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You’ve Got Questions? He’s Got Answers!
SLOW LANE 2500
I have a ’93 GMC Sierra 2500 with a 4.3L V6 in it. I’m looking to upgrade to a 350 V8. My question is will the 350 fit without having to make any changes to the motors mounts and will it bolt up to my stock tranny?
Jonathan Stone, Via e-mail
It should be a bolt-in, Jonathan, according to my sources. Use the V8 motor mount brackets, which bolt to the crossmember. If you have an automatic, you can use the existing flex plate. If a manual, you can swap over the 4.3L flywheel and clutch. His advice was to use a similar year donor V8 engine from a truck, complete with EFI engine harness and the computer. He says the V8 harness will plug in to the existing truck harness. Get a V8 radiator, hoses, shroud and fan. Possible complications are that if you have a manual trans, the V6 clutch may be too weak, but it’s easy to upgrade to a V8 pressure plate and disc. If an automatic, the ideal setup would be to swap to a V8 torque converter and governor. The transmissions are very similar between the V6 and the V8, but they are calibrated differently. The best would be to swap over a V8 tranny too, but if the 350 stays stock, the V6 tranny should hold up OK. Overall, your best idea is to find a donor truck complete that you can pull all the parts from. There are lots of small details, but my source says they are largely self explanatory once you get into the job.
WRANGLER RUMINATIONS
I have a ’92 Wrangler with the 4.0L, a 4-inch Rubicon Express suspension, 4.88s and 35 inch tires. Unfortunately, that list also includes the problematic Dana 35c, vacuum disconnect front end and the aluminum- cased, too-long NP-231. Needless to say, even without lockers, I’m tearing stuff up. I know that the smart thing would be to install a Dana 44 and a Dana 300 from a Scout, but I can’t seem to find one that fits a firefighter’s salary. AXLES: I’ve been looking into Super 35 and Super 30 kits with the 30 spline axles and lockers. Do you think these would hold 35s? Another issue is the c-clip design. Are there any lockers which will eliminate this without the use of hubs? Also, does the front kit eliminate the disconnect and do I need to switch to manual hubs to accept a larger spline count axle. TRANSFER CASE: I’m not really excited about my NP-231. The chain likes to loosen itself and it’s still too long. I have read about the durability of the D300 but the drawback seems to be the passenger side front output. Is there a good way to flip it? Or is it even worth the effort?
JR Wright, Via e-mail
Wyoming
You’ve hit a lot of Wrangler hot spots, JR. First off, I don’t think the Super 35 kits are enough of an equalizer for the D35s to handle 35s. If you are an easy ‘wheeler, then maybe. If you want to downgrade to 33s, then maybe, But even with internal upgrades, the housing is just too weak for hard ‘wheeling and 35s. The D44 from an ’87 XJ or ’86- 92 MJ is a good, but expensive and relatively hard to find, option. A budget swap is the Ford 8.8 from a Ford Explorer, which is slightly stronger than a D44. M.O.R.E. (www.mountainoffroad. com; 970-625-0500) is famous for building kits for this swap. As to c-clips, they aren’t inherently bad. I’ve never seen a failed c-clip, only busted shafts or center pins in the diff. If you have strong enough axle shafts and differential, c-clips are not an issue. Up front, your D30 with a 30 spline conversion should be OK with 35s. Every kit I’ve seen comes with a one piece shaft to eliminate the CAD. They usually come with alloy outer shafts that fit the live spindle ends, so you don’t need to make hub changes. However, upgrading to locking hubs, just to eliminate the front driveshaft vibration you almost certainly will have, is a worthwhile addition to a street driven rig. Finally, the NP-231 is not nearly as bad as you’ve portrayed it. A short yoke eliminator kit, especially with a 32 spline rear output shaft, (like the one from Advance Adapters www.advanceadapters.com / 800-350- 2223), makes the NP-231 a stout unit and shortens it up to manageable proportions. You can upgrade the chain to a larger one making the unit very stout at a very reasonable price. You’ll spend a bundle flipping the D300.
SAGGING SUV
I have a 3rd Generation 4Runner with a sagging back end. I am not an avid rock-crawling off-roader, but I do find myself on some rather rough backcountry touring trips. I would like to level out the sagging back end and maybe add 1-2.5 inches of overall clearance. Can you make a recommendation for an offroader who doesn’t want to buy a $2000 suspension system?
