Posted by David Dannenberg [108.52.148.64] on Friday, January 09, 2015 at 21:15:09 :
In Reply to: Re: what is this? follow up posted by Willy-N [72.171.192.117] on Friday, January 09, 2015 at 18:59:01 :
People do some crazy stuff. You can get lost checking out the videos on youtube. There are lots of parts that can fail, but it is amazing what doesn't fail and how well people do.
Enough people do it and they find the weak spots (on older TLCs it was the "birfields"--the CV in front wheels) and they find ways to beef those up and then the next weakest link goes and people beef those up. Double up the transfer cases and gear lower until the hubs or axles fail...
I think that PW engineers (and the Japanese engineers of TLCs and other vehicles) were onto something when they put in drivetrains that were much stronger than their engines. You won't move fast, but you can't break much either. Seems like in the 70s American car companies made a lot of cars with super strong engines and comparatively weak drive trains...(of course other Americans got smart and started putting American V8s in front of Japanese drivetrains). Compare a CJ7's little Dana 44s with a TLC 1.5" axle with 9" ring gear. And the CJ would get a 360 and the TLC a straight 6 235 (directly copied from a Chevy engine--as was the drivetrain ironically)...Toyota--Toyoda then--originally made sewing machines...I digress.
I doubt anyone ever broke a PW drive train with the stock 6; I don't think you can break one with a 318 either. I just haven't heard of much PW stuff failing.