I've read a bit here and there about LT230's being used in divorce mount setups, namely Mike Slade's crew cab, but can't seem to get any straight answers on how it was done. Anybody here tinker with that at all?
Divorce Mounted LT230
- Thread starter Trailhead4x4
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ptschram
Well-known member
Tawayama.com used to have pics of Mike's truck during construction.
I know some of the works was done at BCB, but I think Matt did the work on the transfer case and IIRC, he's at Advance Adapters now. I spoke with him several months ago, but lost his number.
The "Ice Cream Truck" is even cooler in person!
Knowing Mike, if you called him and asked him for pics, he'd probably send you more than you really wanted!
I know some of the works was done at BCB, but I think Matt did the work on the transfer case and IIRC, he's at Advance Adapters now. I spoke with him several months ago, but lost his number.
The "Ice Cream Truck" is even cooler in person!
Knowing Mike, if you called him and asked him for pics, he'd probably send you more than you really wanted!
ptschram said:
I did look at the buildup on Tawayama.com, very cool, and there are pics and a brief mention of the divorce mount LT230, but no real details. I was actually talking with one of the guys at advance adapters today and he had no clue about anything having to do with the LT230 transfer case. I find that odd because I just read an article about a custom extended wheelbase FJ40 that also happened to use a divorce mounted LT230 and the whole project seemed to have been done by advance adapters relatively recently (within the past year) but you'd never know it from the information I could extract during todays phone conversation.
All links that lead to Timm Cooper and BCB Off Road are no longer functioning, total bummer.MUSKYMAN said:
I looked into it and even started to build a plate to use that would hold the input flange additional bearing and seal.
I had started to make it and went another direction so i never finished it. The most expensive part (for me, since i have my own lathe/milling machine) was going to be the input flange splined unit. I don't have a way to build my own heat treated splined shafts. I ended up doing a married unit (using my own made adapter plate) with a GM truck trans and had Novak make that adapter spud shaft to go from GM internal splines on the trans to Rover external on the t-case end. The divorced case style flange I would have needed actually would have been even easier to build. Probably would be about $500 or so for the actual part to be built based on mine being quite a bit more than that $.
You need a plate that bolts to the t-case where the trans normally would with a heavy bearing and seal and enough room to be able to get a c-clip onto the adapter shaft input flange to hold it in against the bearing from the inside once slid into the bearing housing so the shaft/flange can not pull back out of the t-case once installed. You will need to use a sealed bearing and "seal" (dust cover really) I had been planning to use a big sealed rear wheel bearing from a car that happened to have just the right inside size to fit the input shaft - I forget what it was now.
Not sure this info helps, and maybe it's hard to understand in writing. Not sure.
Doug
I had started to make it and went another direction so i never finished it. The most expensive part (for me, since i have my own lathe/milling machine) was going to be the input flange splined unit. I don't have a way to build my own heat treated splined shafts. I ended up doing a married unit (using my own made adapter plate) with a GM truck trans and had Novak make that adapter spud shaft to go from GM internal splines on the trans to Rover external on the t-case end. The divorced case style flange I would have needed actually would have been even easier to build. Probably would be about $500 or so for the actual part to be built based on mine being quite a bit more than that $.
You need a plate that bolts to the t-case where the trans normally would with a heavy bearing and seal and enough room to be able to get a c-clip onto the adapter shaft input flange to hold it in against the bearing from the inside once slid into the bearing housing so the shaft/flange can not pull back out of the t-case once installed. You will need to use a sealed bearing and "seal" (dust cover really) I had been planning to use a big sealed rear wheel bearing from a car that happened to have just the right inside size to fit the input shaft - I forget what it was now.
Not sure this info helps, and maybe it's hard to understand in writing. Not sure.
Doug
pdxrovermech said:
Transfer case is not "married" to the back end of the transmission. It is off on it's own and it operated by a "jack shaft" (driveshaft) that runs from the back of the transmission to the transfer case.
Basically a 2 wheel drive style transmission with the driveshaft running to the transfer case instead of to the rear axle. The transfer case then operates the same way it would in a "normal" married style except that the transmission is suppling power via a short (normally) u-jointed or CV jointed shaft instead of straight and directly through the transmission tail shaft or a small intermediate internal spud shaft like a Rover uses.
Confused yet?
atriot:Divorce mount implies that the transfer case is separated from the transmission, not bolted directly together as all of our Land Rovers, and most every 4x4 is set up. The power from the transmission is sent to the transfer case VIA a short shaft. This allows you to mount the transfer case anywhere in the chassis to accommodate drive shaft lengths, or to distribute weight more evenly. Some cases apparently are better suited to this type of setup better than others.pdxrovermech said:
Roving Beetle said:
I like where this is going. The few pics I saw of Mike Slade's crew cab didn't seem to have quite this much engineering of the transfer input. I'm following where this is going, and have some ideas, but the actual fabrication of the "housing" for the bearing and shaft are a bit beyond my current capabilities.
The LT230 case would do really well as a divorced unit in my opinion. In a longer wheelbase truck it's GREAT to have a divorced unit and be able to have equal driveshafts so trail spares and repairs are easier and angles and vibrations are easier to deal with.
