74 Cherokee SOA/Drivetrain

[Atrayu]

I've been a long time Jeep owner but this is my first FSJ. It has the 360, TH400 and the QT. As a long time Jeep owner... I have a lot of parts laying about. I have been reading for months to prepare myself for the things I feel need to be done, but I still have questions. Most recently I realized I have both axles and a NP205 sitting in an old chevy 3/4 ton carcass. From what I understand this is a straight forward swap with minimal fuss. (I also have a NP203 sitting next to it. Need to research the benefits of doubler before I even consider that) This will mostly be a trail rider/camping rig, not a hardcore wheeler. I want it to see more dirt road than pavement.

My questions regarding the axle swap is this. Must the shackles be flipped? I could see a potential issue with angles when the suspension flexes. I'm not looking to gain 6"-7". I just want the part-time box and the 3.73 gears.

If I must do the shackle flip my feelings won't be crushed naturally. I just don't have the equipment to fab/weld up new brackets. My welding skills aren't exactly awesome either, lol.

I'm assuming the tailshaft of the TH400 will have to be replaced. I'm told the 400 had three different types of shafts. Long, short and 4x4. I've read from a couple of sources that with the QT, I'll have some manner of long shaft. Does this mean I get to rebuild the trans? hehe Could I get a confirmation on what shaft is in it and what shaft I require?

Here is a photo.
http://i98.photobucket.com/albums/l2...ayu/photo6.jpg

Plenty of rot. I wanted to find a fairly straight body with a horrid engine. Diesel power is a future goal. What I got was an amazing engine with an okay body. So I'll drive it til it blows.

33" inch tires are my goal. I'm gonna have to trim the rust off the fenders anyways.

My springs are flat, but they are the 3 spring packs anyways. Is anyone running BJ's stock replacement springs? Honest opinion? Once I return to Colorado Springs I'll some more pictures up. I'll also document the resto/repair/build-up here. Thank you all for the treasure trove of information in this forum.

[Kevin armstrong]

For the 205, the t350 had a 27 spline output and the t400 had a 31 spline. Hopefully the donor 205 was mated up to a t400 so you could swap the chevy t400 output shaft to your amc t400 (if keeping the AMC mill)

[muddy]

If you are talking about the rear shackles, then, no, they do not NEED to be flipped.

However, If you go SOA in the front (like the title implies), you will have to do SOMETHING to bring the rear up to match the front.

Without doing the shackle flip, you're prety much limited to either replacement springs, or blocks to bring up the rear.

[COLOFIREMAN]

PM Tad....he builds a complete kit for FSJ's to SOA the front and flip the rear. I'm putting one on my 79 Cherokee W/T.


http://www.ifsja.org/forums/vb/member.php?u=1931

[Atrayu]

For some reason I thought it was spring under in the rear as well. That's what happens when you are isolated away from your Jeep for 6 months. So shackle flip is a yes then.

Thanks for all the feedback.

[Tad]

Originally Posted by Kevin armstrong

...the t400 had a 31 spline. Hopefully the donor 205 was mated up to a t400 so you could swap the chevy...

32 spline on GM TH400.
IIRC Ford is the 31 spline.

[Atrayu]

More research done. VIN decoding my Chevy pickup... It had the SB 400 (wish I had that!) with the Saginaw 3 speed manual... So the 205 will be a 27 spline most likely. Until I can make the trip to it's particular pasture and get a hard count... I'm assuming the input gear can be changed though.

[Kevin armstrong]

If its a manual trans, I believe that would be an 8 spline output. This chevy stuff is a little foggy to me ever since I went to the dark side.

[Atrayu]

They had 10 spline and 27 spline. I looked up the specifics for that year. Came up 27. Either way I have to change it out or keep the QT.

[kowboy84]

Howdy, you can look at my photos and see what I have done, I have a 1978 360 400 changed the tail shaft to a short one and mated it to a dana300 passenger side drop, front drive shaft is a bit of a pain but I will get there,ack any and all question, we will help all we can. Good luck

[Atrayu]

The reason for going with the NP205 is because I already own it. Although I did think about a Dana 300. Tearing it down to change out an input gear is not daunting at all. I'm far more scared about tackling the body work. Well, that and de-greasing the belly of the beast. Might have to invest in a good pump up sprayer and 10 gallons of something strong!

[PlasticBoob]

Atrayu, is there any way I can buy the mirrors and controller from you at some point in the future?

[ChevyJoe]

if the 205 came behind a manual trans (sm465) it is the coarse 10 spline. if it came behind the th350 it is 27 spline and if it came behind a th400, it is 32 spline. either way you'll be swapping the output shaft on the th400 that's in your fsj.

if you do have the 10 spline 205 from behind a 465, i'd sell it and find one from behind a th400 like you already have in your jeep. then all you'll have to do is change the tail shafts and find the correct adapter.

or depending if the 203 you have is a 32 spline version from behind a chevy th400 or not, you can use a 203 th400 tailshaft and adapter and bolt the 203 low range box to the existing 205 you have through a NWF doubler: http://northwestfab.3dcartstores.com...P205_c_77.html

[Atrayu]

It was the Saginaw 3 speed, not the 465. The only way for me to verify it is to make the 3 hour drive from Colorado Springs to that particular pasture and hop under the hood. (Since there is no engine/transmission) and count splines. Quite honestly it doesn't matter how many splines it has because I know it does not have 32... I'll have to tear down the TC and go through it anyway so I might as well toss a new input gear with the proper spline count into it. So I have a plan now. I have some more parts to gather together now. Some very good advice. (thank you all!!) More pictures to come.

I happen to know for a fact that the 203 had a t350 bolted to it so it's 27 spline. I'm still pretty unsure about the doubler idea. I'm not sure I need 4:1 low range. I don't plan on rock crawling with it really. Easy trail runs and camping will be her main purpose in life. If I want to play on the rocks I have a XJ for that.

[Atrayu]

Plastic, I have no intentions of tearing it down and parting it off. Should I change my mind in the future I'll let you know.