Changing transfer case gears (low range only)

[Raule Duke]

next on the truck i would like to reduce the gearing of my low range only, i find that the low range with 31's is way to high so i'd like some significant reduction to eventually have 35's


i was wondering if anyone on here has done this research already and had some input about different product and prices etc?? basically i want to lift the truck just enough to clear 35's and reduce the low range as low as possible and then i can run my 31 A/T's in the City and some BFG M/T's 35x12.5 for the bush


i'm thinking about a 1.5 body and 1.25 suspension and some offset rims and a bit of body trimming and they should fit

[jessef]

35's won't happen with 3 inches of lift.

You may be able to squeeze 32's in but it will be a tight fit.

I have 2.5 inches of lift and just clear 31x10.5x15's at full front/rear articulation.

To clear 35's you'll have to space out the subframe 3 inches, 3-4 inch lower ball joint spacers, extended steering bracket, 1" spacer for the tcase, 3" rear block with angled shim and 7" shackles.

I did 35's on a Pajero and it was about a month's work of fabricating to get it done right.

35's on the stock gearing is pretty slack and powerless.

Upping the boost, intercooler will help rolling those pigs around. They will need it.

As for low range gears, you're stuck with that tcase.

You can swap in an np231 and change out the gearing in that.

That's a common mod on Montero's which applied to Pajero/Delica's.

Gary's done a great lift to accommodate 33's.

If you're going to be doing some crawling in your Delica with 35's then I'd do the following :

1- Ditch the 2.5 4D56 and find a 1/2 cut from Japan with a 2.8 from a Pajero or L400 with the intercooler/IP or go with the gas model that's all over the place in the states. Just look for the leaky heads.

2- Get rid of the Autobox, transmission, transfer case and swap in a 5spd trans from a 1st Gen Montero and mate it to an NP231, then swap out the gearing to your ratio.

-Put a SYE kit on the tcase. The yoke on the stock one will pop out as soon as your rear end catches some air. Loosing a rear shaft sucks.

3- While you're pulling the 5spd trans from the Montero, find one with 5.285's in both front carrier and rear diff. Put those in. You'll need those to push the 35's.

4- Replace the axles/front carrier with a V6 Montero (they are larger)

5- Swap the rear axle out for a Gen II Montero which will net you the 5.285 gears + rear disc brakes + rear factory locker.

You'll need to shorten the front and rear driveshafts.

Lots of stuff but if you're into the 35's and swapping out tcase gears, you probably know exactly what you're doing and what to look for.

Post your mods when you're done.

[loki]

If you're going to be doing some crawling in your Delica

I think he is talking about a paj as this is the paj section of the forums :)

[Raule Duke]

If you're going to be doing some crawling in your Delica

I think he is talking about a paj as this is the paj section of the forums :)

jfarsang, sorry to waste our time doin that write up but i did mean for a SWB Pajero 2.5.... i am interested in what you have done as you mentioned you've owned one before.

i have 31's on it rite now and have no rub, and i've heard that you can fit 33x10.5 with a little offset no problem with no lift so i figured it would be a huge project to do 35s???

"Upping the boost, intercooler will help rolling those pigs around. They will need it."
what do you mean "upping the boost"?? is this done by changing the turbo... this is my first Td vehicle so i am still learning about how they work... do know that i want this motor to last so i don't really want to screw with anything that will rise exhaust temp too much!!

[PHIL]

33x1050s will fit with no lift (I did crank the t-bars a little). I ran them for 3 years on my last truck. As far as lower range t-case gears, you can get 2.85s out of Australia, for the stock t-case.

RE: 35s, a two inch BL should enable you to *fit* them, but that doesn't mean they'll work good. The 488s in the diffs of most of the 2.5s are too high to keep the engine in its powerband. Some came with 529s and you should be able to find them from a JDM source. However, once you've done this, it makes it very difficult to run 31s on the highway, as your revs are reaching towards 4k at highway speeds. Even more so if you're running a stick. The auto has a higher final drive in OD, and puts the revs down a bit, esp once the TC locks up.

33s are a good compromise with stock (488) gearing imho. The 10.50 width "pizza cutters" also reduce your unsprung weight, and help with braking etc. Might also wanna upgrade the front calipers to twin piston units (93+Montero comes with them) to help stop the larger tire.

Go to the Expedition Portal website and there's a good read on narrow tires for wheeling. Interesting stuff.

HTH,
Phil

[Raule Duke]

wow i've never come accross that website before.... good read!!!

ok so the 33x10.5 look like the good compromise.... now i'm still stuck with a low range that is far too high for the wheeling i do (and thats running 31's)...... are the 2.85s from oz a good way to go??

[jessef]

oops. Forgot you're talking about a Paj.

If you're running an auto and have 4.875 gears, then 33's are a perfect choice.

35's and you'll have to toss in 5.285's (what comes in most 5-spd's) to keep some of the low rpm torque.

I did a 2" body lift which is easy to do. Can run 33's easy at full articulation.

Just have to lower the rad shroud, extend the transfercase shifter, disconnect the rear A/C line C-clip from the frame, pull out the front brake lines (there's lots of room) and relocate the bumpers.