You do have to be sure to do it correctly as you are introducing yet another shaft to keep greased, get angles correct etc. There is more chance for error but they really open up the options for motor/trans combos.
You really need at least 109-110 wheelbase and even then it's really tight with any type of automatic or longer 5 speed trans.
Doug
You do have to be sure to do it correctly as you are introducing yet another shaft to keep greased, get angles correct etc. There is more chance for error but they really open up the options for motor/trans combos.
You really need at least 109-110 wheelbase and even then it's really tight with any type of automatic or longer 5 speed trans.
Doug
Trailhead4x4 said:
I suppose you could actually do a "slip yoke" style on the t-case input in reality..... the jack shaft from the trans would have to be "fixed" on the trans end ideally and then it could simply slide into the t-case much like a 2 wheel drive GM trans does - only the LT230 case uses a "male" shaft and a GM (and others) auto trans uses a "female" style yoke.
The only difference in this really is having a t-case input that slides in and is held more or less captive (would move a tiny bit due to chassis flex and heat etc) simply by being on a solid shaft (no middle splines) that is between the trans and t-case and has nowhere to go or using a clip in a groove to hold a flange that the shaft bolts to and then using a center splined shaft or a shaft that can come and go a little in the tail end of the transmission.
You'd still have to have a bearing or oil lubed bushing of some sort as the input for the t-case is not made to support a side load at all. And you can not run the jack shaft 100% straight all the time and expect to have the u-joints hold up. An actual "CV" (like a front wheel drive car style with the shrouded boots since it would spin so fast) shaft would be better if you are going to try and run it as straight as possible minimizing side load and wear on the t-case input. Or even a rotoflex style is excellent for this use. Look at the way Audi or BMW etc run the rear driveshafts back to the rear diffs - same idea.
I have not thought about this in some time but it is very very possible to do.
took another look on the Tawayama site at the crew cab build, and there appears to be no concern for side loads on the LT230 input, at least there seems to be no attempt at controlling it. The shaft definitely has a bit of angle to it, I wonder how that setup is holding up?
Hmmm - I have not seen the site or the pics. Maybe the t-case input is supported enough..... I will have to look at it again. I have one half apart in my shop.
Doug
Doug
thanks for the explanation guys. I have one customer that has that in his D90. He runs a chevy 350 through a Turbo 400 with a divorced lt230. Claims to get 25+ mpg.
Given a TH400's need for a lot of wasted power to drive through it I HIGHLY doubt he gets 25+ MPG. Unless he keeps it at 35-40 MPH at most.... even then i really really doubt that would be possible.
Don't get me wrong, the 350 and TH400 is a great combo for sure and one i would recommend for the right application. High MPG would not be that application.
Don't get me wrong, the 350 and TH400 is a great combo for sure and one i would recommend for the right application. High MPG would not be that application.
no way (25mpg, that is). I drive a truck with a Buck 350, TH400, and a Dana 20 (on pavement - 2WD), and it rarely makes it out of 12 mpg (10 - in the city traffic).pdxrovermech said:
And it is really, really odd to use a TH400 divorced from a transfer case in a short wheelbase truck.
I've got a divorced LT-230 in my 109. I'm running it behind an old SM420 transmission. There was no fancy work required for additional seals on the front of the T-case. I sent my original input shaft to Timm C to work on. What he did was to weld a flange on the front of the shaft with just enough space behind the flange to get some nuts on the driveshaft bolts. At the ass end, I pulled the rear cover off and bolted on a retainer to hold the shaft in place.
I have a short driveshaft between the trans and the T-case, it's about 6" long made from standard off the shelf spicer components that I shortened just a bit. The trans output and the t-case in put are parallel but offset just a bit for two reasons. 1. the offset made it easier for me to get the transfer case tucked up tight between the frame rails and, 2. The offset also ensures that the u-joint caps will get a little motion in them to keep the lube distributed.
For mounting I used a bushing type mounting on the passenger side that I built off of the stock rover mount.
The drivers side mount consists of two 1/4" plates that I sandwiched together, cut, and drilled to mount up to where the tranny would have been, then I welded more crap on to that to get it mounted on the drivers side similar to Slades truck, but not quite as elegant or pretty.
It's held up pretty well so far, it's been in there and running for about a year and few months with a little street time and about 6 wheeling trips. I'll try to dig up some pics if you want.
I have a short driveshaft between the trans and the T-case, it's about 6" long made from standard off the shelf spicer components that I shortened just a bit. The trans output and the t-case in put are parallel but offset just a bit for two reasons. 1. the offset made it easier for me to get the transfer case tucked up tight between the frame rails and, 2. The offset also ensures that the u-joint caps will get a little motion in them to keep the lube distributed.
For mounting I used a bushing type mounting on the passenger side that I built off of the stock rover mount.
The drivers side mount consists of two 1/4" plates that I sandwiched together, cut, and drilled to mount up to where the tranny would have been, then I welded more crap on to that to get it mounted on the drivers side similar to Slades truck, but not quite as elegant or pretty.
It's held up pretty well so far, it's been in there and running for about a year and few months with a little street time and about 6 wheeling trips. I'll try to dig up some pics if you want.
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