Orion vs. Orion HD vs. ???

[marks69cruiser]

I talked to Mathew at AA yesterday and he told me that every Orion he puts together never pops out of gear or comes back. Is the problem just case set-up? I hope so. I called to find out the torque rating of the Orion HD as compared to the Atlas. Anybody know of a comparison between the two? I would also like to know how the heep rubicon rock trac would stand up to these transfer cases. I know its only for bench wheeling but Its alot of fun. It would also help me to figure out which way to go when talking about a 2000 dollar plus t-case. Thanks Mark.

 

[peesalot]

imo it is dependent on rig type. Aggresive rig with centered rear diff goes atlas, built up cruiser with pass diffs goes hd orion. The hd orion is no slouch at all but does not have front dig.
Other factor is cost of all the stuff attaching to it. If you are using a basic land cruiser set up then orion lends itself nicely but if you are buying adapters and building a custom drivetrain then atlas comes to mind.

 

[marks69cruiser]

I am looking into upgrades for strength. I have a 69 fj40 with 76 axles front and rear. I replaced all bearings and upgraded to discs front and rear. I like this set up. It drives awesome on the street and stops on a dime! My plan was to run chromoly axles in the rear with the Bobby Longfields super axles in the front. That should do the trick for the axles. No lockers currently. However they are a must for me, as my brother has a 2003 Rubicon with air lockers fr and rr. I am running a chevy small block 350, sm420, both rebuilt. The only non rebuilt part is my stock 69 t-case. I have heard these will crack. So that is my rig and I would be stoked with a Orion HD! I Would just like to see some strength numbers. I work with a bunch of wheelers and we bench wheel alot. Thanks again. Mark

 

[D'Animal]

What do you think Mathew is going to tell you?

Did you read all the discussion on the Orion Sticky that Poser has posted?

 

[Poser]

You are going to be hard-pressed to find factual numbers concerning strength of the items you are inquiring on. Even if Advance Adapters did destructive testing on the units in a controlled environment, I have a hard time believing that they would publish the results for consumer consumption.



If you are set on running your current axles, then the Orion HD, which has the same 32 spline front and rear output shaft size as the 32 spilne Atlas transfer case does, would be your best option to replace your current transfer case.

 

[rapovt]

What is stronger, Orion HD or split case?

 

[gid1972]

No hard info on the split case, but I myself ordered an HD to replace my 69 stock t-case (should ship tomorrow! thanks georg)

cast iron 1 piece case vs split aluminum case (or so i believe) = winner HD
billet aluminum nose cone vs ? = winner HD
new 4:1 gears vs stock 1.96 (not sure, can't remember) gears = winner HD (for strength and the silly crawl factor when coupled with my 465 and 4.88's!)

last and certainly not least....

32 spline outputs vs I suspect they aren't 32 spline outputs= winner HD


Have to say the HD is stronger in all aspects (based on my research)...though i am a bit biased and ignorant of the split case as i am not familiar with it...

As a side note, i have to agree with marks69cruiser...I love my LC axles and the available upgrades really provide a great strength to weight ratio so the HD is a perfect match for what i want my cruiser to be and it probably the cheapest option overall if upgrading your tcase.

Just my .02 and $$$ i just spent on the HD.