearance...i dunno why its so little...im guessing too old style of an adapter. its the old wardens one...but it hardly allows the flanga alone..muich less the yoke!
http://www.rivercityrockcrawlers.com/BBSups//dsc_015.jpg

MINE is the same as yours.
just grind it untell it works.

When I first saw mine I thought it
would be a problem but
I learned that you are more likely to
bust the hole case in half.

ps yes I belive that you can now buy a adapter
that will clock the case.

you might want to sell your old adapter
and buy a new one I would do that before
trying a spacer.

I did the exact same thing that Reddog did, grind the hell out of the flanges, removed a little material from the case, and clearanced the u-joint yokes to keep them from binding. So far no problems and I too have been through some tough trails. With a long front shaft like your planning on having you shouldnt have to much binding problems unless you are using lift springs. I have a s.o. with reversed stock springs and a low profile shackle reversal. The only real problem I had is the slip yoke is too short.

In regards to the spacer, as long as the u-joint doesnt bind, I think it would work. The amount of twisting force put on the output or flange wouldnt change. But if you had a binding problem then your output would most likely suffer.

when you did your shackle reversal, did you use the stock rear hangers and move them up front? I was wondering if you used all the stock parts minus the new rear shackles, if you had to use shims to keep stock caster

I did use the stock rear hangers and move them up front. The shackle reversal was done just like in the tech section of this site.

I did not use caster shims, the perchers were welded in the correct position the first time:D

define "first time"

First time means lots of checking and double checking before final welding. If you do the s.o. s.r. like I did then you cant just weld the new perchs on top of the axle level with the old ones. After I squared the spring hangers in their new postions and welded them, I reversed the springs packs and hung them. I also removed the 2 bottom leafs from each pack because the rear springs had more sag than the front and I wanted to level the stance, and it worked. Then I put the axle with the new perches just sitting on top under the cruiser then jacked it up so that the full weight was on the axle. I found that when the pinion is at 90 degrees, the caster is at its stock position. Sooo, with the weight on the axle I measured the degrees at the pinion. Then I let the jack down just enough so I could twist the axle in the direction it needed to go. I had to repeat this process a few times till I was satisfied. Once you get the pinion at 90 degrees with the full weight of the cruiser on the axle and your happy, weld.

Sounds great, thanks for the info!!