ghetdjc320 Posted January 2 Author Share Posted January 2 So the 5th gear update difference is in the gear hub design. The new style uses different keys and springs for the synchro hub. Looks like a better design to hold it in gear better. The gear itself looks identical. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghetdjc320 Posted January 2 Author Share Posted January 2 Transmission internals are all finished and the upgrades are in place. Very satisfying project. Really came to appreciate the way this thing is engineered. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eagle_SX4 Posted January 3 Share Posted January 3 2 hours ago, ghetdjc320 said: So the 5th gear update difference is in the gear hub design. The new style uses different keys and springs for the synchro hub. Looks like a better design to hold it in gear better. The gear itself looks identical. Awesome thanks for the pics. Upgrades maybe in my future, next time I open up my transmission. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghetdjc320 Posted January 3 Author Share Posted January 3 Just finished up the re assembly. It shift so smoothly. Really happy with how it turned out. It’s worth noting that the synchros that come in a rebuild kit will typically give you the wrong rings for 3/4 gears. The part you need that has the “house” shaped teeth is the same as the 5th gear synchro. One could just order up a couple more 5th gears synchros to compete the kit. I ended up re-using my 3/4 synchros as they were if like new shape with almost zero wear. Evidence of the relatively low mileage on this Comanche (90k). First and second synchros were a bit more worn but everything is new now. One particular aspect to pay attention to on a transmission rebuild are the springs and keys that are inside the synchro hubs. They play a crucial role in shift performance and keeping you in gear. They aren’t difficult to assemble but are a bit finicky. Still need to finish prepping and painting the case. On to complete the engine work tomorrow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghetdjc320 Posted January 4 Author Share Posted January 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Comanche SS Posted January 4 Share Posted January 4 Looking good! Decide on any engine upgrades? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghetdjc320 Posted January 4 Author Share Posted January 4 2 hours ago, Comanche SS said: Looking good! Decide on any engine upgrades? No real mods planned. I just wanted to do all the reliability upgrades that have been developed in the last 20 years. The trunions, new lifter trays and lifters, ls2 water pump etc. I was considering running 243 heads and the ls6 cam but ultimately decided against it as the power band would have moved a bit out of my ideal range. Surprisingly, the 241 heads have considerably better exhaust flow than the 243’s and the C5 cam was made specifically for these heads. I’m trying to balance this build from an engineering perspective. Between the engine, tranny, t case, axles, brakes and steering, just trying to get everything on the same level if that makes sense. Something along the lines of what could have been a factory style build if that makes sense. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghetdjc320 Posted January 4 Author Share Posted January 4 Ordered up some odds and ends. Crossmember with skid from stinkyfab offroad along with their upper control arm mount and track bar bracket. I wasn’t too pleased with the Barnes 4wd parts that i installed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Comanche SS Posted January 5 Share Posted January 5 19 hours ago, ghetdjc320 said: No real mods planned. I just wanted to do all the reliability upgrades that have been developed in the last 20 years. The trunions, new lifter trays and lifters, ls2 water pump etc. I was considering running 243 heads and the ls6 cam but ultimately decided against it as the power band would have moved a bit out of my ideal range. Surprisingly, the 241 heads have considerably better exhaust flow than the 243’s and the C5 cam was made specifically for these heads. I’m trying to balance this build from an engineering perspective. Between the engine, tranny, t case, axles, brakes and steering, just trying to get everything on the same level if that makes sense. Something along the lines of what could have been a factory style build if that makes sense. Totally makes sense....I admittedly went a little on the large side with my LS3 (stage 3 cam) in the comanche, it doesnt have much go below 3K RPM, but above 3K it is like having two engines lol The LS1 in my GTO has a stage 2 cam, and its great for a car, not that I would want it in a jeep. My Denali, has a Stage 1 cammed LS3 build, and it is great for daily driving...if I do anymore off road LS builds, itll be a stage 1 LS3 build. Maybe I missed it, are ya doing all the engine oil upgrades? New pump, o-ring, barbell, etc...? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghetdjc320 Posted January 5 Author Share Posted January 5 17 minutes ago, Comanche SS said: Totally makes sense....I admittedly went a little on the large side with my LS3 (stage 3 cam) in the comanche, it doesnt have much go below 3K RPM, but above 3K it is like having two engines lol The LS1 in my GTO has a stage 2 cam, and its great for a car, not that I would want it in a jeep. My Denali, has a Stage 1 cammed LS3 build, and it is great for daily driving...if I do anymore off road LS builds, itll be a stage 1 LS3 build. Maybe I missed it, are ya doing all the engine oil upgrades? New pump, o-ring, barbell, etc...? I had installed new o rings when I did the new pan. I am still considering doing and engine oil cooler though. Just can’t find a good place to mount the cooler. Also installed a new rear cover and gasket while I was back there but didn’t do the barbel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Comanche SS Posted January 5 Share Posted January 5 1 hour ago, ghetdjc320 said: I had installed new o rings when I did the new pan. I am still considering doing and engine oil cooler though. Just can’t find a good place to mount the cooler. Also installed a new rear cover and gasket while I was back there but didn’t do the barbel. This was my plan...only until I figured out the headers I have leave absolutely no room for the Oil line adapter. That, and the fact I read that oil needs be hit 212* on occasion at least to burn off any water, or other potential contaminants and it was hard to do with a big oil cooler like the one pictured. Also heard rumors about it lowering oil pressure...ended up just abandoning the idea as most LS vehicles didnt come with an oil cooler from GM to begin with... