Stak Dana 300 Replace A Case

[Jeff 98XJ WI]

Well, this might be a foolish idea from a $ perspective, but I went ahead and ordered a Stak4x4.com Dana 300 Replace A Case, 31 spline input and a t-case output rotor, a JB Conversions 32 spline Dana 300 Front output, a High Angle Driveline 32 spline output flange and a t-case brake caliper from tsmmfg.com.

Most of these components are shown here. I still need to order a 32 spline rear output and figure out how to mount the caliper. I'm also waiting for Stak to build the 31 spline input.

I am planning to mate the t-case to a 4:1 Klune that I bought used from a friend. It had been connected to a AX15 and NP205 so it has a 23 spline input and 31 spline output and came with a 3/4" aluminum spacer and 1/4" steel mounting foot.

Here's a shot of the 32 spline front output. The aluminum retainer is a Stak piece.

One has to use the Stak provided seal with the Stak R.A.C. front 32 spline output retainer as the seal provided in the JB kit is too small. BTW, Stak supplied the output retainer for the stock output too!

Here's a shot with the Klune against half of the Stak case.

Klune components next to half the case.

Here's a shot of the output flange/rotor/caliper.

I've been noticing little issues when collecting parts and putting them together. In the above pic one can see how little of the rotor is actually clamped between the pads. There looks to be about 1/2" of pad exposed, but the caliper cannot be positioned closer to the flange since it is already hitting it! This is the same rotor/flange/caliper that Stak and High Angle use on their outputs, so I guess this is just the way it works. You can see that the rotor is about 8 3/8" in diameter. Tom Woods also offers the same caliper and a rotor, but his rotor only measures 7.75". I wonder if the diameter of his flange is smaller though? In any case, there is work to be done figureing out how to mount the caliper and get as much of the rotor covered as possible.

When I first opened the Stak box I got no instructions. After a call and email to Stak, I got two pages of instructions.

During the call about the lack of instructions, Tony asked about the shifter rail housing and weather or not a certain hole was drilled all the way through. It was NOT. He said that was a problem they had recently discovered on the latest batch of these. He said he could send me a new piece or I could finish drilling the hole. I chose to finish drilling the hole. This piece that I was drilling on has two holes on the top for the springs and detent balls as well as two holes on the side to insert some "pills" between the shift rails. The pills prevent the rails from shifting one to high range and one to low range at the same time. In my piece, one of hte pill holes wasn't drilled completely through. It was an easy fix.

Here's a shot that shows the layout of the rails, shift forks, pills, springs, balls and the housing.

Her's one with the housing on it's side showing the holes for the pills as well as the plugs for the holes

Continued in next post due to too many images! Jeff

 

[Jeff 98XJ WI]

Here's one showing the housing with one of the pills installed.

Here's a shot showing the seals and plugs for the case fill and drain holes. The instructions don't say anything about these, but they are a strange looking plastic/rubber washer type thing.

One part of the instructions tells to check the shift forks to make sure they are square with the shift rails when installed. Well, mine were NOT.
http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z94/fourliter/Stak Dana 300 RAC/P1110048.jpg

It appeared that the forks were welded to the "bungs" slightly out of square. I emailed these pics to Stak and was eventually told to bend the forks square! I couldn't do it, so I cut the weld off and plan to reweld it square.

We'll see how this works on one shift rail before I attempt the same thing on the second rail. I know, I should just demand that they send me new straight rails, but I'll just get r done on my own.

When investigating the Klune to Stak case joint I found that the stock intput retainer would not clear the Klune. I then found out that Klune recommends a 1" space to clear the stock input retainer on the Dana 300. I also found that I had the spacer with the mounting foot, so I thought I was good to go. However, the ID of the hole in the space is slightly too small for the stock Dana 300 input retainer to fit through. Remember, this space was originally intended to go between the Klune and a 205, not a 300. However, when talking with Stak about the shift rails, I asked about the input gear and was told that the new 31 spline input gear came with a new input retainer, seal, and bearing. So, I ended up sending him pictures of the Klune with dimensions and I'm awaiting a reply. We may be able to delete one of the spacers if everything is designed correctly.

This pic shows the stock Dana 300 input retainer sitting on top of the Klune and illustrates the need for a spacer.

So, by getting the Stak case, HD outputs and input, the only parts I'll be reusing from the free Dana 300 I got will be the two shift collars, the gears, the intermediate gear and the intermediate shaft. I'll have to purchase new needle bearings and thrust washers for the intermediate shaft and a new rear bearing for the front output. I think all other bearings and seals are covered.

This shows the shift collars and the gears. Not shown is the intermediate gear.

Here's a couple showing the intermediat gear.

