daily doubler build

[Bray D]

well took the shaft into get balanced today. told em my situation and the guy bout shit a brick when I told him the splined part (pilot?) wasn't pressed in there. he said they wouldn't even work on it, there's no way they could get it true. it'd be a waste of their time, my time, and my money. sooo I went ahead and bought a new pilot(60 bucks), had them cut the old one off, weld the new one in, and balance it. picking it up tomorrow so I'll be back on the road once again. thing that sucks is I had the right idea the first time, just couldn't get the pilot to come out, that's why I had to cut all the way through. I guess I should've tried a little harder to get it out, it's costing me now. oh well, live and learn

 

[Todd]

From the pic you posted you didn’t cut through the weld, but after it. The weld needs to be ground down to the inner flange of the male splined end. Then it takes a BFH to get it out of there with some chisel usage.

The more you do the easier it gets. I’ve shortened my share of shafts. Sounds kind of nasty

Glad to see ya getting this done. And ya, welcome to the 100+ club.

 

[Rulebreaker]

since the manual case is my front one I'll be able to use the factory manual shift linkage. my interior will look stock, I'll just have the shifter on the floor AND the switch on the dash.

well I say I will be able to use the stock shifter but I don't have it in yet so I guess I don't know for sure. I don't see why it won't be bolt on though (other than cuttin a hole in my floor)

A stock shifter will work for the front case but there are different stock shifters depending on which trans you have. The shifters have it stamped on them what tranny they work with. If A4LD is stamped on it, it will work on any RBV tranny that is the same length as the A4LD but will not work on a TK or FM145 as they are a different length. I believe there are 3 different shifters. C4 and TK4 / TK5 and FM145 / A4LD, M50. and FM146. I could be wrong but thats close. RB

 

[Rulebreaker]

From the pic you posted you didn’t cut through the weld, but after it. The weld needs to be ground down to the inner flange of the male splined end. Then it takes a BFH to get it out of there with some chisel usage.

The more you do the easier it gets. I’ve shortened my share of shafts. Sounds kind of nasty

Glad to see ya getting this done. And ya, welcome to the 100+ club.

I do like Todd says but I cut a small slit in the tube and pull it out by hand. RB

 

[Bray D]

I do like Todd says but I cut a small slit in the tube and pull it out by hand. RB

that's what I should've done, just cut it on the tube side of the weld. that way I'd know for sure it should come out. I was using a 5lb sledge with a punch and it still wouldn't come out. the metal was even starting to bend toward the splines by the time I was done (if that makes sense). anyways I picked it up from the shop today, installed it, and it rides beautifully.

as for the shifter, the guy I got if from said he had both a shifter for the a4ld and for the m5od, I told him I needed the m5od one but he wasn't sure which was which, so I've got a 50-50 shot haha. even if the shifter isn't long enough, I assume it won't be long enough from the mounting point on the tranny to the shifter on the case. modding that won't be hard at all. we'll see how it goes this weekend.

 

[Rulebreaker]

that's what I should've done, just cut it on the tube side of the weld. that way I'd know for sure it should come out. I was using a 5lb sledge with a punch and it still wouldn't come out. the metal was even starting to bend toward the splines by the time I was done (if that makes sense). anyways I picked it up from the shop today, installed it, and it rides beautifully.

as for the shifter, the guy I got if from said he had both a shifter for the a4ld and for the m5od, I told him I needed the m5od one but he wasn't sure which was which, so I've got a 50-50 shot haha. even if the shifter isn't long enough, I assume it won't be long enough from the mounting point on the tranny to the shifter on the case. modding that won't be hard at all. we'll see how it goes this weekend.

The A4LD and M50D shifters are the same because the trannys are the same length. RB

 

[metalmacguyver]

If that is the case then they would be identical. Obviously they must be different if he mentioned that concern. So the question still stands. Which one is the right one?


BrayD, I have a spare shifter for a M1354 that was used with a M5OD that I just picked up today if you need pictures to ID the correct one.

 

[Rulebreaker]

If that is the case then they would be identical. Obviously they must be different if he mentioned that concern. So the question still stands. Which one is the right one?


BrayD, I have a spare shifter for a M1354 that was used with a M5OD that I just picked up today if you need pictures to ID the correct one.

I used an A4LD shifter (Stamped right on it) on my FM146 without modifying it. The A4LD, M50D, and FM146 trannys are all the same length(28.687") hence the shifters are interchangeable when using the BW1350 case and I'm assuming the BW1354 is no different. I've also used a C4 shifter on a TK4 and they work with no modification as both trannys are 24" long. The TK5 is 25.937" and the FM 145 is about 26.5" so I would bet they too would interchange. Every shifter I have has the tranny stamped on it, but as long as the tranny you are using is the same length as the tranny the shifter came off you can use it. RB

 

[kunar]

The A4LD, M50D, and FM146 trannys are all the same length(28.687") hence the shifters are interchangeable when using the BW1350 case and I'm assuming the BW1354 is no different.

i dont think this is true. i swapped in a m5od and tried to use a shifter linkage from an a4ld and it doesnt line up. it needs to be longer. i havent put much time into it but i think i will end up cutting the linkage and extending it (the kinda forked part that fits onto the t-case)

 

[Bray D]

i dont think this is true. i swapped in a m5od and tried to use a shifter linkage from an a4ld and it doesnt line up. it needs to be longer. i havent put much time into it but i think i will end up cutting the linkage and extending it (the kinda forked part that fits onto the t-case)

yeah that's what I thought, but we'll see. shortening/extending the "forked" portion of the shifter won't be any problem. so I have a 50/50 chance of it fitting and it worse comes to worse I'll have to mod the linkage. no big deal. I'll be workin on it sunday, I'll take pics of what's stamped on the shifter as well as the fitment etc.

