Builds Blender, My LX450/FZJ80 + FJ45esk + GM + Land Rover crazy concoction (3 Viewers)

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cruisermatt said:
I'm pretty familiar with 230's (check the link in my signature :)), I've never been a fan of the individual factory shifter.

Just put a doubler in my 62 and built a set of triple shifters, I would love to have them all be air-operated as I want ARB's in the future and could link the systems. Plus I've found it pretty hard to make shifter linkages that aren't clunky/sloppy.
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I thought about air shfting the high-low lever, but I didn't want to use a dual action air ram. The control system for that gets a little complex in my opinion. I don't mind air actuating things, but I think they should default to one position, or the other, if the air system goes down. On what I am building, I am defaulting to open with the center diff using the spring bias in a single action cylinder. That way if the air system fails it will just open the diff. I would like to be able to access that area of the linkage with a small panel on the tunnel as backup. I run an ox-locker with a small air actuator built into the diff cover on my old Willys jeep. It has been a very reliable and simple system for me. I hope I can duplicate that reliability in this center diff locking mechanism...and the Toyota E-lockers in the near future.

I think I have a pretty good plan for the high-low lever linkage to eliminate slop and rattles. I am building a double shear bracket off the transmission for the pivot point of the shift lever. I am going to build the pivot to use a shoulder bolt pin and some self-oiling bushings pressed into a small housing made from some DOM tubing. I should be able to adjust the tension on that assembly pretty easy with an all metal lock nut on the shoulder bolt threads. The linkage rod will all be small ball joints with rubber shields. I think it should be pretty decent when it is all done. Building out the detail stuff always takes the most time.
 
The LT 230 has the differential for 4 hi, and that would be a unique feature that might come in handy. There are times when you want more power going to one end or the other not all or nothing like many other t-cases have (e.g. dana 300, atlas 2). I'm not a fan of it on snow and ice unless I really want to drift a corner - but you can be that guy who finds out. cool.
 
SuperBuickGuy said:
The LT 230 has the differential for 4 hi, and that would be a unique feature that might come in handy. There are times when you want more power going to one end or the other not all or nothing like many other t-cases have (e.g. dana 300, atlas 2). I'm not a fan of it on snow and ice unless I really want to drift a corner - but you can be that guy who finds out. cool.
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Yes, the LT230 is a full time transfer case in the stock configuration. The center differential is just a regular spider gear type unit that looks just about like anything you would find in an open diff. One side has spring bias collar that allows you to lock the spider gears to the case, basically just like any other selectable locker.

Honestly, I would much rather have a twin rail transfer case with independent front and/or rear control. In this chassis with the offset rear diff it just didn't seem practical. The underdrive high range gearing and lower low range gearing along with having both outputs on the same side really made the LT230 a good fit for this build.

The center diff MIGHT allow me to do some interesting things, but I will just have to play with it to find out how much of a difference it makes. In theory the axles could be treated like cutting/fiddle brakes normally effect a left/right braking system. If you where to drag the brakes on the rear axle the front would receive all the power. The same goes for the front axle and rear drive power. I don't know how long the center diff would hold up to that kind of abuse however.

Being able to open the center diff on higher traction surfaces might help when turning. That will be fun to play with.

if I don't love it, I can always convert it to part time. That converts the case to opperate where the front output is just on-off. There are also some people in other countries that have built disconnecting rear output housings so you can select drive the rear output with or without the center diff function.

In the end, I used this transfer case for the gearing. This version has a 1.2:1 high range. That will let me leave the 4.10 gears in the diffs and have proper gearing for the larger tires. Low range is also 3:32:1, which is very good for an oem unit. It just so happens that the high to low range difference is also very compatible with the factory GM computer settings.
 
How does stuff like this take SO long....



I was finally able to come up with a shifting system for the transfer case! Finally!

The high-low selection is done by a lever system. I was able to grab a 3 bolt mounting pattern off the side of the 6L80E transmission in about the right locaiton. The pivot for the lever is a small machined section of 1"dia x 3/16" wall tubing that has permanently oiled flanged bushings pressed in. That pivot tube rides on a 1/2" shoulder bolt with a lock-nut to provide tension adjustment as the bushings wear. The pivot is also in double shear with an add on bracket that will be braced to the main bracket when I pull it apart for final welding. The relay rod uses rubber shielded ball joint pivots on both ends. I will be augmenting/replacing the threaded rod with something a little stiffer on final assembly. There is a little bit of bow in the rod when things are bound up and you are really pulling on the lever. I'm not totally happy with the shift lever yet. I will probably add a jog bend to it to bring it in closer to the centerline of the chassis to save a little leg room for the passenger. There may very well be a version two or three of that lever as I get the tunnel built out.

