Solid Axle Swap BS Thread

Sorry, I was only talking about stock cases placed under high stress/torque from another case up front or high gearing in the diffs...

Seems I was wrong and that fretting isn't really a common problem with the right set-up.... The shafts really are just wimpy. lol

Sooo, it looks like freezing the input may be a good idea afterall, Jon.

Thanks for posting that, man! The 4.7 front/stock rear vs. 2.28 front/lefty rear discussion was very interesting.

I add about 8k to the odo each year... Totally plausible for a ranch truck, me thinks...

 

I dunno, I saw this post-

Kinda thinking if anything was to ever break, I'd rather shaft failed than the case.

 

have you ever priced a spare shaft?? wouldn't be a bad idea to pack one with. i do that with my rear diff center pin just cuz it broke once.

 

Yeah... I see what you're saying. Even if the breaking threshold is lower (stock input shaft), if it's easier to fix than raising the threshold (cryo'd shaft), it might be worth it to keep the threshold that much lower... I guess the question is whether or not someone has actually cracked a taco case after putting in a cyro'd input shaft while wheeling. Don't think it's something you'd have to worry about with the 2.7.... Never know though.

But anything you stregthen justs moves the weak point somewhere else. Even with the pre-taco gear driven cases, after you upgrade the rear output shaft, the front output becomes the weak point, then the input, then the gears, then the case itself. At that point, the money you've spent upgrading the stock case would almost be enough for an Atlas 2. I dunno, man... I can definetely see how an Atlas is worth the money and effort. It's just a lot o' dough up front!

 

True that it is very expsinsive But i would rather wait and do it right than throw small amounts of money around.

 

And more power to you, man. I agree that's the better approach if you can swing it and probably very wise for your set-up. I don't think stock t-cases would hold up very well with your SC'd 3.4 and 5.38s/44s.

 

I would only start cryo treating parts IF they became a constant problem. No sense stressing about parts before they break

 

If you can see a pattern of breakage on other similarly built rigs, I see no harm in proactive measures to strengthen known weak links.

 

True. I wonder how cheap I could find a Taco t-case for. Might give me a good project for doing twin sticks and a cryo'd input. I've had ring and pinions cryo treated before and never had any problems with them. Though I think the current owner blew up the rear end a couple times wheeling at the Hammers with it

 

That'd be sweet, man! That's good winter project... I bet you could find a decent one for under $100 for sure. I considered cryo treating my gears. Ended up not for some reason... I just made sure to use solid collars and keep all the preloads and backlash tight end of spec ranges and they've help up fine to my 35s do far.

 

Congratulations man. Good work.

 

C needs to be on top and it needs to be level or you could end up with a check engine light. Don't want that issue if it's a daily driver.

 

So far its done just fine with 35's and 4.88 but yeah im dead set on just waiting and putting the money aside for it ive already had to do it once with the SC so whats the big deal.

you guys are all talking about running a factory case behind a craw box right?? anyone out there running Marlin lefty case? I wonder how those are holding up?

 

I'm not running one but I've installed plenty of them. They are pretty good when you add in all the goodies but for the money a 4.7 crawl box in front of a stock case is stronger and provides more options for you than a lefty would. Especially when you start putting tires larger than 35's on your vehicle.
Don't get me wrong. The internals are stronger than all get out but the case is super thin. Seen a couple if the geared cases break in half when pushing large tires. If I we'd going to run a lefty I'd put a crawler infront of it to help slow things down. The breaks I've seen always come from using too much skinny pedal and not enough finesse.

 

Good to know.. i looked into that at first Crawl box with a lefty and it's not that much cheaper than an atlas 4 speed so y not get the big shit thats not gonna break. at least i assume it wont break with what ive got. im thinking weak links will be drive lines or hubs in the front and shafts in the rear.. im ok with those..

 

Breaking easily accessible items on the trail is better than a big ticket item like a transfer case that will put you completely out of the game. You can always carry spare shafts but a transfer case is a little tougher to store. I'll take my chances with the stock chain drive case

 

Thanks Wyatt.


In regards to a 3-link setup, I've been reading up on this stuff for a couple weeks now. I understand that on a front 3-link, the panhard and draglink must be the same length and angle. That's about as far as my knowledge about it goes and I can't seem to find much if any more info.

I assume the draglink length will determine the panhard length for the front. If you setup a 3-link in the rear as well, should it also be the same length as the panhard on the front (and potentially the same angle as well)? Or is length going to be determined by how exactly you are wanting it to perform?

 

The front aslo you would want to mount it as far out as possible. The rear if I'm not mistaken you want to fit the largest bar as possible and want it to be level at ride height. The front it would be nice for the drag link and panhard bar to be level but it isnt gonna be the end of the world if it aint. You want it damn close if it isnt though.

 

I have a question also about the panhard I'm running all Ballistic joints on my links as well as the panhard. is it a good idea to run joints on both ends or bushed and jointed?

 

On the three link front it's true that you want the panhard bar and the draglink to be parrelle with each other. Then you want the panhard bar to be as long as you can get it or as close to the same length as the drag link but it's not critical to be the same length. Mine isn't but if I ever rebuild the front then I'll make it longer.

The rear panhard bar doesn't need to be long but you do want to get it as long as you can but again it's not critical. It would be great to get them as level as possible when sitting at ride height to reduce bounce roll but again it's not critical, especially if your running opposing panhard like I am. Opposing panhards cancel each other from the funny movement of the body as the suspension compresses.

Here is a look at my setup in the front and the rear. It rides very well for a rig on 41's and has had compliments from people driving it saying they couldn't believe it was sitting on 40+ inch tires.