I have a question regarding the budbuilt crossmember with the drivetrain lift.

Does the crossmember itself actually provide the lift? Or, does the crossmember simply accommodate a drivetrain lift?

For example, if I order a crossmember with a 1" lift, will that simply push the drivetrain up by an inch? Or, do I do the neccessary things to lift the drivetrain by an inch, and then get a crossmember that accomodates this?

I have a 2" body lift, so I figure I may as well lift the drivetrain if I get a Budbuilt. From those with experience, what seems to the maximum drivetain lift I can accommodate without having to do other major modifications? I've checked out the info on 4crawler's website, so I know that there is no specific amount that applies to everyone. But I was just hoping to hear about other people's experiences.

I guess that was more than just one question. thanks!

 

the crossmember itself provides the lift (for the trans at least)

 

If you've got a 2" bodylift, the driveline can be raised 2". You should raise the engine an equal amount as well. You will probably have issues with the radiator / shroud / fan too so keep an eye on that- if your BL came with the radiator drop brackets, you'll probably be okay putting the radiator back on the body if you lift the engine 2".
Also keep in mind that if you have any suspension lift in the back, you may start getting close to the limits for the slip-yoke on the driveshaft.
And while you're at it, lift the gas tank as well, if you can.

 

So then if you lift the tcase by a given amount, you also need to lift the engine by that same amount? This makes sense to me, but just checking.

But is there an amount of lift I can do on the t-case without having to lift the engine? If possible, I'd rather not have to do extensive modifications, since time and money are in limited supply to me.

 

It's certainly not required to lift the engine the 1" or 2" that you may be lifting the xfer case/tranny.
With that amount of tranny /xfer case lift, you'll probably be ok, from a driveline standpoint, without lifting the engine.

BTW, who makes lift engine mounts ?




Fred

 

4crawler makes engine mounts. http://www.4crawler.com/4x4/ForSale/MotorMount.shtml

I'm still confused as to how you can lift the t-case and tranny without having to lift the engine. I really want this to be the case, so I don't have to lift the engine. But I'm still confused as to how this works. Seems like lifting the tranny would necessitate a lift of the engine. Please educate me!

 

maybe not lifting the transfer case, but maybe it just turns or clocks it??

 

ARe you saying there is enough give in the driveline to allow lifting the tranny 1" higher then the motor? Im sure you would start going through motor mounts fast..

 

Lifting the trans/t-case and not the engine just sounds like a bad idea. . .

 

X2 on the bad idea. I wouldn't. Toyota engineers seem to do things for a reason and second guessing the foundations of the drive train set up may lead to problems. But hell I'm guessing; give'r a go and do a write up

 

It just clocks the transfer case so it sits above the frame rails.

 

If you lift the transfer case, and not the engine, you are tilting the whole engine and may... and I really mean "MAY"... not get all your oil draining back into the oil pan the way Toyota meant for it to drain.
And don't forget that if you lift the rear of the engine and not the front, the fan is spinning at an angle with regards to the radiator and may be more likely to impact the radiator at the top of the fan/shroud area.

 

sounds like the consensus is that this is a bad idea. I thought it sounded funky...glad to know you guys think so too.

I'll nevertheless ask Bud about it when I eventually order one. I'll let you know what he says.

 

we all tend to be alarmist... "DON'T DO TOO MUCH" and liberal "PUSH IT!!!!" at the same time.
good luck.

 

A Budbuilt crossmember will not clock the transfer case. You need an adapter to clock it like the dual case clocked adapter from Marlin Crawler.

 

This is what I thought it was... just a lower profile (higher) crossmember to match the height gains made when using an R10 adapter from Marlin.

 

Somewhat of a old thread resurrection...

I just spoke with Bud regarding a 1" drivetrain lift. He said that, on a stock vehicle, a 1" drivetrain lift should not cause any issues it all. He compared it to doing a 1" suspension lift, which people don't seem to get concerned about in regards to driveline angles and such. However, if you already have a 4-6" suspension lift, then the drivetrain lift might push you into the zone of having to make other adjustments.

In regards to lifting the engine a corresponding 1", he said that it's not necessary. His reasoning is that the long distance between the t-case and the engine minimizes the effect of the angle change. The 1" lift on the t-case causes a very minor change in degree of the engine position, given that the engine and t-case are about 3-4 feet apart. In regards to the engine interfering with the fan and shroud, he said that it doesn't become an issue unless you do about 3" of drivetrain lift.

Hopefully that clears some stuff up. I know people have said this before, but I'll say it again...Bud is an amazingly helpful, patient, and just nice guy.

 

Yeah, I have Bud's 1" lift crossmember. I ended up lowering it some though (pretty easy to lower it) because of a bad angle with my rear drive shaft between the transfer case and center bearing. It is still about 1/2" higher than stock. I don't think I would have had a problem going the full 1" if it wasn't for dual cases, 3.4 swap adapter and Marlin adapter making the output flange very close to the center bearing.

You can always lower it with spacers, but its very hard to raise it without buying a new crossmember so I'd say buy the raised one.

 

Yup, just want I said a few post above this on to wit:



Fred