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What's everyones opinion of the JTR trans crossmember?


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If the angles are the same the centerlines of the shafts will be parallel.

 

Not if the angles are in the same direction. What I'm saying is if for example the trans is level and the diff it angled up say 2 degrees then all is well as long as you set it up such that each end of the driveshaft has one degree of angle to it. Therefore the two ends dont have to be parallel just have the same angle.

 

Cameron

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  • 3 years later...

I am using a t5. I did not have to widen the trans tunnel, nor did I have to cut out the stock trans mounting brackets. To support the trans I had a professional rigger from the Kennedy center who is also a Z car guy make me some mounts out of steel cable. No movement from the sides, very adjustable in height. I have no drive line noise or vibrations. I can take some pictures if people desire. This set up has about 500 hard miles on it so far, and I could not be happier with it.

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I love these time travel posts.

 

Cables you say?

Has this ever been used on a high perf. application? I think the idea is innovative. Could flexing and lack of rigidity of the trans mount be a good thing? I always thought rigid means more power to the rear. Open to new ideas though.

 

Long before I knew about JTR or Hybrid Z for that matter we made this cute little cross member. It was double walled, but needed plenty of floor reinforcement. Originally for a 4.3 procharged w/ '86 vette 700 R4, Super light yet strong.

 

If they don't make it or you don't like it, get creative! That's a huge part of the satisfaction of building your hybrid. All my fabbed stuff, motor mounts, cross member, blower mount, I made from cardboard templates while my engine and trans sat on a stack of 2x6s in the car, then took to a fabricator.

I used JTR for my next V8 adventure and was fine. A little tweaking for flat to floor fit. Too heavy..? then your engine needs more ponies ;)

(yep you got to beat the crap out of the tunnel and maybe bend the JTR cross member to sit flat)Too low drive line angle? Shim the mount, too high shim the cross member. Simple. In short the JTR is bone-headed simple and works fine. It wouldn't take much to improve the design.

 

scan0002.jpg

scan0001-1.jpg

 

trial fitting w/ 700r4

scan0003.jpg

Edited by John Scott
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Ok I took some photos, but they are not very good for the exhaust is in the way and I only had time to jack it up. So, I made a diagram!

post-2768-012259800 1279772505_thumb.png

 

The bottom mount goes from one side, through a hole on the trans, then to the other mount.

post-2768-058052700 1279772697_thumb.jpg

post-2768-072665900 1279772723_thumb.jpg

post-2768-037738700 1279772709_thumb.jpgpost-2768-037044000 1279772684_thumb.jpgpost-2768-072395000 1279772671_thumb.jpg

 

If trans mounts did anything besides support the weight of the back of the motor and of the trans, then why are the mounts so flimsy? The Ron Tyler diff mount can not use a standard trans mount because it tears it in two on slight engine braking, and look at the stock mount on the T5, that has INCHES of play in it. As for the steel cables, they are pulled taught, it is slightly tricky to get the last bolt in, as you have to have the trans at the exact right height to get the bolt in, and even then you need to angle it in using the closed side of a wrench on the bolt head. There is NO play in this set up. I have kept my hand on the shifter, reved to 3k, and dumped the clutch. No movement was felt in the trans. The professional rigger that made this mount said that the cables used where strong enough to lift the entire car up by several orders of magnitude.

 

Pros:

saves weight

Adjustable

Easy to make, no welding required (this was the biggie, as I was just learning to weld and I did not trust myself to make a mount that would hold)

 

Cons:

Some guys can think that it is unsafe because it uses cable.

It is slightly harder to line up the last bolt than with a standard trans mount.

The ends of the cables are sharp.

You have to toy with it to get the cables as tight as possible while setting up the mount (once set up you don't need this when dropping/reinstalling the trans), and this can be difficult if you are alone. (need someone to pull the cable tight while the other puts the clamps on)

 

Nice time machine. I did not know about that movie till I watched Big Bang Theory.

 

EDIT: Again, I know the welds on the exhaust are beyond terrible. It was the first thing I welded and the wirefeed welder I was using kept jamming up/feeding at an inconsistent rate. It is only there until I can afford to get a real exhaust made (and yes I should cover up the speedo cable port)

Edited by Geking
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The cable idea is clever, innovative. I think your plan needs some development though. Steel cable is highly abrasive. Keep and eye out for wear on both the tranny case and the cables themselves. Strength to weight ratio, you are correct. On sail boats we carry thousands of pounds of load over some pretty small diameter cable. If I were to do this I would use thimbles and swedges and connect to mounting points on the tranny and unibody rather than wrap the case though. Again, abrasion would be the concern.

 

Thumbs up for thinking outside the box.

Edited by Dan Juday
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  • 1 month later...
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How true is this?

 

It can be true with some of the Chinese mounts that you find at Kragen, Carquest, etc. I've had good luck with OEM GM mounts. They're softer and stronger. Of course the Energy Suspension poly mount is tougher yet.

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