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TurboedMJ Posted January 5 Share Posted January 5 14 hours ago, Comanche SS said: This was my plan...only until I figured out the headers I have leave absolutely no room for the Oil line adapter. That, and the fact I read that oil needs be hit 212* on occasion at least to burn off any water, or other potential contaminants and it was hard to do with a big oil cooler like the one pictured. Also heard rumors about it lowering oil pressure...ended up just abandoning the idea as most LS vehicles didnt come with an oil cooler from GM to begin with... I watched a video from engine masters about a 300 i6 I think, they gained 20 HP by making the oil as hot as possible and the coolant as cold as possible. Not sure I will run an oil cooler on anything I build after watching that. (Unless it has a high pressure oil system or something like that). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A-man930 Posted January 5 Share Posted January 5 There is a reason that the OEMs submerge engine and transmission oil coolers in the radiator side tanks... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghetdjc320 Posted January 5 Author Share Posted January 5 Never seen an engine oil cooler in the radiator on a gas engine Many L series (LM/LQ/LR etc. Don’t know of any actual “LS” model engines that came in trucks) truck applications came with oil coolers from factory. A correctly installed oil cooler is not a problem and is a sound add on for heavy engine loads such as towing. As with so much of the aftermarket crap, poor design, copy cat, imitation, bargain bin products and poor installation ruin the reputation of many sound concepts if there are contaminants in your oil, you need to change your oil (and possibly find the cause of your contamination). Used to see gas in oil on many supercharged Kawasaki engines. Ultimately, you had to just change the oil more frequently as gio tends to be a side effect of forged internals combined with high cylinder pressures. But many performance engines come with an engine oil cooler Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghetdjc320 Posted January 5 Author Share Posted January 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Comanche SS Posted January 6 Share Posted January 6 2 hours ago, ghetdjc320 said: Never seen an engine oil cooler in the radiator on a gas engine Many L series (LM/LQ/LR etc. Don’t know of any actual “LS” model engines that came in trucks) truck applications came with oil coolers from factory. A correctly installed oil cooler is not a problem and is a sound add on for heavy engine loads such as towing. As with so much of the aftermarket crap, poor design, copy cat, imitation, bargain bin products and poor installation ruin the reputation of many sound concepts if there are contaminants in your oil, you need to change your oil (and possibly find the cause of your contamination). Used to see gas in oil on many supercharged Kawasaki engines. Ultimately, you had to just change the oil more frequently as gio tends to be a side effect of forged internals combined with high cylinder pressures. But many performance engines come with an engine oil cooler My Denali Sierra has an engine oil cooler in the factory coolant radiator. (L9H engine, would assume other similair NNBS trucks and SUV's come this way as it was a factory option for all of them) Has a separate trans cooler, separate steering cooler. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghetdjc320 Posted January 6 Author Share Posted January 6 I’d want to shed some btu’s and get the engine oil on its own cooler perhaps with a thermostat. The stock cooling system has a hard enough time handling a 4.0. Not sure if I’ll do this or not though. Would need to find a good location and the right sized cooler thats actually designed for engine oil. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A-man930 Posted January 6 Share Posted January 6 Just replaced an engine in a 2017 Yukon over the summer that had a factory oil cooler in the radiator. Tow packages often times add an external cooler in series prior to the submerged cooler. It's quite common. The goal is temperature regulation, either up or down. I agree with the sentiment that the mj/xj cooling system is already basically maxed out from the factory, but employing a cooler setup as described above would, ideally, not burden the cooling system. It actually might help, if the external cooler brought temps too low. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghetdjc320 Posted January 7 Author Share Posted January 7 Setting pinion depths on the 8.25 is quite a chore. Made a pair of setup bearings for the pinion. Going for the 3rd try now. Pinion too deep in this picture Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eagle_SX4 Posted January 7 Share Posted January 7 4 minutes ago, ghetdjc320 said: Made a pair of setup bearings for the pinion. Going for the 3rd try now. Defiantly the way to do it. I've set up 4 different axles and I had the pull them completely apart quite a few times before I got them good enough. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
watchamakalit Posted January 7 Share Posted January 7 Patience is definitely key to gears. Ive done a handful and you just can't rush it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghetdjc320 Posted January 7 Author Share Posted January 7 Took 5 attempts to get the pinion depth correct. Backlash will help set the toe-heal placement. Ended up with .0031 shim stack. Factory shim was .0028. Pretty close. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghetdjc320 Posted January 8 Author Share Posted January 8 Haven’t set blacklash yet but happy with pinion depth. Set crush sleeve to 20 in lbs rotating torque and swapped on a new 1310 yoke from Tom woods Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghetdjc320 Posted January 8 Author Share Posted January 8 For reference, this is the newer arb design for the 8.25. What I noticed was the c clip retainer design. It used to be an open c channel that was very difficult to get the c clips in and out of. This new design fully cages the c clips but allows them to be removed by sliding it to one side with the cross shaft removed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Limeyjeeper Posted January 9 Share Posted January 9 On 1/5/2025 at 4:59 PM, ghetdjc320 said: Never seen an engine oil cooler in the radiator on a gas engine Many L series (LM/LQ/LR etc. Don’t know of any actual “LS” model engines that came in trucks) truck applications came with oil coolers from factory. A correctly installed oil cooler is not a problem and is a sound add on for heavy engine loads such as towing. As with so much of the aftermarket crap, poor design, copy cat, imitation, bargain bin products and poor installation ruin the reputation of many sound concepts if there are contaminants in your oil, you need to change your oil (and possibly find the cause of your contamination). Used to see gas in oil on many supercharged Kawasaki engines. Ultimately, you had to just change the oil more frequently as gio tends to be a side effect of forged internals combined with high cylinder pressures. But many performance engines come with an engine oil cooler My Syclone has an oil cooler and trans cooler in the radiator!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now