On a Paj, it's easy to do.

To run 35's you can do a 2.5 " body lift without major mods (just what I did above) and a 2" suspension lift (rear shackles and front 1" balljoint spacers).

I posted my Paj with the lift a while ago. Can't remember where. A search can bring it up.

Hey Phil !

JEsse

ps. I was wheelin' and crawling my Paj with 33's and a metric version of 34"x10x15 mud tires. Automatic with 4.875 gearing. Did pretty good. The stock tcase is a workhorse for low gearing. If it's not low enough, then just swap out the diff gears for 5.285's. That will balance it out.

There are a lot of guys in the States running 33's and 35's on their Montero's (same as Paj, just different name, RHD and diesel)

[PHIL]

wow i've never come accross that website before.... good read!!!

ok so the 33x10.5 look like the good compromise.... now i'm still stuck with a low range that is far too high for the wheeling i do (and thats running 31's)...... are the 2.85s from oz a good way to go??

Here are the 2.85s from Aus...

(there are different ones for auto and manual versions)

http://www.marks4wd.com/products/gearma ... -gears.htm

I know about a dozen or so guys on my forum (4x4wire.com, look for mitsu tech "trail talk" or diesel section - I don't wanna link directly, since I think that's bad form on here) that run them, and have had nothing but good to say about them. I had a set in my garage for about a year, intending to put them into my truck, but then I got the idea to go bigger, so they wouldn't work with my new truck and its larger t-case/trans. They sold very fast to a guy in Calif. I am now considering the 315 to 1s for a future upgrade in my newest truck. We'll see...

I agree, the 1.92 to 1 is far too high for many trails. It gets worse with 33s. My opinion (and there's lots of differing ones on this subject) is that if you want to dual purpose your rig, leave the 488s in it, run 33x1050s at stock height (or even a small BL), swap the t-case gears for 285s, and then you have a rig that'll run down the highway at 120 at 3250rpm (assuming we're talking 5 sp here, auto is a little lower) and once on the trail you can shift into 4lo and crawl along over the funnest obstacles. You get to keep the rally-proven suspension (very comfortable, esp for a shortie), adjustable shocks, and decent center of gravity, but you still get to have fun on the trails, and go places most stockers will never ever see. Factory locker is also an obvious good thing to swap in too, if you can find one in the JY in the US, from a 3.0L-V6 model (the 95 plus with the 3.5L has the bigger 9.5 inch diff, and is not a direct swap like the 3.0Ls 9 inch is for your truck).

[Raule Duke]

ok perfect well seeing as my truck is the five speed and has the 5.285's. With the gear set from oz i should be geared about rite for both highway and low range. i think i'll do a 1.5 or maybe a 2inch body and get some offset rims to widen the footprint a little


i will also be looking into getting the factory locker!!!! i guess no one on here has the parts kick around that the want sell hey???? ...

what is an do all the parts at the wreckers down south normally sell for??

[jessef]

It varies. You'll have to shop around.

Rear axle hub to hub with factory locker will probably run around 200-600ish

Do you have a Gen I or Gen II ?

You're rear diff may be the smaller one. Check to see if it will fit.

Sign up here and post your Pajero q's.

This is a forum specifically for Pajero/Montero's.

http://www.4x4wire.com/forums/postlist. ... tsudiesels

[PHIL]

This is a forum specifically for Pajero/Montero's.

http://www.4x4wire.com/forums/postlist. ... tsudiesels

That's the one I was hinting at - thought it would be bad form for me to link it, since I helped start it and am an admin... but I guess its okay if Jesse does it...

[normaltype]

[PHIL]

Hey all

I've got a 4" body lift and I can't get the tcase into 4L...shifter hits the console.

Can I modify the linkage to fix this?

4" bodylift? Wow. I'd be taking it out, and putting in a 2", but that's just me... Did you put it in? If it was done before you got it, and they didn't modify the t-case shifter, I'd be checking some other stuff too...

But t-case first: its not a linkage - shifter goes straight into the case. Start by taking the boots off and seeing where you get contact. Guys I know who've modified this did a combination of enlarging the hole and bending the shifter rod (after removing it first). But they didn't have a 4"...

Check to see if your rad has been relocated, along with trans and oil coolers. Check brake lines, fuel lines, etc. That's a long ways from stock... I'd wanna be sure there were hardened bolts in there too - enormous sheering forces at 4" of BL...

Auto trans has a shift linkage, and can be adjusted for 2" of BL (did mine in my genI) but I'd guess a modified linkage would have to be made for 4".

[normaltype]

[jessef]

Take the center console out. Keep all the screws and make a note of what goes where.

Remove the transfer case shifter (think it's four 12mm bolts)

Careful to not loose the gasket.

Once off, then cut the shifter in a place where you can weld an extension tube.

I did mine right smack in the middle.

Took a few tries.. heat and bend here, heat and bend there.. to get it so that it doesn't hit anything and also stays in gear (not the popping out of gear episodes).

Once done though, it's well worth it.

I did a 2.5" body lift and the tcase shifter would not go into the 4L.