rkntoy's Really Slow Dual Case Install

[rkntoy]

Wow - those mount/skids are super-low, aren't they??

Yes. It took a lot of work but now it only hangs down about .5" below what a Front Range crossmember and Savage skids would have. Have the bottom of the t-case sitting slightly above the bottom of the stock crossmember. It was 3" below...

I think Trail-Gear could sell a lot more if they worked on tucking up more. It hangs way low and slopes to the back.

 

[rkntoy]

Phew!

Lost track of how many times I put things together only to take them apart again. I was warned.

But everything is in, everything finally works right, and holy crap the gearing is low with the 4.7 in the front case. Need to get my manual throttle hooked up.

I will post more on the assembly as I travel to Calgary and back.

 

[rkntoy]

On to some pics...

Start with the completed side view. I may bend the top part of the stick a bit more.

 

[rkntoy]

RAdesigns triple sticks. They were about 1" longer than my middle stick. So I straightened them, cut the threaded part off, whacked off the 1" and re-welded the threads back on. These are pre-cutting.

Then I bent them a bit closer to the threads.

Also had to do some bending on the center stick. I got the Trail-Gear one so it would be easier to heat and bend. Bent it to line up in the middle between the two other sticks.

 

[rkntoy]

Unless you have really tiny hands, you are going to want access to the rear case. I did a hole saw (3 5/8 inch) then expanded it a bit so I could get the top plate out. You will see why this was important later - as this point I was thinking it would be nice for hooking things up and fixing any trail issues.

Lined up the center of the hole saw with the breather.

 

[rkntoy]

Got all the linkages hooked up, shifters where I wanted them, then pulled out of the shop to test. Crap, the back case would not go in to low. High and neutral were fine, but then it just stopped.

Checked linkage, clearances, and a bunch of time before pulling all the linkages back off to pull the triple stick shifter part off the top of the back case. May be hard to see in the pics but the front of the driver side fork raises up. If yours does this grind it down so it is level with the back side of the driver side fork and round the edge a bit.

You will also need to clearance the shifter nub a bit (about 1/8th of an inch). I ended up thinking I could just do one side of the nub but ended up having to do both sides.

Lesson to be learned? Hook up the linkages and test the triple sticks while it is sitting out of the vehicle. It is a pain in the butt to hook everything up just to take it all back apart again because you need to grind more. I did the normal testing on the bench to make sure all the shift forks moved but did not mount the shifters until everything was back in the vehicle...

 

[rkntoy]

Last one...mounting the boot.

I ended up cutting the mount plate to fit between the holding plate that the center console screws in to. After everything is together I think I should have moved it back 1/2 inch less. But screw it - this whole thing took way more tie than I thought. But...crawl speed is incredible with the 4.7 gearset.

Trail-Gear parts were great and their techs were very responsive when I had questions (except for the crossmember/skidplate product).

RADesign triple stick is great (even with the minor issues encountered). I definitely did not want to lose cupholders.

 

[rkntoy]

Ended up curving the trans shifter a bit more as it would have run the manual throttle in to the dash. Feels better now too with it being back farther.