Thread: My 86 Rangie Hiline

So, after many weeks of not doing anything on the Rangie due to a few family issues, I'm back on track now.

Started to put the transfer case back together. There is a photo on here a few posts back showing what it looked like when I removed it... Not pretty. I had previously stripped it down and inspected and measured things up to see what I needed. Turned out I needed a full gasket and seal kit, centre diff spider shims and new input shaft bearings. All up these parts were around the $120 mark if I remember correctly.

I replaced the input shaft bearings today, and for those that know these boxes, know that the end float is set by a shim which sits under one of the bearing shells. Replacing them means the end float needs to be checked and set. Below is a rundown of this and some pics of how I did it.

The first part of the procedure is fitting a slightly thinner shim than what was originally in there - luckily another forum member had a thinner one that he lent me - thanks Macman. Once the shim is fitted, the input shaft is assembled with the gasket and the plate torqued down. A dial indicator is then used to measure the end float.

Here is the setup, showing the dial indicator on zero.


And here is a pic with the shaft lifted showing the end float - 0.60mm


Now, remove the thinner shim, and measure it - 3.23mm (I think it is supposed to be 3.20mm but I'm going off what I measured) NOTE - the dial indicator is set to minus one to start with here, as it is a little stuffed and doesn't go all the way up to 5mm any more, so I had to start a bit below.



Add the end float measured and you get a total of 3.83mm. The spec for the input shaft end float is 0.03 to 0.08mm so I need to install a shim between 3.75 and 3.80mm. Luck would have it that the original shim was 3.78mm - right in the middle of what is needed - you can get lucky sometimes...


So, I installed that shim, reassembled permanently. And measured everything up - theory said I should end up with 0.05mm end float.

Set the dial indicator back up to zero...


And levered the shaft up... Bingo!


You can get lucky sometimes, it even makes it look like I know what I'm doing In theory it should have been the same, as the new bearings were exactly the same, but you never know what tolerances they have been made to - they were aftermarket bearings, so worth doing the exercise. It is also worth noting that the original preload I measured was 0.00 and the input shaft was tight, so I know I've got this a lot better than it was when I pulled it out as the input shaft spins nicely as it should.

I'll see if I can get the rest back together tomorrow...

Cheers - Gav

Any updates on this project

Ummm - not really. I always seem to be busy doing other things - I have done some work to the backyard as I have a new puppy dog - a rescued Pug - very cute...

Also been prepping the floors for a floating floor I'll be doing over the holidays.

I have got the TC almost back together - cleaned everything, and fitted new gaskets and seals all around. The bearings on the intermediate shaft and output shaft were fine, so no more setting of preloads required. Once I have that finished and installed, just need to put the floor and interior back in and it will be a goer at least. Got the club reg organised, so once it is running, just the interior, paint, suspension, diff lock and axles to do...

Well, thanks to the help of Landover, got things moving again. TC is back in, and drive shafts connected. Only got to put the dash and interior back together now and I'll be back to driving it.

Well, she is all going again!. All wiring now finalised, and tucked away neatly. All that is left is to connect the mechanical gauges for temp and oil pressure, then stick the floor and interior back in.

Things are looking good to be taking it to Melrose at Easter.

Oh, can anyone recommend an Air Conditioner place in Melbourne - preferably north/west that is happy to do some custom work to get the AC going again? The local places here don't want to touch it.

Cheers - Gav

Originally Posted by bacicat2000

Things are looking good to be taking it to Melrose at Easter.

Fantastic!

will have to catch up and say hello! I jut booked a place to stay down the road from there yesterday, have been a member of the club but haven't been to their Melrose/Blinman bash yet.

Sounds good. This will be my first time there and I'm really looking forward to it. I'll have a cold beer waiting.

Got a bit further today. Only had a couple of hours to play on it, as I helped a friend pull the motor from his Series II resto project this morning, so now he has plenty more to be going on with.

Trial fitted the floor and the shifter this arvo, and got it in a position I am happy with. It has left me with having to extend the TC lever as it sits too low and is a bit hard to get to. The top of the tunnel in a D1 must be a bit lower than an old Rangie, so a bit of fettling to get everything where it needs to go, and then I can put the floor in for good and figure out how I am going to build the new console to make it look all pretty. I'm looking forward to that, as I am going to put some decent cup holders in it when I build it and maybe a dock for the Ipad. As I have the drivers seat sitting in there at the moment, I will take it for its first outing in the morning - around the block.... Still a bit more to do before I unleash it back on the unsuspecting public, but I'm getting there.

Cheers - Gav