There is not much else to talk about besides the engine work, because that is really all I’ve done this summer Jeep-wise. I did, however, do some more decision making on the 4WD system. As I’ve detailed out earlier, I went back to the CAD system. I didn’t really want to, but figured it was best for reliability. This was mainly because I didn’t like the TJ one piece shaft and the weird universal seal you have to use for it.
However, I had problems with the CAD already. I had no front driveshaft installed and so I had it in 4wd for my testing. The CAD didn’t engage. I took it apart and it seemed like there was some resistance on the splines that made the collar and fork not want to move over into the locked position.
Other problems with the CAD are that over time, the connection between the intermediate and outer axle shafts wears out and allows the shafts to wobble, killing CAD seals and causing leaks. This is because the left axle turns the diff spider gears at vehicle speed, which turns the intermediate backwards at vehicle speed. Then you have the right axle turning at vehicle speed. This means at 70 mph, you’ve got 140mph worth of speed difference at that bushing where the axles ride. That is a lot.
I decided to ditch the CAD again, but going a different route this time. I decided to use a 4x4posilok.com perma-lock kit. I know they say for off-road only, but this is just because it spins the front driveshaft all the time. This is not a problem if your angles are good and/or you use a better than stock driveshaft to handle the rotations. This will solve the problem of parts wearing too, because the shafts now rotate together and can’t wear at their connection point.
The main reason for going this route was to keep the axle mostly stock (besides being locked together). This maintains the stock design, only coupling them together permanently. It lets me use factory Dana seals, bushings, shafts, etc, but with no real flaws in the design. The latest axle shafts from Spicer use 5-760x joints too, so no strength concerns.
I used an HD cast iron fork, which is super solid. Other people said their fork moved too much and it would let their axle disengage. That’s no bueno. That is because the stock aluminum fork wallows out and allows play. With the cast iron fork, that simply is not going to happen. Thing is 100% rock solid with no way to let that collar move other than rotation.
Here is the installed perma-lock.
To go with this, I finally bit the bullet and tested out a TJ front driveshaft to see how angles look. I bought a Mopar transfer case yoke, which has the nice factory dust shield on it.
I had a free TJ front driveshaft from someone I got some parts from last year, so I decided to try it out. It was in poor shape, so I’m not actually going to use it, but it gave me an idea of fitment and angles. I think things look pretty good.
I think I’m going to get a driveshaft made at Denny’s Driveshafts that is high speed balanced and equipped for my low gears. As long as there are no vibes, then I will be 100% happy and glad to finally be done with driveshaft/front axle plans. I’ve gone back and forth over this for years and never could decide what I really wanted. Perma lock seems to be the best option to keep things like stock with the least amount of compromise and potential to go back to stock CAD easily also.
Now I just need to finish up and drive and see if I have vibes.
However, I had problems with the CAD already. I had no front driveshaft installed and so I had it in 4wd for my testing. The CAD didn’t engage. I took it apart and it seemed like there was some resistance on the splines that made the collar and fork not want to move over into the locked position.
Other problems with the CAD are that over time, the connection between the intermediate and outer axle shafts wears out and allows the shafts to wobble, killing CAD seals and causing leaks. This is because the left axle turns the diff spider gears at vehicle speed, which turns the intermediate backwards at vehicle speed. Then you have the right axle turning at vehicle speed. This means at 70 mph, you’ve got 140mph worth of speed difference at that bushing where the axles ride. That is a lot.
I decided to ditch the CAD again, but going a different route this time. I decided to use a 4x4posilok.com perma-lock kit. I know they say for off-road only, but this is just because it spins the front driveshaft all the time. This is not a problem if your angles are good and/or you use a better than stock driveshaft to handle the rotations. This will solve the problem of parts wearing too, because the shafts now rotate together and can’t wear at their connection point.
The main reason for going this route was to keep the axle mostly stock (besides being locked together). This maintains the stock design, only coupling them together permanently. It lets me use factory Dana seals, bushings, shafts, etc, but with no real flaws in the design. The latest axle shafts from Spicer use 5-760x joints too, so no strength concerns.
I used an HD cast iron fork, which is super solid. Other people said their fork moved too much and it would let their axle disengage. That’s no bueno. That is because the stock aluminum fork wallows out and allows play. With the cast iron fork, that simply is not going to happen. Thing is 100% rock solid with no way to let that collar move other than rotation.
Here is the installed perma-lock.
To go with this, I finally bit the bullet and tested out a TJ front driveshaft to see how angles look. I bought a Mopar transfer case yoke, which has the nice factory dust shield on it.
I had a free TJ front driveshaft from someone I got some parts from last year, so I decided to try it out. It was in poor shape, so I’m not actually going to use it, but it gave me an idea of fitment and angles. I think things look pretty good.
I think I’m going to get a driveshaft made at Denny’s Driveshafts that is high speed balanced and equipped for my low gears. As long as there are no vibes, then I will be 100% happy and glad to finally be done with driveshaft/front axle plans. I’ve gone back and forth over this for years and never could decide what I really wanted. Perma lock seems to be the best option to keep things like stock with the least amount of compromise and potential to go back to stock CAD easily also.
Now I just need to finish up and drive and see if I have vibes.
