Question on portals and TT mag article

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concretejungle

concretejungle

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In the lastest TT mag, there is a write-up on putting volvo portals under a 40. The idea is awesome and as are the results. My only question is that by going with the portals, the desired results is to move the diff and axles higher, thus creating more ground clearance. BUT, the fella ran his leaves under the axle as opposed to above? Isn't that kinda defeating part of the purpose of going with the portals? I realize that even with the leaves under the axle, it's still higher than a stock axle, but if he would have put them above, he would have gained even more ground clearance.

Comments........
 
actually, if you "drew" a horizontal line beneath the center of the diff, the spring packs would hang no lower. additionally, with the use of the recessed u-bolt plates, the springs make a good slide point on the trail, helping bring the axle up/over obstacles.

Putting the springs over the axles would have netted an additional 5-6" of lift on the rig, made it workable for 44" tires, and added a GREAT deal of axle wrap potential to the system. As is, it's a simple lift, and works great.

I was very impressed with it in Poteau and Clayton...the simplicity of the lift is excellent, and he drives it very well.
 
Woody, do you think that the axle wrap thing could be fairly easily overcome with some suspension linkage, or is it best just to leave it as is?

I agree, very trick. I would like to see an 80 with some portals on it.
 
overcome, yes....you'd need some pretty significant control tho to keep the leverage from making a mess...the portals create a great deal more than a standard straight axle. Also, you'd likely need something in the front too, which is a near-nightmare to fit...

however, 39's would look stupid on there, with 42" tires minimum to make it look normal, and then you are stressing stock t-case and other components pretty hard....

Personally, I wouldn't screw with it....the simplicity is what makes it so kewl.
 
Come to the Roundup in Katemcy and see for yourself how well this rig works.

TJK
 
Kaderabek said:
Come to the Roundup in Katemcy and see for yourself how well this rig works.

TJK
Click to expand...

I'll look into that for sure.

I'm not bashing the rig at all! I'm sure it's awesome. Just wondering why he didn't max out on potential ground clearance. That's all.
 
Woody covered the big issue, axle wrap. Portal add so much leverage that SOA suspension would be a wrap nightmare, if doing portals SUA is necessary if running leaf springs. The lift achieved running portals is going to be about 3-4.5" depending on the axle used.

by the way I personally wouldn't run leaf spring on portals, but thats just me. Links are good, leafs are bad.
 
I was thinking some coils and a good 4 link would be unbelievable on portals.
 
concretejungle said:
I was thinking some coils and a good 4 link would be unbelievable on portals.
Click to expand...

I hope so, mine is 4 links front and rear on coilovers.

Factory MOGs used a single torquetube suspension with panhard bar and coils. That setup works really well too.
 
I may be able to provide some good info here, and maybe Portal Tek can chime in. (This is in no way trying to pimp our product, but just some info we have found setting portals on a piggy and a 40)
Like others have said, running a SOA on portals provides massive ground clearance and the ablility to run very large (44"++) tires. What it also does is hugly increases the center of gravity, and when running anything but a custom suspension, makes for massive axle wrap. Running SUA allows the user to maintain a stock or lifted suspension, without the need for major modifcations/fabrication to relocate springs, perches, shackles, ect. Yet it still provides much axle/ground clearance over a stock and/or lifted straight axle vehicle. We will have a piggy on custom portal axles, as well as 2 40's in the upcoming months. Hope to have them at CruiseMoab and EJF. We are hoping to have a booth at both with other vendors. If anyone is out there, come take a look and a ride to see how the suspensions are set up, and what kind of clearance you can achieve with a portal setup. If anyone has any questions on setup under cruisers, I know dieselcruiserhead ran volvo portals under his piggy for a while...and had some great feedback on pro's and con's of his setup.
Let me know if you have any questoins.
 
Portals on an 80 is a great ides. That is actually on our list of items to put our customs on. I want to show the axles under numerous types of stock setups. Everyone knows with enough fabrication portals can be put under anything, but what I love about them is how simple the install is for any stock 4x4. You don't need anything fancy with a set of portals, and they do exactly what everyone wants, MORE GROUND CLEARANCE, without a great deal of modifications. Anyway, just thought I would chime in.

Later
Scott
 
Cool Scott. Please stick around and keep us posted on the portaled 80!

Now i'm off to search through the link i posted about military auctions and try and find a set of portals.
 
to much tech and good info to lose it in ChitChat...

awesome stuff guys, can't wait to see buildup pics!
 
The ability to portal and 80, would almost be just the perfect set up. Think of it this way...someone finds an 80, non-locked, and wants lift, lockers, and to run big tires. To do this, they need to buy, depending on tire size they want to run, a 5-6" lift, gears, lockers, and tires. Im sure many people have added up this price, and I know it isnt cheap. With a direct bolt in portal option, you get 4-5" or lift/clearance, gears to match the tires you want, and lockers, for probably very close to the price, or even less then the lift/locker/gear option. And if it was just a straight bolt in setup, what more could you ask for.
Portal-Tek and I's plans are to have a multiude of vehicles on portal, my 3FE converted FJ55, his completely rebuilt 79/80 40 with the H55F, another 82 40, possibly my 94 FZJ80, and a couple heeps. It will be intersting to see how they work under different vehicles and applications/suspensions. Higher ground clearance with out the sacrifice of higher center of gravity, ability to bolt it all in.
There is alot that goes into it all, and any feedback, good or bad, lets all of us see what the pros and cons of portal'd vehicles are.......
 
It's funny that this is something i have always thought about, but figured since i haven't heard much about it (speaking of an 80) that someone has tried and figured it was too complex and required too much modification of the 80 to make it work and gave up. I guess that's not the case however.
 
Maybe I missed it in the article, but how big is the diff on those Volvo axles? I recall it being mentioned that it was smaller than a stock cruiser diff (thus adding even more ground clearance), but how much does it hang down from the tube?
 
I have some pics at home that I will upload tonight, that will compare a stock cruiser (FJ60 and FJ80) versus a Volvo Portal and a Mog Portal.....look for it later tonight.
 
The diffs on the Volvo's are a little smaller, I don't have an exact number, but it is noticable.
 
Someone with enough info needs to setup a link on the tech page for portal axles. Info like ratios, axle width, brake options, pinion offset, wheel bolt pattern, etc. would be helpful to everyone interested in this swap.
 
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