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View Full Version : NV4500 mounting to skidplate-what have you tried?


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milocj
08-28-2004, 06:49 PM
I bought a CJ7 with a trashed frame but a good 304 and and almost new NV4500 conversion. I've got the whole thing swapped into my CJ and was starting to finsih up all of the detail work when I realized that the way the previous owner had this thing mounted put the rear of the engine and trans up way too high. It worked in the old frame because somewhere along the way the front body mount had been chopped away to clear the fenderwell headers, probably because it didn't have the correct engine mounts bolted to the frame (they were butchered too).

Right now I've got the 1 1/4 inch drop down spacers between the frame and the skidplate that were on the old Jeep, I've removed the rubber bushings that are part of the Advance Adapters (?) tranny mount, and the headers just barely clear my frame and the Duraspark box on the left fender. The old CJ had the spark box mounted on the firewall. I think the t-case is still almost an inch higher than it was before the swap.

My question is how did you folks who have done this swap mount your NV4500 to the skidplate? Right now I'm considering cutting a rectangle out of the bottom under the rectangular tube mount and trying to lower and reweld that rear section enough to get the t-case back where it was originally. It looks like this may work if I drop the mounting surface even with the hump that is already there for the Dana 300 clearance. I've got torches and a stick welder, but I don't have anything that can bend tubing so I doubt that I could make a new skidplate from scratch (and I'm not sure I want to spend $350 for and Advanced Frame Works custom crossmember.

Thanks.

Mudrat
08-31-2004, 12:15 PM
Well milocj,
I don't have an answer and I don't have an NV4500 - probably will need one after I get this 401.

Have yo sorted thru your delemma and got it in where you want it? What t-case do you have hanging off it?

Mudrat

Dusty
08-31-2004, 12:25 PM
Hang in there man i am about a month behind you maybe mid october i will be hanging mine.

Sorry i cant help you more right now im in a holding pattern.

D

Im still thinking that flat plates bolted to the insides of the frame rails using some 5 pieces 2x1 tubing cut and welded together kinda like this maybe? ==== // standing for individual pieces and |
==== and // | being a flat plate.


| ||F |
| ||R |
|=====\\ __tranny__ //=====||A |
|======\\ [[[[[Mount]]]] //===== ||M |
\\===B===B===//
===B===B==

Then just having the steel shop breaking a piece of 5/16 plate to accomodate your underside clearances.



Nevermind this keeps coming out like a wet dream all screwed up

milocj
08-31-2004, 01:10 PM
Well,
I did some research and found out that there were a couple of different tailhousings on the NV4500 and the one that I have is a 4WD unit from a DOdge diesel that didn't require any adaptor or modification to the Dana 300 t-case. That's good if I ever break a case, but this tailhousing has the lowest mounting surface of the NV4500's which is the cause of my grief. For the time being I think my easiest solution is going to be by cutting two slots in the stock skidplate from the rear, along side the tranny mount. These will be about 10 inches apart. I can heat the skidplate where the notches end in front of the tranny mount and bend this "flap" downward on an angle and then heat and bend it level again at the lower height that I need for a new mounting surface. It looks like this will be right in line with the part of the skidplate that is bent down to clear the t-case. Then I can weld some gussets in place to reinforce the cut out and bent area. I've still got to do some measuring with the skidplate off and the trans in the right position, but I think this will work without being any lower than the lowest part of the pan was before the swap. This will get me running for awhile, but eventually I think I'll try to make a tubular crossmember bolted directly to the trans with some urethane bushings on the ends. MORE sells the tube/bushing pieces and some pre-cut tabs to accept the through bolts. I'll just have to get a pipe bender or find a fab shop that will work with me.

Mudrat
08-31-2004, 07:00 PM
milocj, sounds like you have a plan to get running again. If you were closer I'd let you use my pipe bender :? But over a thousand miles, it's not worth the drive :shock:

Mudrat

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