O R I O N (3 Viewers)

[hatfieldcb]

OK. I have case #050. I assembled it. I put all the upgrades/fixes in it from AA. I have a used main shaft and shift collar.

It's gone in behind an SM420 in my orange project FJ40. I was finally driving it last week when I noticed a problem It's detailed in this thread.

AA is going to test what's left of my thrust washer and tell me what they think.

 

[Sputnik40]

Installing Orion #HD031. Not entirely related, but can anyone give me suggested torque specs. for the bolts that hold the late style AA SM420 adapter in place (to the SM420 - several small bolts and one or so stud/nuts)??? I installed it years ago and can't remember what they were - and while I have the cases out want to go thru each one again with a bit of lock tite .

 

[FJROME]

Orion No. 467
4:1 low range
Stock thrust washers (.009 clearance with feeler gage)
New shift rail and backcut gears
Used shift collar
17 in. lbs. bearing preload
Almost 500 miles since installation and noticeably quieter than original T-case.
Finally had a chance to test it in low range (thanks danimal) and no problems, (THANK GOD) so far so good.
Thanks to everyone here for your input and experience........Jerome

 

[D'Animal]

So it took a month or so for it to pop out. Glad you were expecting it and nobody and nothing was injured.

Kind of exciting the first time, HUH?

Orion No. 467
4:1 low range
Stock thrust washers (.009 clearance with feeler gage)
New shift rail and backcut gears
Used shift collar
17 in. lbs. bearing preload
Almost 500 miles since installation and noticeably quieter than original T-case.
Finally had a chance to test it in low range (thanks danimal) and no problems, (THANK GOD) so far so good.
Thanks to everyone here for your input and experience........Jerome

 

[FJROME]

Popped out of low range

After a full day of wheeling on the day run at moonlight madness on Bald mountain, I was idleing down a steep decent and BANG out it came. I guess I,m not immune to the plague. Other than that and a bent rear leaf spring it was a good trip.
(Thanks Dan for the springs and the grizzley reminder)

Kind of exciting the first time, HUH?

 

[73Chevota]

I cant seem to find the fluid containers from my last change. What is the synthetic used in the Orion?

 

[peesalot]

IIRC it is called Torqo

 

[73Chevota]

Is there a website for that?

 

[Poser]

TORCO <---- this is a link






I just run 80-90W gear oil in them....

 

[mudnyreye]

I think mine is #121. It is an early one. It has worked perfect since installation. Soon after the bad pub came out, I took a trip to Tellico. I was fully loaded and coming down Trail 1 to the state line. It is a long downhill with whoops. Coasting pretty much, when I crossed the bridge at the bottom... no output on the running gear...Stuck! THE ORION CURSE!!! I crawled under the Cruiser and found that the shifter arm had popped off of the selector arm. Manually, I put it in 2HI, and was on my way. The entire weekend was spent underneath the Cruiser, switching it back into gear... I was really tick'd. I spent a tremendous amount of tim assembling my Orion. I spec'd everything, replaced anything less than tolerance and thought that I had a really tight T-case. Coming home, all the junk in my head about having to Yank it again, made for a bad ride. At the shop, I inspected everything and found the problem. R Front Motor Mount had separated causing the motor to Hop and hit the floor pan. Replaced the Mount and I have not had a problem since. I even went down upper 2.. No Problems. I love It!

 

[Dedtruk]

Any update? Still staying in gear or ???

I think mine is #121. It is an early one. It has worked perfect since installation. Soon after the bad pub came out, I took a trip to Tellico. I was fully loaded and coming down Trail 1 to the state line. It is a long downhill with whoops. Coasting pretty much, when I crossed the bridge at the bottom... no output on the running gear...Stuck! THE ORION CURSE!!! I crawled under the Cruiser and found that the shifter arm had popped off of the selector arm. Manually, I put it in 2HI, and was on my way. The entire weekend was spent underneath the Cruiser, switching it back into gear... I was really tick'd. I spent a tremendous amount of tim assembling my Orion. I spec'd everything, replaced anything less than tolerance and thought that I had a really tight T-case. Coming home, all the junk in my head about having to Yank it again, made for a bad ride. At the shop, I inspected everything and found the problem. R Front Motor Mount had separated causing the motor to Hop and hit the floor pan. Replaced the Mount and I have not had a problem since. I even went down upper 2.. No Problems. I love It!

 

[spotcruiser]

No issues in the two years of wheeling since I built/installed it (#31, with the retro parts). I've been down a bunch of long, steep descents and it stayed in gear like it should. Of course, it takes some yankin' to get out of low four, but that's OK.

 

[D'Animal]

Mine only pops out using the engine copmression for brakes.