 

[Rulebreaker]

I've been wrong before, and the M50d is the only tranny I dont have laying around so thats possible. However the shifter should say right on it what it's for, so just look at it and you will know if it's the right one.RB

 

[Bray D]

well the shifters are indeed different. the one I had didn't fit anyways. I couldn't get a good pic of the stamping but it said "4 SPEED OR AUTO" on it. I thought that was kinda strange. anyways heres the pics

tooks out seats and pulled back carpet to get to tranny cover

shifter location

length difference

I decided to cut the forked part and extend it, I extended it 2"

tacked

welded, cleaned up, and painted for rust prevention

I should've gotten an under the truck pic but I was ready to be done, so I just have a final installed pic

since I had to extend the forked piece, the shifter "guide" was no longer accurate, so I had to cut it off. since that was gone, now the shifter doesn't have a guide and can hinge freely from side to side (you can see the hinge in the first pic). its also little close to my shifter, and with the splines rather than threads I can't get a sweet shifter knob lol. soooo I think I'm going to keep the bolt through pivot and forked portion of the linkage and fab my own rigid shifter handle. that way I can have it bent away from my 5 speed shifter and I can thread the end for an aftermarket shift knob.

with that being said, its in for now. I can shift from inside the cab so I'm happy. I prolly won't fab the new shifter until I have all the crossmembers built, installed, etc.

 

[Rulebreaker]

well the shifters are indeed different. the one I had didn't fit anyways. I couldn't get a good pic of the stamping but it said "4 SPEED OR AUTO" on it. I thought that was kinda strange. anyways heres the pics

tooks out seats and pulled back carpet to get to tranny cover

shifter location

length difference

I decided to cut the forked part and extend it, I extended it 2"

tacked

welded, cleaned up, and painted for rust prevention

I should've gotten an under the truck pic but I was ready to be done, so I just have a final installed pic

since I had to extend the forked piece, the shifter "guide" was no longer accurate, so I had to cut it off. since that was gone, now the shifter doesn't have a guide and can hinge freely from side to side (you can see the hinge in the first pic). its also little close to my shifter, and with the splines rather than threads I can't get a sweet shifter knob lol. soooo I think I'm going to keep the bolt through pivot and forked portion of the linkage and fab my own rigid shifter handle. that way I can have it bent away from my 5 speed shifter and I can thread the end for an aftermarket shift knob.

with that being said, its in for now. I can shift from inside the cab so I'm happy. I prolly won't fab the new shifter until I have all the crossmembers built, installed, etc.

Thats the same shifter I have in my Broncostar on the doubler. It's a C4, and tk4 shifter. That would be way to short. Looks like you fixed it tho. RB

 

[Bray D]

welp I went down to the shop and got a little done tonight, didn't get the supporting crossmember completely built but I'm not in a big hurry either. supposed to be beautiful tomorrow so we've got a big motorcycle ride lined up so I won't be workin on it tomorrow either. it'll have to wait till next weekend. anyways here's some eye candy, my stick welding was rockin tonight

I built the mounting plate to mount where the counterweight used to be. so here's a pic of the plate and the weight lol

cutting the plate

rough mockup

smaller mounting plate welded on

cleaned up ready for paint

mocked

then I started building from the frame to the mount, here's one welded to a plate that will mount inside my framerail over my exhaust

aaaannndd that's all I've got for now.

 

[Bray D]

damnit it takes a long time to fab stuff lol-this weekend's progress

continued building of the supporting crossmember

view of the passenger side, runs over my exhaust to the inside of my frame

built my own angle piece to mount the driver's side

to mount the crossmember to the angle bracket on the driver's side, I had to cut this piece. it's a compound cut since at that spot, my frame starts to angle up. so I had the angle up to match the frame, then the angle for it to meet the crossmember, so it wasn't straight up and down. took a while to get this piece to fit just right.

sweet action pic lol

structurally complete

the crossmember hangs about an 1/8" lower than the case. this should be perfect if I decide to make a skid that runs from the tranny crossmember to this one. tucked in nice and tight

and a full pic, out of truck

I'll cut off all the excess tube, cap the ends and make it pretty, just ran outta time this weekend. something else i've gotta look into is my clutch. I think my slave is goin out so that may postpone things. I'll do some research and see what's really goin on, don't really feel like droppin a few hundo right now but that's life I guess.