yeah, but with all that extra gearing, do we really want to lower the spline count? i know it's only lowering it 4 splines, but that's a lot of strength.
Somehow, I get the feeling you really don't like Zooks, do you? Everytime you get a chance, you try to point out, usually incorrectly, that Kia is bigger/stronger than Zook. Last night, with 10 mins and a digi caliper, I found your statements about bolt, bushing and control arm sizes to be 180* opposite than what you say.
If this was a concern, Sidekick t-cases would be exploding left and right with the 4.24:1 and 6.1:1 gear sets. The tranny would be twisting shafts under the 2.7L V6. But they don't (great JAPANESE engineering). I've taken my GV over Lower Hell, Poison Spider, Golden Spike, Moab Rim and many others, with a 4.24 t-case gear set in to 7.5" Zook 5.12 R&Ps and 33"s. Over that last 7 year with the GV, have I broke axle shafts? Yes. Have I bent the T-case/Tranny mount? Sure. Has anyone I've ever met or wheeled with someone who broke input/output shafts on a Sidekick tranny or t-case? Never.
The issue is not nor will be the strength of using any Zook Tranny/t-case. This is being used now, has been used, and will continue with great success. The issue will be, especially if the swap is made and t-case gears go in, will the Kia axles survive? Under 33"s, locked? Maybe, maybe not. If not, custom 4340 or 300M shafts *could* be made, or a swap to solid axles could be done.
After checking, the rear Sport frame is just over 40". The IFS Toy rear is just over 43". So a rear Toy axle, which has the same axle diameter and spline count as a D44, could go under very easily. For the front, the frame is 28", which is much narrower than the Zook, so a Toy solid axle with IFS outters would fit no problem. With Longfield axles, the Toy is stronger than a D60, lighter and with way better ground clearance.
also, with hacking out a new input or output or coupler, there comes a new, and probably large, extra cost into the mix, one that most of us can't really afford, even if we can fork over the cash for the OTT adapter(s).
OTT charges $60CDN an hour for shop labor. Cheap by most machinist standard.
You should know more than most, rockcrawling or extreme 4x4 ing (which what we are talking about constitutes) is not a cheap sport any any stretch. If you wanna play, you gotta play. Even if many of the folks on this board are poor as you suggest, that doesn't mean everyone is and maybe some might want to experiment and take the Kia to another level.
Hey, it's better than spending money on crack or meth. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/evil.gif" alt="" />
looking at all the options, i'm thinking that, so far, the best choice, if we can't find a version of t-case that already has a 25-pline input and mates up to one of the available adapters for this tranny, is to swap to the volvo tranny and use the OTT adapter for the toyota case and either just run the Marlin Crawler low gears or a dual toy case. that will just about double what i have right now, with stock gears in the dual toy cases, and offer a total of 9 forward gears and 3 reverse gears in 4x4 mode, since OD won't work in 4x4 mode.
Now you're talking! How low is too low? No such thing. LOL If your are serious, I'll put you in touch with my friend who's taking on the whole Volvo thingy. He's the one that is the AW "expert" and told me the Kia and Kick trannies are essentially the same. Don't forget, Toys had this tranny, as did several other makes/models. The right spline might be out there.
i'm still searching for more info, so, i will get back here and put up whatever i find.
one note: with the d300 adapter, one can run an Atlas.... hmmmmm.......
Atlas? You do like to spend money, eh?