I decided to use a small air ram to actuate the center diff lock on the transfer case. I have some rough plans to convert the toyota e-lockers to air actuated also. I used an off the shelf Bimba cylinder from McMaster. These are very affordable at maybe $35 in this size. On the transfer case side the cylinder uses another rubber shielded ball joint pivot. That little pivot attaches to a pivot lever which is welded to the key plate that I made. I mapped out the leverage ratio and arm length so that I could use a standard cylinder length without needing any kind of stop of either end. Fully extended is the lock position, fully retracted is unlocked. The pivot lever was a very tight fit. The pivot location is actually right on top of another fastener on the transfer case. I decided in the end to make the pivot lever out of material thick enough to tap to 1/4-28 for the ball joint stem. The tail end of the cylinder has a small brass bushing for a 1/4" pin. I was able to make a few small brackets to connect that to the shifter brackets.

The only thing that didn't work like I wanted in the end was the spring return. The spring in the cylinder is just not strong enough to pop the lever to the open position reliably. I am going to add a secondary return spring I think to help the spring in the cylinder. Then it is just a matter of finding a spring strong enough in the size I need that will fit in the space I have....

I'm sure I will find something...

Some shop/fab tips from this part of the project.



Don't worry about making the first template in one piece. It was much easier in this case to add the pivot location after the main bracket template was already done. Then I just make another template for the final bracket shape one I had ALL the hole locations.



If you have a hole that doesn't line up perfectly, take an extra second to mark the direction that the hole needs to be adjusted. This way once you remove the bracket you know how it was bolted on and where you need to file to adjust things.



Blair Holcutters are great, but they have thickness limitations. If you cut from both sides you can really stretch them out. The center pilot reaches all the way though so it is very easy to just flip the part over. Cutting from both sides seems to work better in a lot of ways on thickness.



If you have to tap a hole in a smaller part, tap it before you cut it out. It is way easier to keep things straight and level.

Also, silver sharpie works great for making the edges on metal in some cases. It is much easier to see than black for my eyes in some cases. In this case I just used a paper template and 'wiped' the edge of the sharpie off the template instead of trying to trace around it. This gives you a finer line in a lot of cases for more detail cutting. You basically cut/sand/file off all the silver to get the exact shape.



Sometimes it is easier to try and clean up most of a small part before you cut it out of the plate. A little forethought goes a long ways with small parts like this.



It is also easier/safer sometimes to cut small parts out one as a time vs in pairs. Again, just trying to think ahead helps.
 
SuperBuickGuy said:
Nice work

I keep telling my wife that I need a laser cutter - for safety's sake - she has this silly notion that we need a house instead.... what are you gonna do?
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Thank you.

I know right....I have been telling the misses I need a laser tube processing machine for years. She says the SAME thing!
 
I know.....moving up in the world!

Blick Art Supplies sells it online with shipping for a good price if you order about $40 worth with a coupon.
 
Love the tunnel design!

Am I remembering correctly that you're going to put in access hatches in the tunnel or no?
 
I still havn't graduated from BAD, (beerbox assisted design) You must not have a job, if you do? Your an animal.
 
lwb86 said:
updates!!!
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I have been slacking. My daily driver Dodge had a few issues that needed to be fixed. Holidays. Winter. No shop heat. Excuses :)

I did squeeze in enough time to build some new tools.

With enough things coming up that will require some more complex bending....



I decided to build a 60" wide press brake with laminated modulated tooling. This will allow me to bend up more complex parts with less welding. This will include things like the tunnel, front fenders, rear fenders, tailgate, fuel tank, etc. Just with this project I decided it was worth the investment in time and funds to expand my bending capability.

cruisedeisel said:
I still havn't graduated from BAD, (beerbox assisted design) You must not have a job, if you do? Your an animal.
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Yup, full time 9-5 also.....
 
How do you eat an elephant.....one bite at a time....







I was finally able to complete the mockup on the complete transmission tunnel. I have way more time in this than I want to admit, but I think it turned out pretty well. It is a little more square than I wanted at the rear of the tunnel, but that should be out of sight once the seat mounts are in place.

I don't really have any helpful shop tips on this one other than what I posted already. Having the chipboard mockup was VERY nice. I also really like my big long press brake where I can do more bending.

I still have a bit more to do on it. I will be trimming down the base flange to the minimize it a bit on the floor. I don't think I will final weld it till after I get done with mockup. I may still have to add or change things....
 
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I'm really liking this tunnel design!! Is it held down with machine screws? Think you can get enough torque on them with a phillips bit to prevent them from coming out?
 
GLTHFJ60 said:
I'm really liking this tunnel design!! Is it held down with machine screws? Think you can get enough torque on them with a phillips bit to prevent them from coming out?
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Thank you.

Yes, the tunnel is held down by 6mm theaded screws.

I think the pan head screws should be fine. That is what I used on my last build in 10-24 size, the factory FJ40 tunnel is held down with 6mm threads. If they are an issue, I can use hex head stuff and/or some blue loctite.
 
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