Justin Rubaloff
Central Point, Oregon
The droopy-tail 4Runner is a common sight. I have three simple letters for you: O... M ... E...! You are the perfect customer for an Old Man Emu suspension (www.arbusa.com / 425- 264-1391). They focus on tailor-made spring rates for load capacity and ride quality over lift height. Their lifts for the ’96-02 4Runner have two options for the front with 1.25-in lift, and three options for the rear with 2-3 inches of unloaded lift. With their superb Nitrocharger shocks, a kit for your Toyota is generally under three-quarters of a grand where I looked. You’ll just need to decide where you fit on their load capacity guidelines.
A TRU-TOYOTA
I have a ’99 4-Runner that I am building mildly for family adventures. I am thinking of putting Trutracs in the front and rear diffs. Would these be as effective, or perhaps more effective off-road, as a rear-only selectable locker? My wheeling situations are sandy, moderately muddy, snow and off-camber high desert trails. I was wondering also about swapping Taco (Tacoma- J.A.) manual hubs and axle shafts in the front.
Kirk Sullivan, Via e-mail
On the Trutracs versus locker question, it’s a close call and there are benefits either way. Overall, my opinion, and a debatable one I admit, is that the twin Trutracs would win out over the selectable on the trail situations you described. On the street, the Trutracs are smooth and controllable enough to be almost transparent on the highway. There might be a chance of a little squirrelishness on an icy road, but in my experience (I have a Truetrac in the back of a pickup) the Truetracs are very good at differentiating in turns while maintaining traction... even on ice. A selectable locker, of course, leaves you fully open and transparent on the street, so it has the potential edge in manners, but the Trutracs will offer better traction when it’s slippery. My vote would be Trutrac x 2! As to the hubs, I’m told you can’t on a 3rd Generation 4Runner from Taco parts, but most reports say the money spent on these conversion kits is worth it. A skosh better MPG and less wear on the expensive front CV joints and boots. Plus, your ABS and ADD (Automatic Differential Disconnect) system works as normal when you leave the hubs locked.
SCOUTING AN ENGINE SWAP
My daughter’s boyfriend has a 1961 Scout with the original 4-cylinder and three speed. He wants more power and would love to have a smallblock Chevy or Ford, however he may not be able to complete the conversion at this time. I think the IH 4-cylinder is 1/2 of a V8. If so, won’t an International V8 just bolt right in?
Dennis Fevergeon
Palos Verdes, California
Berghim, Texas
While the 152ci four in the ’61-65 Scout 80 was “half” of the 304ci IH V8 and has the same bellhousing bolt pattern, the four is tilted and the bellhousing is compensated to level the trans; a Warner T90 which is probably too weak for a V8 anyway. The firewall is recessed for the four to sit back in the chassis, and without totally hacking and rebuilding the firewall, the V8 (any V8, but the bulky IH engine is worse) must sit way farther forward. The front crossmember, radiator and steering must all be relocated. There’s a lot of hacking that needs to be done to the fenderwells too and I’m only hitting the high spots. Another idea would be to swap in the “big” 196 ci four from a ’66-71 Scout 800 (not a Scout II). The 152 was listed as having 93 gross hp and 143 gross lbs-ft of torque. The longer stroke 196 (half of an IH 392ci V8) made 110 gross hp and 153 gross lbs-ft. Not a huge bump but noticeable to the driver, I’m told. Is it worth the effort as a stopgap prior to a V8 swap... probably not. Best advice: Save up for the real deal. Meanwhile, he can look over the vast amount of info at the Binder Bulletin (www.binderbulletin.org) and figure the best way to carry out his swap.
UNLIMITED WRANGLER RUMINATING
I have a 2005 Wrangler Unlimited. If I put wheel spacers on all four wheels, will it make it more stable? Just wondering, since my teenage son drives it.
Kent Douglas, Via e-mail
It might be marginally more stable if everything else is stock, though remember that the safety conscious and paranoid manufacturer has already engineered it to be as stable as it can be under the circumstances. If your Jeep is lifted with big tires, spacers will probably not even bring it back to a stock center ofgravity. I’ll climb on the ’ol soapbox and give you three bits of advice relative to a teenage male driver: One: Practice “Tough Love.” If all else fails, threaten to buy him a Geo Metro! Two: If it’s not lifted and fitted with big tires now, don’t until he’s out of the picture. Three: If it’s lifted now, make sure you keep the tires pumped up and the sway bars hooked up. If it’s lifted and squirrelly, get him something else to drive. New drivers, especially testosterone-poisoned new drivers, need a forgiving rig to learn in, not a twitchy monster (except under your direct supervision).