I need some help

[eldgenb]

don't let anyone scare you out of welding the sprag, if you were running detroits in every axle or welded the spiders in the diff's than it would be a problem, if you weld the sprag and leave the diffs alone its like running a regular truck in 4x4 everywhere you go. But with 230 hp you are not going to be breaking those 2" axle shafts anytime soon and with the terrain you are on you are not going to have any advanced tire wear just three axle's engaged all the time. It sounds like the best, most aggressive, and most cost effective of all of your options. I have done it many times and I think there is some how to in this forum as well. Once you open the case it will be painfully obvious what you need to weld.

 

[rlwm211]

The only drawback from welding the sprag is that when turning the truck you can have a difficult time with the front axle hopping on sharp turns and from the torque in the driveline that results.

The sprag accomplishes two things.

One is the proper engagement of the transfer case which is direction dependant.

Two is that it allows the front axle to "overrun" the rear.

As you make a turn the front of the truck travels a farther distance due to the larger circle the front of the truck takes in a turn. The sprag relieves the situation by allowing the front driveshaft to rachet past the drive in the sprag until the truck is going striaght, or else it starts to spin a tire.

Welding the sprag would most likely be advisable only if the truck would rarely, if ever be driven on the road. On highway there would be tire wear issues and also difficulty steering on dry pavement.

Just my two cents

RL

 

[doops22]

The only drawback from welding the sprag is that when turning the truck you can have a difficult time with the front axle hopping on sharp turns and from the torque in the driveline that results.

The sprag accomplishes two things.

One is the proper engagement of the transfer case which is direction dependant.

Two is that it allows the front axle to "overrun" the rear.

As you make a turn the front of the truck travels a farther distance due to the larger circle the front of the truck takes in a turn. The sprag relieves the situation by allowing the front driveshaft to rachet past the drive in the sprag until the truck is going striaght, or else it starts to spin a tire.

Welding the sprag would most likely be advisable only if the truck would rarely, if ever be driven on the road. On highway there would be tire wear issues and also difficulty steering on dry pavement.

Just my two cents

RL

I agree, not a good idea at all on the road, but this truck is strictly offroad. It is hauled to and from the jobs on a lowbed trailer, never sees anything but gravel/sand/snow/ice. I will try to contact memphis equipment tomorrow and then go from there with our options. We definitely need to do something to get this thing in AWD when we want it to be, preferably all the time. Should be a great truck once we get it set up the way we need it.

 

[area52]

unless of course you had lock out hubs.

 

[doops22]

don't let anyone scare you out of welding the sprag, if you were running detroits in every axle or welded the spiders in the diff's than it would be a problem, if you weld the sprag and leave the diffs alone its like running a regular truck in 4x4 everywhere you go. But with 230 hp you are not going to be breaking those 2" axle shafts anytime soon and with the terrain you are on you are not going to have any advanced tire wear just three axle's engaged all the time. It sounds like the best, most aggressive, and most cost effective of all of your options. I have done it many times and I think there is some how to in this forum as well. Once you open the case it will be painfully obvious what you need to weld.

Thanks for the advice. If you could point out these how-to's would be great. I've been reading through lots of posts and threads looking at lots of info. So much great stuff here.

 

[wreckerman893]

WM its a m52a2.

Thanks....I didn't get that from the first post.

I traded a M52 for the M275.......still don't regret it.

 

[KsM715]

don't let anyone scare you out of welding the sprag, if you were running detroits in every axle or welded the spiders in the diff's than it would be a problem, if you weld the sprag and leave the diffs alone its like running a regular truck in 4x4 everywhere you go. But with 230 hp you are not going to be breaking those 2" axle shafts anytime soon and with the terrain you are on you are not going to have any advanced tire wear just three axle's engaged all the time. It sounds like the best, most aggressive, and most cost effective of all of your options. I have done it many times and I think there is some how to in this forum as well. Once you open the case it will be painfully obvious what you need to weld.

I wasnt trying to scare him out of it, just wanted him to know what he was getting into if he welded it up.

Thanks for the advice. If you could point out these how-to's would be great. I've been reading through lots of posts and threads looking at lots of info. So much great stuff here.

I couldnt find anything about opening the trans and welding the sprag but I found this: http://www.steelsoldiers.com/5-ton-up/18459-frustrating-809-series-sprag.html Hope it helps if you havent read it already.

 

[ida34]

So this switch would lock the sprags? or just tell it whether it is forward or reverse?

The only thing a dash switch would do is remove the shifter valve from the equation. The dash switch would only switch between the front and the rear sprags. If your shifter valve was a problem then this would fix it. If your actuator in the transfer case is mucked up then the dash switch would not help. If your sprags are damaged in the transfer case this would not help. Welding the sprags might help depending on the damage.

Main point.

Check the valve on the trans first to make sure it is getting air and operating correctly. Then check the actuator in the transfer case. If all is good there pull the transfer case and inspect the sprags. At this point you can install the REB if available. As I understand it, The some internal parts are replaced do the case has to be taken apart anyway.

 

[doops22]

So this is how I'm seeing it right now for options, in order of which to do first.. Correct me if you have a better idea...

1. Look over all air lines, air valve on the shifter, actuator on transfer case, pull case & inspect sprags gears etc.
2. Contact memphis equipment and find out about the availability of the REB kit. If available and step one doesn't correct the problem, install REB kit.
3. Weld sprags.

Have i missed anything?
Thanks guys, you're all a big help.

 

[steelsoldiers]

The only thing a dash switch would do is remove the shifter valve from the equation. The dash switch would only switch between the front and the rear sprags. If your shifter valve was a problem then this would fix it. If your actuator in the transfer case is mucked up then the dash switch would not help. If your sprags are damaged in the transfer case this would not help. Welding the sprags might help depending on the damage.

Main point.

Check the valve on the trans first to make sure it is getting air and operating correctly. Then check the actuator in the transfer case. If all is good there pull the transfer case and inspect the sprags. At this point you can install the REB if available. As I understand it, The some internal parts are replaced do the case has to be taken apart anyway.

Correct. I forgot to mention that the transfer case side of the equation needs to be in good shape for the air switch idea to work. The other nice thing about the air switch is it tells the air actuator on the transfer case to stay engaged all the time, not just when the truck is in a certain gear.

The Frustrating M809 Sprags thread is mine because I went through this very issue. I rebuilt the valve on the transmission and that didn't help. I pulled the air lines off of the valve and used my compressor and a blow gun to make sure that they weren't plugged up with muck. When I did that, I could hear the actuator on the transfer case clunk and the front drive shaft would lock. The only problem was I could hear air blowing out around the output shafts on the transfer case. It turned out that the seals were bad on my actuator so the air was leaking past them and pressurizing the case. I ordered a rebuild kit from Memphis, put in the new seals, and it worked like a champ after that.