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lt77/r380 in a series


jericho

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13 hours ago, FridgeFreezer said:

@bearpig is your setup LT77 + LT230 then? What vehicle is it in?

You say the front diff is locked... I assume you mean the centre diff (in the LT230) not that you've got a locking diff in the front axle? :huh:

Yup LT77 & LT230 in a swb series 3 (1983). Yeah meant the center diff.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Sorry about the delay in replying.

Yup so if I disengage the free-wheeling hubs at the front (so it's set to 4x2 mode), and then lock the center diff so I'm driving just the back wheels, there's a large clunk when taking up drive. I've done a bit more investigating and the rear propshaft is really short (44cm) and the front is quite long (78cm) so I'm assuming that when the engine/gearbox transplant was done, they didn't do the advised thing of move the engine forward to accommodate for the longer gearbox & transferbox. I've seen a few on forums that did it this way, but the rear propshaft is almost parallel to the ground, so the gearbox must be sitting really quite low (brand new GB springs on it, so it's not that). Might be able to counteract that with some extended shackles on the back.

The rear propshaft is almost fully extended and is out of phase, so it could be they fitted at series 1 rear (45cm extended) instead of making up a new one. I think once I get this replaced, the clunk should go away, but if anyone who's done the same transplant could point me towards some helpful info (or recommend somewhere to make up a custom length propshaft) it'll be really helpful.

Cheers

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I think you will find that the clunk comes from the way that the diff lock is implemented on the LT230. The diff lock comprises a collar that sits over a set of teeth on the front output shaft and slides across to splines on the front end of the centre diff housing. The teeth on the front output shaft are quite coarse - look like every alternate tooth has been missed out. This allows a lot of backlash between the collar and the front output shaft. Combine this with any backlash in the centre diff and you have the significant clunk. Replacing the rear propshaft won't alter this.

In real terms, how much of a problem is this permanent four wheel drive set up when on the road? I understand the velocity differences when running Hooke's Joints & CV Joints at an angle, but for road driving and under power the wheels spend most of their time at or near straight ahead so the angles at the joints are small. 

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Thanks for the comments. 
Further exploration and talking to others leads me to believe that when the conversion was done they did a fairly half arsed effort. But the good news is that by taking off the propshafts one at a time, I’ve tracked the clunk to the front diff so that needs swapping out (picked up a spare from another local). 
 

But regarding the conversion - they seem to have mounted the gearbox very low on a new welded into crossmember, mounted on a single mount directly below the gearbox, and the engine is mounted on what seems to be the original mounting positions. Explains hardly any pitch on the propshafts. Something to sort out next...

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Are those prop shafts phased properly?

The concept isn't bad, but that crossmember could have been done better. The joys of welding up side down.....

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8 hours ago, Gazzar said:

Are those prop shafts phased properly?

The concept isn't bad, but that crossmember could have been done better. The joys of welding up side down.....

No idea. Should they be inline or slightly off (not sure on whether they should be following the sIII guidelines or 90 guidelines...)?

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11 hours ago, bearpig said:

No idea. Should they be inline or slightly off (not sure on whether they should be following the sIII guidelines or 90 guidelines...)?

Probably coiler?

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