No issues in the two years of wheeling since I built/installed it (#31, with the retro parts). I've been down a bunch of long, steep descents and it stayed in gear like it should. Of course, it takes some yankin' to get out of low four, but that's OK.

If I ride the brakes, it does not pop out.

 

[spotcruiser]

No problems with mine. I've intentionally stayed off the brakes, just to see how well it would hold, and it has not popped out. And we've done some ass-clenching steep descents the past couple of years. No issues yet.

Mine only pops out using the engine copmression for brakes. If I ride the brakes, it does not pop out.

 

[orangefj45]

Mine only pops out using the engine copmression for brakes.




If I ride the brakes, it does not pop out.

have you called AA about it? who built that case for you dan? i'll be more than happy to check it out for you if you wanna pull it and bring it to the shop. you've done me enough favors; freebie!

i'm working on another one right now as well; #393. it was installed by another shop and the rig has been back there multiple times for different issues from locking up to poping out of gear and leaking badly. the owner now wants nothing to do with the shop that installed/built the case originally. it now has a noticeable gear whine so i gotta pull it out next week and see what's going on. i'll keep you guys posted.

fwiw, i have built quite a few of these now and i've only had issues with one of them, but it's not poping out of gear; it's stuck in low gear. i will be seeing that case again in a month or so to see what happened. it's an early case and the customer lives out on the other end of the country. he installed the upgraded shift rail and detent himself after i built and installed the case in his rig. so we'll have to wait and see what happened there.

other than that, i have had virtually no issues with the orions. the first one i built resides in greenfoxs' fj40. it's been in there for over three years now with no leaks or other issues. it gets driven to the trail and on the street, done rubicon numerous times along with other trails i nthe sierras.

 

[D'Animal]

I'm afraid if I pull it again, it will end up in the FJ40.5.

have you called AA about it? who built that case for you dan? i'll be more than happy to check it out for you if you wanna pull it and bring it to the shop. you've done me enough favors; freebie!

i'm working on another one right now as well; #393. it was installed by another shop and the rig has been back there multiple times for different issues from locking up to poping out of gear and leaking badly. the owner now wants nothing to do with the shop that installed/built the case originally. it now has a noticeable gear whine so i gotta pull it out next week and see what's going on. i'll keep you guys posted.

fwiw, i have built quite a few of these now and i've only had issues with one of them, but it's not poping out of gear; it's stuck in low gear. i will be seeing that case again in a month or so to see what happened. it's an early case and the customer lives out on the other end of the country. he installed the upgraded shift rail and detent himself after i built and installed the case in his rig. so we'll have to wait and see what happened there.

other than that, i have had virtually no issues with the orions. the first one i built resides in greenfoxs' fj40. it's been in there for over three years now with no leaks or other issues. it gets driven to the trail and on the street, done rubicon numerous times along with other trails i nthe sierras.

 

[Blue77FJ40]

orangefj45, where have you noticed the leaks from? Mine has a nasty leak from what I think is the nosecone flange. Hopefully I will be applying the popping into neutral fix (from both hi and low) this year and will address the leak at that time. TIA

 

[orangefj45]

that's a loaded question. the t-case i'm working on right now was leaking from just about everywhere, and i mean everywhere. i think a lot of time people forget to use the proper sealant both on the gaskets and on the threads of the bolts. i use loctite formula 518 on all the surfaces and bolt threads, just like i do when i rebuild a split case. some of the bolt holes are "live" oil passages; they extend into the case cavity and oil can and will creep along the threads. this is not the case for all bolt holes but there are a few on the orion and stock case. so make sure you seal the threads peoperly.

hth

georg @ valley hybrids

 

[Blue77FJ40]

George, I was very careful about the sealant being applied to the gaskets (I used hylomar) and on the live bolts (Perm 2B) you mentioned (mostly nosecone). In fact, I believe it was AA that mentioned to me to not add anything to the nosecone gasket, as it adds to the overall length and will affect the final torque adjustment on the output shaft.

Thanks, Dan

 

[miker]

I've had good luck using Permatex High Tack Spray-A-Gasket Sealant on the transfercase gaskets. It does not add any thickness to the gasket so won't change the bearing preloads once they are set up right. Its very thin but very tacky and seems to keep oil from wicking through or past the gasket. Just don't apply it until you are sure you are ready for final assembly, until then, just install the gasket dry for setup.

One tricky part on the orion for oil leaks is the idler shaft o-rings. For me, I found that they were easy to cut or nick when installing the idler shaft. I think the newer Orions come with the shaft and gear already installed so this might not be a problem for most installs these days. I did mine several years ago when AA did not preinstall the shaft in the case.

Here's a pic of the Permatex. Easy to use because its a spray. Just be sure to clear the nozzle after each use otherwise it could clog. Nothing new, typical rattle can technique when you don't use the entire can at one time.