higher gears for Deuce?

[Monster Man]

I'm seriously on the hunt now for a deuce but was wondering- do they make lower numerical gears for the deuce to give it a little better on highway feel/higher top speed? With the rockwell gaining popularity in standard off road vehicles I'd think there would be new offerings other than the, what, 6.71 gears they have standard? thanks!

also, how much mileage can you expect to gain from the selectro hubs? I admit, there's not a lot of off road access to me, I'm in the heart of the city so driving aorund town is a must

 

[Desert Rat]

MM;
The Selectros are reported to jump the fuel milage from about an average of 7 mpg to near 12 mpg. Those hubs are on my Christmas Wish List (please Santa, PLEASE!!!!) so I am unable to confirm or deny the rumor personally. As far as changing gear ratios, the best place to start is with the tire size. Going from a 9.00 X 20 to a 11.00 X 20 will increase the top end but whittle away from the torque curve. I'm thinking of either going to a 10.00 X 20 intermodal style highway tire or getting the old Ford 6 hole 22.5 rims and using standard 11.00 X 22.5 tires (whichever my wallet can handle best). But if you really want to gain raw power then check out these links:
www.mseriesrebuild.com
http//ccpl.carr.org/~milveh/truck8.html
That should help.
Trango has the Cat V8. Most impressive job too.
Anyway I hope this helps!

 

[Recovry4x4]

When you look at the link to the CAT powered millenium deuce, remember that guy, his name is Tom. He has done research and found that contrary to popular belief, there are 2 other ratios for the Rockwell. As far as mileage, I've had trucks that got 6 and 12 but it was more factors than unlocking hubs that made the difference.

 

[Dieselsmoke]

Originally posted by Monster Man



there's not a lot of off road access to me, I'm in the heart of the city

Reno's pretty small, and there's some sweet wheeling and lots of trails just outside of town!

 

[Recovry4x4]

Another note on the lockout hubs. As you can see by the links in my signature, I'm not afraid to drive my deuce. Nearly 4000 highway miles last year alone. I want the Selectros but haven't been able to swallow the price right now. What I did do was have a second pair of drive flanges chucked up on a lathe and had the splines cut out of it. Since I have air on board, I carry an impact ro reinstall the original flanges when necessary. Simple and most of all, cheap. On both sets of drive flanges I glued a gasket to them with weatherstrip adhesive so I don't have to fool with gaskets.

 

[Desert Rat]

R 4X4;
Gee. Could I somehow persuade you to create a set for me? Does cash work? I'm using 'Storm mostly for highway purposes and am in a real need to improve fuel mileage. Since my welding machine is down for the moment, I'm looking for some help with the conversion. I can't afford the $550 tag either, but I'll make it worth your time Ken! Please let me know! Thanks!

 

[Recovry4x4]

I can probably do that Rat. Let me see if I can scam another set of flanges to cut or, do you want to buy a set and ship em here? I think Saturn has em new real reasonable. I'm going to be gone for a few weeks here starting Monday but I'll see if I can get the same guy to cut them. I'll be up in your neck of the woods, Cinci OH.

 

[Recovry4x4]

Rat, Saturn lists them at $28.50 each.

 

[Desert Rat]

R 4X4;
See if you can scavange a set. The shipping costs of sending the parts all over the countryside gets expensive very quickly. I understand if you can't come up with a set. Let me know either way. Thanks!

P.S.- Cinci isn't too far away! Feel free to stop on by! Give me a call if you're wanting to stop in. I'll give the directions on the phone.

P.S.S.- I'm not in any immediate hurry for the flanges. Yet I'd love to have them before the cold weather sets in<img src="emoticons/icon_smile_wink.gif" alt="Wink">!

 

[Monster Man]

Originally posted by Recovry4x4

What I did do was have a second pair of drive flanges chucked up on a lathe and had the splines cut out of it. Since I have air on board, I carry an impact ro reinstall the original flanges when necessary. Simple and most of all, cheap. On both sets of drive flanges I glued a gasket to them with weatherstrip adhesive so I don't have to fool with gaskets.

sweet idea! About how long is the swap? And can I ask what mileage you see with them on versus the originals? Just like my truck, I don't use 4wd as much as I should, but when I do I want it to work when I need it, but preferably in a short amount of time

 

[Trango]

Originally posted by Desert Rat


Trango has the Cat V8. Most impressive job too.
Anyway I hope this helps!

