So I put the duals in and as I suspected the drivetrain output was very close to the horse collar cross-member and as well this cross-member prevented me from raising the drivetrain up. So I searched for a solution and found the one I am using.....it is the easiest setup i could find.....but I wasnt able to get my hands on some 6" square tube so I made it with some 3" angle 1/4" thick.....I beveled the butt weld so I could get some good "penetration" for a good strong weld
So I rushed into things a bit quick and measured and bucked out the section of the cross-member.....I should have welded a brace to the frame to hold it in place so when I finished the first cut I heard the TWANG of the tension in this cross-member release and it opened up a 1/4" more than my 6" piece......so I hooked up a come-along to the frame on either side and cranked on it to close up the 1/4" on the clearance piece......Live and learn and wont make that stupid mistake again.....probably makes no difference but oh well
Got the connector welded in and I opened up the floor a bit more to tuck the drivetrain up without doing a total flat belly.......my lowest point on t-case is now 24 1/2"
Did some more prepping for the duals to go in.....cut the old torsion bar brackets out and cut and measured for the shifters.....I made the hole a decent size so putting shifters in or getting at bolts will be easier....I am going to make a new center console piece anyways. Nice to have all that extra crap out and will make fabbing a new crossmember easier. Will maybe try and get the duals in this evening.
Pulled some of the chrome off the back wheel wells and the plastic rock guard off as well....I was amazed at the amount of dirt that can get caught in this.....no wonder the rot gets bad in these 4runners.
I got into the transmission, disconnected the solenoids and other connections and dropped the valve body, I was super careful about watching for springs and the ball bearing that come out with it. Once into it and once I was able to stop all the stray drops other tranny fluid on my face I was able to remove the old shift rod and install the new parking pawl and new shift rod using the spring and pin from the tcase section. It seemed a little overwhelming digging into this from instructions and from some threads I had read......but once into it.....it was very straightforward.....just kept everything organized and clean.....even made a bolt map on a piece of cardboard (highly recommend this).
Once I got the valve body back in and all the connections done and the tranny pan back on, I got back to fitting the adapter on the dual case setup.....this took a minor amount of clearancing on the reduction housing to fit just perfect, it fit fine with a bit of work from a rubber mallet but i liked the fit better with some minor sanding of the case....will make installation in the vehicle 10x easier.
I had to clearance one unused raised boss on the range box for the duals....some cases have them and some dont....mine did so it took 10mins to grind it out just enough to make this one bolt a breeze.
Since the setup retains the original reduction case section that used to house the planetaries and secondary valve body that has now been removed, I made a block off plate for where the rear fluid pan used to be, this will reduce the amount of empty space that would just hold extra fluid.
Time to do some measuring and cut some holes in the floor and mount this pig......
Hey thanks....it is taking some time but I am getting there.....this is my first time doing something like this.....I have been reading, and reading, and reading some more on pirate4x4, yotatech and other forums, been doing my research on lots of little things so I am hopefully doing it right the first time.
He was looking for a dirt highway kind of trip....sight seeing and low risk with his son so this is a decent loop....especially if he heads up Arrowsmith.
The main gate at Nanaimo Lakes would be open for the campsite but the second lake gate would be closed for sure and if that happens to be open they may be still loading (no falling) any route through to Cowichan would be gated for fire season.
So I put the duals in and as I suspected the drivetrain output was very close to the horse collar cross-member and as well this cross-member prevented me from raising the drivetrain up. So I searched for a solution and found the one I am using.....it is the easiest setup i could find.....but I wasnt able to get my hands on some 6" square tube so I made it with some 3" angle 1/4" thick.....I beveled the butt weld so I could get some good "penetration" for a good strong weld
So I rushed into things a bit quick and measured and bucked out the section of the cross-member.....I should have welded a brace to the frame to hold it in place so when I finished the first cut I heard the TWANG of the tension in this cross-member release and it opened up a 1/4" more than my 6" piece......so I hooked up a come-along to the frame on either side and cranked on it to close up the 1/4" on the clearance piece......Live and learn and wont make that stupid mistake again.....probably makes no difference but oh well
Got the connector welded in and I opened up the floor a bit more to tuck the drivetrain up without doing a total flat belly.......my lowest point on t-case is now 24 1/2"
Did some more prepping for the duals to go in.....cut the old torsion bar brackets out and cut and measured for the shifters.....I made the hole a decent size so putting shifters in or getting at bolts will be easier....I am going to make a new center console piece anyways. Nice to have all that extra crap out and will make fabbing a new crossmember easier. Will maybe try and get the duals in this evening.
Pulled some of the chrome off the back wheel wells and the plastic rock guard off as well....I was amazed at the amount of dirt that can get caught in this.....no wonder the rot gets bad in these 4runners.
The scrap pile just keeps growing.
I got into the transmission, disconnected the solenoids and other connections and dropped the valve body, I was super careful about watching for springs and the ball bearing that come out with it. Once into it and once I was able to stop all the stray drops other tranny fluid on my face I was able to remove the old shift rod and install the new parking pawl and new shift rod using the spring and pin from the tcase section. It seemed a little overwhelming digging into this from instructions and from some threads I had read......but once into it.....it was very straightforward.....just kept everything organized and clean.....even made a bolt map on a piece of cardboard (highly recommend this).
Once I got the valve body back in and all the connections done and the tranny pan back on, I got back to fitting the adapter on the dual case setup.....this took a minor amount of clearancing on the reduction housing to fit just perfect, it fit fine with a bit of work from a rubber mallet but i liked the fit better with some minor sanding of the case....will make installation in the vehicle 10x easier.
I had to clearance one unused raised boss on the range box for the duals....some cases have them and some dont....mine did so it took 10mins to grind it out just enough to make this one bolt a breeze.
Since the setup retains the original reduction case section that used to house the planetaries and secondary valve body that has now been removed, I made a block off plate for where the rear fluid pan used to be, this will reduce the amount of empty space that would just hold extra fluid.
Time to do some measuring and cut some holes in the floor and mount this pig......
Hey thanks....it is taking some time but I am getting there.....this is my first time doing something like this.....I have been reading, and reading, and reading some more on pirate4x4, yotatech and other forums, been doing my research on lots of little things so I am hopefully doing it right the first time.
He was looking for a dirt highway kind of trip....sight seeing and low risk with his son so this is a decent loop....especially if he heads up Arrowsmith.
The main gate at Nanaimo Lakes would be open for the campsite but the second lake gate would be closed for sure and if that happens to be open they may be still loading (no falling) any route through to Cowichan would be gated for fire season.