O R I O N (2 Viewers)

[spotcruiser]

I replaced the high-speed gear and output shaft at the recommendation of AA, but they may have replacement bushings. The discoloration on the bushing was the only thing that caught my eye. Everything was in-spec.

Curious if you found a place to get that bushing ? or if you had to cut one down ?

 

[S4Cruiser]

I just wanted to add a follow-up on my Orion issue. As noted above in post #634, on a trip a couple of years ago it started to pop into Neutral from High Range when running downhill on mild gravel roads. I rebuilt the box with a new main shaft and high-speed gear per AA recommendations and haven't had the issue since. I did not find anything out-of-spec with the box or the previous main shaft or high-speed gear, but at the time I did notice some brown staining on the brass bushings of the gears. I didn't think too much about the staining at the time, but later on remembered the Mud thread about GL-4 and GL-5 gear oil. The sulfur content of GL-5 is supposed to cause issues with yellow metals and most gear oils these days are rated GL-5 or GL-4/GL-5.

Bushing of High-Speed gear running GL-4/GL-5 gear oil.
View attachment 1587171

Opposite side of the High-Speed gear bushing.
View attachment 1587183

I've always run just 80-90w gear oil available at the usual auto parts places and these days it's always GL-4/GL-5 rated. I don't know that the GL-5 was an issue with my Orion, but I decided not to take a chance and I switched over to a straight GL-4 oil earlier this year. It's not typically available locally and it tends to be fairly expensive, but I was able to order some on Amazon for what I felt was a not-too-exorbitant price (Sta-Lube SL24239, $28/gallon with free shipping at the time). Certainly, it complicates things a little bit as I now keep different oils for my diffs and transfer case in addition to the special oil required for the NV4500. That's not a big deal, though, if it reduces the number of times that I need to rebuild my Orion. YMMV.

Interesting. I just filled my case for the first time last week and used gl5. I did run gl4 in my sm465 for the reason you mention above but didn't think or hadn't read about the cruiser case needing gl4. Pardon my ignorance but does the Orion case have different bushing than a regular case leading it to need gl4?

I used the sta-lube gear oil in the 465 and got it from Amazon too.

 

[spotcruiser]

As I noted above, I can't say that the GL-5 was the cause of my most recent issue, but it occurred to me that I'd rather be safe than sorry. I think the gear bushings are probably about the same between the OEM 4-speed transfer and the Orion (I'll have to look the next time I'm digging deep through old parts), but the Orion is definitely a little more finicky than the OEM box (as we all know). I found absolutely nothing wrong or out of spec with my Orion after the High-range-to-Neutral issue, short of the brown staining shown in the photo. It wasn't until after I rebuilt it and filled it with the typical GL-4/GL-5 oil that I decided maybe I should switch to plain old GL-4, just in case.

I only posted the change to GL-4 in case other people were interested.

Interesting. I just filled my case for the first time last week and used gl5. I did run gl4 in my sm465 for the reason you mention above but didn't think or hadn't read about the cruiser case needing gl4. Pardon my ignorance but does the Orion case have different bushing than a regular case leading it to need gl4?

I used the sta-lube gear oil in the 465 and got it from Amazon too.

 

[Volcanic Iceberg]

Hey guys, I'm a newb to gearing upgrades. Is the Orion option essentially half speed of a stock case in low range?

 

[1911]

Hey guys, I'm a newb to gearing upgrades. Is the Orion option essentially half speed of a stock case in low range?

Close, depending on which stock transfer case you have (3-speed, 4-speed, or split). The Orion gears are 4.0:1 low-range.

 

[Volcanic Iceberg]

I've got the 4 speed t-case. Hi speed stays the same correct?

 

[1911]

I've got the 4 speed t-case. Hi speed stays the same correct?

IIRC, the 4-speed T.C. low range is 1.96, so yeah you would double that with the Orion.

Hi-range is just a pass-through, 1:1, same as stock cases, so yeah it stays the same.

 

[Blue77FJ40]

Don't forget, the Orion is a cast iron case, many times stronger than the stock aluminum case.

 

[Volcanic Iceberg]

For those of you that have done the upgrade, I am fairly mechanically inclined, but I haven't been into a t-case before. Is this a DYI thing or should I send it off to George E.?

 

[1911]

For those of you that have done the upgrade, I am fairly mechanically inclined, but I haven't been into a t-case before. Is this a DYI thing or should I send it off to George E.?

I had @Poser build mine, and was very happy with the result. I took off the stock case and sent it to him for he stock bits needed. I also bought a rebuilt imported H41 and had it shipped to him, and he built the Orion, stuck it on the H41 and shipped the whole thing to me on a pallet, ready to install.

 

[spotcruiser]

It's not difficult to build an Orion. You can go onto the AA site for an Orion and download the installation instructions.

http://www.advanceadapters.com/downloads/Orion0.pdf

For those of you that have done the upgrade, I am fairly mechanically inclined, but I haven't been into a t-case before. Is this a DYI thing or should I send it off to George E.?

 

[reddingcruiser]

Building an Orion is well within my skill set but it was nice to farm it out. Since I didn't have to pay for shipping my cost was very reasonable. Georg @orangefj45 did an excellent job, as I'm sure @Poser would do.

 

[cruiseroutfit]

For those of you that have done the upgrade, I am fairly mechanically inclined, but I haven't been into a t-case before. Is this a DYI thing or should I send it off to George E.?

You'll have zero issues assembling one but if you do you're more than welcome to swing it by the shop. We've sold/assembled/installed dozens over the years and we've got all the press tools to make the bearing work quick/easy.

 

[Volcanic Iceberg]

You'll have zero issues assembling one but if you do you're more than welcome to swing it by the shop. We've sold/assembled/installed dozens over the years and we've got all the press tools to make the bearing work quick/easy.

Thanks Kurt! That may be what I end up doing. I should be in your neighborhood a few times this year.

 

[cruiseroutfit]

Thanks Kurt! That may be what I end up doing. I should be in your neighborhood a few times this year.

Sweet, say when... this one is getting built for Zach B's 40 Crawler this week

 

[cseitz]

Just got my orion yesterday and started assembly this morning. I ran into a little snag when installing the idler gear and thrust washers into the new orion case. It looks like there is an issue with the machine work for the notch that holds the thrust washer on the front side of the case. Can someone confirm if this is correct or incorrect? Pics below to clarify. I have shown both the front and rear for comparison

 

[cruiseroutfit]

Hmmm, that doesn't look right. You have just a single tab on the thrust washer (34mm split t-case washer fwiw) so perhaps a non issue if you clean up the channel slightly? I'd call them regardless. The one photographed in the pic just above yours may have been an earlier batch but it had clean idler machining. I've got another one coming tomorrow and I'll pop it open and inspect.

 

[cruiseroutfit]

Sweet, say when... this one is getting built for Zach B's 40 Crawler this week...

Forgot to post a finished pic of Zach's

 

[65swb45]

I will obviously be checking @Spike Strip case tomorrow for this as well.

 

[orangefj45]

I received 5 cases from the last shipment; they all looked good.

Georg @ Valley Hybrids & Cruiser Brothers