Hey guys, I have a crack on my transfer case where the idler shaft goes. Should I weld this or buy a new case? Pretty sure this happen from over tightening the bolt... which I though was 100+lbs and I heard it pop. Must be way lower than I though.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/ocn45ms9iy...015_125853.jpg

 

Time for a new case. Bolt torque table. This table is worth keeping in mind. And specs are normally reduced by ~10% into cast iron.

I'm sorry, it sucks that you busted the case.

 

I ordered one from quad4x4. $300+ dollars which came with a seal kit. I might also need a idler bolt.. it looks like this one is mushroomed on the head. Looking close at this case the head doesn't even fit into the hole... while applying torque .. yeah.. like a wedge. Sucks indeed, have to put my OX locker on the back burner.

 

Okay, I'm a little confused. You split the case because the countershaft doesn't fit through its bore under the cover plate? How the heck did that happen? My apologies for posting the link to the fastener torque table, in that case.

 

I used a brass wedge to beat the idler shaft through. When it was through I put the nut on and drew the shaft in. I'm thinking I mushroomed it with the brass and or it was like this before I received it. Sucks indeed.

 

Those bolts on the idle shaft cover should have been torqued to 20 ft/lbs. The big nut on the other side of the case gets torqued to 150 ft/lbs.

The new bearings on the idler shaft can be a little sticks when trying to get the main shaft through. But you shouldn't have to beat on it. Maybe one of your shims dropped in and got hung up. I know it was a pain to get everything in, and lined up when I did my NP205.

Just finished it...Finally...last week!! But I also did the 23 to 29 conversion as well.

 

Does the bolt fit smooth into that hole? The big end?

 

Are you talking about the shaft end that is under the cover plate? I didn't check mine with the dial caliper....so it might have a slight tapper to it.? But it should be a relatively smooth.

 

I took it to the machine shop and had them smooth mine out, Some reason mine was way to tapered.. which caused my case to crack. I think these are suppose to be smooth?

 

The end of the counter shaft should be a locating loose, or "slip", fit in the housing. I don't know what the design spec is from New Process, but rule of thumb, if I am reading my table right, is something on the order of .001" difference between the diameter of the hole in the case, and diameter of the shaft. Both hole & shaft should be parallel, and the deviation in the diameter should be much less than .001". I would have probably leaned toward a new shaft, especially as something unknown, but bad, happened to the part at some point. Hopefully it will all go together well, and not be a problem.

 

Yeah, when I took it to the machine shop the diameter was exactly around in diameter on the lower end. Since the shaft was out of whack he shaved it using the diameter that was good all the way up. It should be on the money, these shafts run about $110, I'll see when I get my new case Wednesday. I'm thinking this might have been a problem before I took the case apart.

Attached is a picture where you can see the work. About where that line is and up is what needed to be shave. It's perfect in diameter now.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/0uvvlwljtn...016_153605.jpg

 

Looks good...hope it fits better with the new case.

 

I tried it last night and it goes right through the hole like butter. I have a very small hair or wiggle room. I torqued the nut down without the idle bearing installed and after that was done... no more play. My question is.. wouldn't this cause some sort of teeter when there is torqued applied?

I'm guessing all the torque will happen on the side where the bolt and nut thread into. This is where all the load will be as well as bearing load to bring it all together. The fat end of the stick I would imagine needs some sort of play.

 

You know I never checked for play in the big end when I installed my idler shaft and assembly. I know you need to set your shim pack for an end play of .001 to .002. This was a PITA...took me about 4 hours to finally get it at .002 when installed and torqued.

 

I fast way to do it is get a shim pack from quad4x4. They have .001 shims, if you have a bench press... put a small load on the bearings and the idle gear should spin free. If there is resistance than add another .001 shim. Sometimes the races in the idle gear don't seat and after shimming you find they move around on you. The last transfer case I built for a friend I had a stack of .001 shims which I replaced with a thicker shim of equal size. That will get you in the range you need to be.

I'm thinking my idler gear will work fine the more I look and think about it. I'm just dreading putting this think back together.. the fork pins are a pita.