How do you guys with slush boxes make any front travel? What a PITA.

I wound up SOA and RS to help prevent breaking springs.

I had to get a long-travel 'shaft to keep from breaking Dana 20s and tailhousings.

Got all of that worked out with a 14" slip unit from Tom Wood's, that understandably a manly diameter.

So then, with my bump stops effectively lowered 3" or more from stock (I can run a 74/75 no-hump truck pan w/o problems), I started smashing the 727 pan and making it leak, because the driveshaft is a bit thick in diameter (OK, it's not scrawny, anyhow).

Solution.. raise the engine. The engine mounts were shot anyhow, so up it went.. 1.25" was a good number, since that's the top of the frame.

Now with the front at full bump..

http://tigger.tmcom.com/~tsm1/PlainGallery/2006DevilWinterOverHaul/DCP_0042.sized.jpg

Just clears. I wound up jacking the 727 up 3/4" at the tail mount to try and level out the engine mounts, which gives a little more room, but it's still fairly close when sitting on the bump stops.

Cool.

Except the driveshaft binds at-rest.. no biggie, the yoke comes off the Dana 20 and goes into the bench grinder.. no bind at rest.

(At-rest I have a little under 9" vertical seperation, 26" horizontal, for a 27.25" 'shaft length, and a 20-deg angle on the shaft, but with the front output of the D20 putting up slightly thanks to the engine tilt)

Put the Hi-Lift and floor-jack in..

http://tigger.tmcom.com/~tsm1/PlainGallery/2006DevilWinterOverHaul/DCP_0024_002.sized.jpg
http://tigger.tmcom.com/~tsm1/PlainGallery/2006DevilWinterOverHaul/DCP_0026_001.sized.jpg

..and check it at full droop (or close to it without permanently damaging the springs)..

~30deg angle on the shaft.. and the BODY of the U-joint, the CROSS is binding on the front output shaft itself.. so out comes the 4" grinder and I removed a good bit of the shaft and part of the nut.. and now, at 30-ish degrees, no bind.

http://tigger.tmcom.com/~tsm1/PlainGallery/2006DevilWinterOverHaul/DCP_0027_002.sized.jpg

Not that I feel particularly good about running the joint at 30-deg at speed, but it's what I have.

I can push the front end forward an inch or so.. but that'll only take me down to 29deg at full droop. I can move the engine back, but I only have 1/2" to go before the shock hoops need cut off because the alternator hits, and moving just 1/2" will just about make the holes overlap in the engine mounts.

I could drop the engine a tad.. say, 1/2".. which will level things out.. but that's a bunch of work.. or I could raise the 727 another 1/2" to make it level out with the engine, but I'm not sure if the extra height will be better or worse than a little less angle (bring the output back to horizontal again).

Can't go high-pinion since I'll be back into the pan.

I *can* drop the front spring hangers a bit and bring the pinion up to at least make the drop from output to pinion a little less.

Seems the GOOD solution is to rotate the t'case.

Can't easily do that with a Dana 20.. unless it's advisable to band-saw the adapter, rotate it, and have it TIG'd back together.. and if that'll hold up. :P

The other solution is to rebuild the 727 with a Jeep tailhousing/shaft and a D300, which could be clocked down below the crossmember.

That's probably the best solution by far, but also a fair bit intensive.

Sure makes a GM swap look appealing some times..

Can you cut & rotate to get your pinion up, and run a 2 piece front shaft for transmission clearance?

Can you cut & rotate to get your pinion up, and run a 2 piece front shaft for transmission clearance?

I guess that's another option.

To get the pinion up, I'd just lower the spring hangers up front. I'm running a 6-deg shim now to make the pinion horizontal. I was contemplating adding some short "fangs" to eliminate the shim and gain a little ride-height, but I could just as easily do it to get the pinion up, which would help.

The two piece shaft is appealing.

One solution to my problem is a "wider" t'case, to move the shaft outboard away from the 727 pan. A 2-piece would be another way around it, particularly if I lower the carrier bearing to move my output down and relieve some angle.

Heck, if I had a wider 'case, I could run a high-pinion (I have the pieces to build one).. but with the stock D20 setup, the high pinion just puts the shaft SOLIDLY into the 727.

I'll have to look into the 2-piece idea. Might be time to call Tom Woods again..

Thanks, Ben.

-Tom

You don't need to call woods, you can do it yourself.

1. Take an old pinion and cut off the head.
2. Find a pillow block bearing that fits the pinion shaft.
3. Find some tube & a yoke that slip fit the pinion and weld it on.
4. Bolt a normal yoke on the other end.
5. Have your existing driveshaft shortened.

You don't need to call woods, you can do it yourself.

1. Take an old pinion and cut off the head.
2. Find a pillow block bearing that fits the pinion shaft.
3. Find some tube & a yoke that slip fit the pinion and weld it on.
4. Bolt a normal yoke on the other end.
5. Have your existing driveshaft shortened.


Got a pinion with trashed teeth, check.

Driveline pillow block, or "generic" block from the hardware store?

Won't I need a short-shaft between the new carrier and the front output? A single U-joint would be out of phase all of the time, or it'd be in a straight line and put my carrier bearing itself into the 727.

something like this, sized accordingly. I'm using a driveline bearing with the rubber surround and sheetmetal housing and it is falilng apart. I am swapping it out for a pillow block.

http://www.surpluscenter.com/images/p1-1756C.jpg

All the 2 piece drivelines I've seen the pros make only use a total of 3 u-joints. I'm not sure why it works without killer vibes, it just does. :D The 2-piece I'm using in the front of my Jeep is just a shortened 1210 rear driveline, I'm not getting any vibes from the 3rd joint. You may need to play with the mounting and angles to get it dialed in. :confused:

Just lower the rig back down to breathable atmosphere and pump up the nitrogen in them bump stops. Loosing a few hundred pounds of unusable weight from that boat anchor up front should help too.:cool2:

Loosing a few hundred pounds of unusable weight from that boat anchor up front should help too.:cool2:

Some days that is SOOO tempting. :D

The RPT Aluminum intake will help, but not nearly as much as a Z06 take-out...