Well, to be sure, when you say I HAVE one, this is true. It's sitting where my friend last left it, which is a pallet in Iowa. Delivery is in (omigosh!) 7 days. I figure I'll have it in and firing by turkeyday. It looks as though the gear swap in the tranny*, it is going to take a while, and until that's done, I can't decapitate and swap engines.

The fantastic work on the Millenium REO is all by a gent named Tom out on the east coast, who has been a great source of inspiration and information (as well as proof of concept) to my deuce repower project.

That said, I was over at my mates' house last night, and those guys are all Cummins TD fans and making fun of me for buying a NA engine. I bet, in a few years, I'll end up doing a full inframe and pulling some of the stock Caterpillar "level 2" normally aspirated components in favor of turbo parts.

*The tranny I'm getting is the Spicer 6052C, which has the following ratios:
C RATIO 1ST-6.68,2ND-3.52,3RD-1.97,4TH-1.17,5TH-1.00,REV-6.68
The goal is to replace the 4th with .69, and in doing so, turn it into a much deeper OD tranny than even the stock deuce tranny... what's cool about this is that I'll keep the stock pattern.


Cheers
Bob

 

[Monster Man]

hey Trango, I was reading your previous topic on the axle lockout:

http://www.steelsoldiers.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=477&SearchTerms=spline

and just to clarify, pretty much both methods are exactly the same, you just made your own "flange". Is that right? I could do that pretty easy (I'm ALL about making stuff low buck, you don't even know

is it possible to take down really accurate measurements, bolt spacing, exact bolt specs (length thread size), etc., that I could make those off of, and then expect them to bolt right up (to a prospective truck if I buy one), or is it best to start with a flange and work off that?

thanks!

 

[Trango]

When I made mine, I used some existing flanges. Anyone who has tried to make 8 clean holes without some sort of pattern and without a mill and xy vise knows the joy of "booty" prototyping.

All about booty fab
Bob

 

[Monster Man]

Originally posted by Trango

When I made mine, I used some existing flanges. Anyone who has tried to make 8 clean holes without some sort of pattern and without a mill and xy vise knows the joy of "booty" prototyping.

All about booty fab
Bob

now I'm really confused- are you saying you used the flange to make the pattern for yours? If not, then did you modify one? in any of those logsa manuals is there a diagram of the front axle? I was under the impression the flange was that center piece that you took the plate, drilled the holes in and cut the center out of to replace, and in the other method the splines were just cut out. Does the flange not come completely off the axle when you take the 8 bolts off, then you pop a new one on, with or without splines? Sorry for the dumb question <img src="speech/icon_speech_duh.gif" border="0">

 

[Trango]

Originally posted by Monster Man

now I'm really confused- are you saying you used the flange to make the pattern for yours? If not, then did you modify one? in any of those logsa manuals is there a diagram of the front axle? I was under the impression the flange was that center piece that you took the plate, drilled the holes in and cut the center out of to replace, and in the other method the splines were just cut out. Does the flange not come completely off the axle when you take the 8 bolts off, then you pop a new one on, with or without splines? Sorry for the dumb question <img src="speech/icon_speech_duh.gif" border="0">

My previous post has the entire procedure for making mine - to repeat it would probably just misstate what I've already said. I used successive passes with the transfer punches and the drillpress to copy over the hole circle from a driveflange that had been removed from an axle.

Look at the finished product:
http://www.planetbantz.com/imghost/bob/deuce_lockout.jpg

It's all new pieces of steel.

Cheers
Bob

 

[Monster Man]

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I used successive passes with the transfer punches and the drillpress to copy over the hole circle from a driveflange that had been removed from an axle.
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OK, cool. after rereading your post, I edited my reply to ask that. Cool, so now I'll just get a hold of a flange to measure off of

thanks!

Lance