RallyEagle's 82 SX4 Rally car rebuild

[RallyEagle]

I've been traveling a bit but I finally got to put the 235/75r15 tires and rims on.  Noticeably different stance, look and speed.  The 4.10 axles still churn up the gravel with the 390 in front.  What a blast to drive.  Might change rear to a locker and then add a 242 tcase.  Time will tell.

[RallyEagle]

Since I have and early humvee  AMG 242 tcase which is 4wd only with Hi lock, High, Neutral and Low lock, I will install it in my SX4.  I split the case and removed innards. Will install new seals. Then I'll drop the AM119 and compare input shafts to see what I need to do.  The transmission is a 727 3 speed.  Novak adapter on order as well.

[RallyEagle]

Tore my NOS hmmwv NP242 transfer case down, replaced input drive gear and seal. Waiting on seal extender and speedometer drive gear. Then I'll set the tcase and connect the shift linkage to determine floor cutout location for shifter handle. Then I'm going to use a hmmwv rear drive propeller with slip yoke and have it fitted to length.

[amarshall]

I’ll be interested in pictures of your shifter solution.  I hacked mine together and it works, but I need to come up with a cleaner solution for a boot.

[RallyEagle]

Sure, I'll post pictures once I get it fitted.  It seems the transmission shift linkage maybe in the way.  Should have progress on it next week.

[amarshall]

If you are using the Novak shifter I posted about...I do recall that I had to modify the trans shift linkage to clear the Novak bracket.  Details are fuzzy, but I think I was able to flip the direction of the linkage 180 degrees and get it to clear.  I think the lock nut was the biggest hang up, I was able to flip that around.  It’s tight, but it works.

[RallyEagle]

Thanks for tip.  On this retrofit, it seems everything is fighting me! I have a 727a transmission so the seal extension requires a bushing to press into the housing correctly.  Then the Dana 35 yoke with 1330 I have has too small of a seal boss. I have to change that so that i can cut down my propeller.  Once the tcase is in I can then figure out the shifter. Fun stuff! Pictures when I'm getting close.

[RallyEagle]

Since its raining again, I spent time prefitting the shift adapter for the NP242 tcase and bending the shaft. Tight fit up there and the 727 linkage needed adjusting as well.  Once the tcase is installed, I hope I can get my hands in there to tighten the stuff up. Enjoy the pictures.

[amarshall]

Looking good!  You kept that slot really small, almost hard to believe that is enough to get the shifting done.  I cut a huge panel, maybe 8x8 and got it all tweaked by working from above.  It was still tight but at least it gave me another angle to get in there.  After everything was adjusted, I cut a slot in the panel and put it back in place with some bar stock as a flange.

[RallyEagle]

Thanks. It might require enlarging however the linkage is close to the cut out and as long as possible on the connecting link arm, so a smaller throw is needed. I measured as best I could without tcase in. The slot was made with a unibit and recip saw. It is going to be a challenge to tighten things in there.

[RallyEagle]

I finally had time and parts to install the NP242. The seal extension just barely reaches the input shaft. I had to have an aluminum bushing made for the extension to fit in to the 727a output seal location. I also had to grind off a tcase casting lug on the tcase so that it would clear the tunnel ceiling. This tcase is a bit smaller in size than the AM119.  A little more room to reach things.  The shifting adapter was a pain to connect and tighten.   The shifting throw is about right and I did not have to enlarge it.  I still need to fit rear propellor with yoke and connect front prop.  Pictures soon

[amarshall]

Amazing news, I had my fingers crossed for you.  I assume your custom bushing for the extension seal was due to using a 727a, or maybe because of the Hummer version of NP242?

[RallyEagle]

Thanks. I need crossed fingers on this. It was close to not working. I'm a little concerned about the overlap of the output trans shaft and the tcase input shaft. It's about 1.75" but not anymore than that.  The shifter is a pia! No room to tightened the bolts without a lot of cuss words.  The 2 bolts that tighten the shifting lever are really bad. They should use nutserts or welded nuts.  Tonight I test fit the rear prop and I may have to lengthen it!  Typically on a slip yoke, you insert until bottom out and the pull it out about 1"-1.5".  I'm at 2.25" on a 5" slip yoke. My rear axle is at normal load height.  I'll install it and then test it. Fun and challenging to say the least.  Pictures as promised.

[RallyEagle]

Regarding the seal extension, it was because I could not find a longer input shaft.  The Dakota's are 5.75" ish long and these short ones are 4.25" long.   I would liked to gave found a 5" one but I don't think they exist.   So the seal had to get moved towards tcase like yours.  I'll find out about torque and shaft stripping soon!

[amarshall]

It was a lot easier for me to install the shifter because I cut an access panel in the trans tunnel.  Still a pain, but a little easier with another approach angle.

I had the same concerns about the shaft engagement, but I have not had a problem.  Of course, I've still got the stock 258 with maybe 100 hp these days.  Also, the extension seal was made by Teraflex - who offered it as an adaptor for their 231Low transfer cases.  These were 4:1 ratio modified NP231 transfer cases used in rock crawler Jeeps, but they only made one version with a short input shaft.  The extension seal was used with Jeep automatics, and it would be the same situation as ours - so you'd think that less engagement of the shaft would be OK.

Great stuff!