Divorced Transfer Case
hey polarweasel I am interested in doing the same conversion. I met a guy through the 4X4 labs conversion forum (they were are trying to do a mercedes conversion for landcruisers but it has been like two to three years in the works)
named chris. This guy put a mercedes engine & tranny matched with a toyota transfer case in a russian SUV called a Niva. He described the conversion to me about a year and a half ago and I kept his e mails but now I cant get in touch with him. His website is down but he still had an open directory of his photos so I bookmarked them. here is what he told me.......
Hi Marc,
I've already been waiting a long time for a look at the 4x4 labs
custom flywheel, to see if they'd make a viable unit....no luck so
far. ( dont take my heckling there as a 'negative' opinion - I'd love
to see them actually build the kits, just so long as they're done
RIGHT.)
as for doing a conversion yourself: yes, it can be done. easiest
method, in my opinion, would be to use a marlin crawler 'toybox'
setup, which grafts a mini truck reduction box onto the front of a
Land cruiser transfer case. From there, it can be connected to the
Mercedes automatic the same way as my 240TD/auto combo is set up.
takes about an hour, and aside form welding up the spud shat, it can
be done at home, with hand tools. any decent driveshaft shop should
be able to take the parts, and build the coupler. A new input seal is
required, and you'll need a 41mm frost plug to use as the lower
bearing lube cup. ***just an FYI, based on the results I've had with
mine, I've been contemplating building up the cover+spud shaft and
selling them as kits - let me know if you're interested, and I'll
shoot you some photos, and the details.
Land Cruisers arent my main stay, but IIRC, the normal axles are
4.10's, in which case I'd recommend using at least 31*10.5's, or
(preferably) 33*12.5's. The dual case would give all the low gears
you could want, while 33's and the auto will do 70 mph @ at roughly
2900 rpm, which is right on the torque band or the Mercedes diesels.
**** just an opinion, but in an FJ60, I'd recommend using the 300TD,
not a naturally aspirated engine. based on my most recent work,
turned up, but with no mods/added parts, the 300TD is capable of
170-200 HP, and 300+ ft.lbs, which would move the heavy 60 with very
little effort, and good mileage. A 300D NA would work, but you'd be
pushing the motor a lot harder on steep highway grades - might not be
an issue if you never load heavy, or tow.
hopefully this helps.....
http://home.off-road.com/~northern_gypsy/images/adapter2.jpg
http://home.off-road.com/~northern_gypsy/images/adapter6.jpg
marc
ps I left in the original typos.....