Finally, heres a good exploded view of a stock Dana 300 from the JB conversions Low Max gears page. http://www.jbconversions.com/pages/products/lomax/lomaxparts.html

Here's a link to all the pics I have covering the Stak/Klune install:
http://s193.photobucket.com/albums/z94/fourliter/Stak Dana 300 RAC/

Jeff

 

[WPG98XJ]

mmmm thats minty

 

[Jeepin Jason]

Nice. Are you going to be using any parts from a donor 300, or are you basically building a 300 from scratch?

 

[Jeff 98XJ WI]

As it says up there between the pictures "So, by getting the Stak case, HD outputs and input, the only parts I'll be reusing from the free Dana 300 I got will be the two shift collars, the gears, the intermediate gear and the intermediate shaft. I'll have to purchase new needle bearings and thrust washers for the intermediate shaft and a new rear bearing for the front output. I think all other bearings and seals are covered." The thought is to be able to run around on easier terrain in 2.63:1 or crawl in 4:1. I don't think low low of 10.52:1 with the auto will be all that useful and probably pretty hard on the stock Dana 300 gears, so I don't anticipate using it. Jeff

 

[jmop]

Oh FYI the Tom Woods flange is at least as large as the one you have pictured. I'm running them on my 205 and I got the dual pattern ford ones. I didn't like how little the caliper actually enguaged on the rotor I got from him so I modified an Accura rotor to work.

I should have just got a new plate cut, as the way I did it turned out to be a real pain.

 

[TNT]

As it says up there between the pictures "So, by getting the Stak case, HD outputs and input, the only parts I'll be reusing from the free Dana 300 I got will be the two shift collars, the gears, the intermediate gear and the intermediate shaft. I'll have to purchase new needle bearings and thrust washers for the intermediate shaft and a new rear bearing for the front output. I think all other bearings and seals are covered." The thought is to be able to run around on easier terrain in 2.63:1 or crawl in 4:1. I don't think low low of 10.52:1 with the auto will be all that useful and probably pretty hard on the stock Dana 300 gears, so I don't anticipate using it. Jeff

Looks good.

Compound low is useful on steep down hills and crawling slow. I had the 2.7 KluneV with a 3.8 Atlas II. Braking was a big problem with an automatic. It could overpower the brakes at idle. Also If you are flexed and hit the brakes the suspension will extend. I almost rolled one time. You just have to throw it into neutral when stopping in compound low. It is amazing how low the gearing is, redline in OD was 14mph. You can figure about 20 feet per minute at idle, you can get out and just steer from outside in small rock gardens. I did like the gearing. I wish I still had them...

The 2.7 KluneV was fun on the street when I used it for stoplight drags with imports. They thought they could holeshot me across the intersection and cut me off before they got to the car that was parked in their lane.... NOT.... It was wicked out of the hole and taught a few Evo's and WRX's a lesson or two. It was even funnier to use 2wd low on the Atlas for holeshots, it would shift 3 times crossing the intersection. It was a good thing the speed limit was about 35mph thou...

 

[Jeff 98XJ WI]

What rig did you have a Klune/Atlas in? I certainly don't ever remember hearing about this. Jeff

 

[TNT]

What rig did you have a Klune/Atlas in? I certainly don't ever remember hearing about this. Jeff

I had it in my 95 XJ. I had to extend the transfercase hump about 8" to make it fit. There might still be a pic of it in the madxj files. I traded my 242 and $2300 for both of them brand new never used just test fitted.. I had them for about a year and a half. I sold them to pay medical bills and the 95 has been parked since then.

 

[TNT]

It was back in 2002-2003 check the MadXJ messages around #26688.

I don't think I have any pics left... I lost them with a computer crash.

Josh was over the day I added the extra mount to the transfer
case crossmember.

 

[Jeff 98XJ WI]

Here are the shift forks rewelded square. They really wanted to pull out of square with the heat of the weld, but I got them pretty good now. Jeff

 

[Jeff 98XJ WI]

I finally got the Stak 31 spline Dana 300 input. For an additional $69 I also had them send me their input retainer (since it is shorter than stock) with a bearing and seal installed. After careful measuring, I determined that if I cut the input down by 1/4" and the Klune output down some I could fit the Stak Dana 300 Replace a Case to the Klune with only a 1/4" mounting foot between them. This would result in the needed .05 to .200 Klune output shaft end play as well as approximately 1 3/16" of spline to spline contact. Greg at High Impact (Klune) tells me a general rule of thumb to maintaining shaft strength is that spline to spline contact length should be equal to or greater than the major diameter of the male shaft. I believe the major diameter is the diameter of the shaft at the root of the splines which is approximately 1 1/4" for the Klune output. My spline to spline contact is slightly less than this, but close enough for me and this combination of parts.

The photo below shows the stock Dana 300 23 spline input (with bearing), the stock Dana 300 input retainer, the Stak Dana 300 input retainer, the cut down Stak 31 spline Dana 300 input shaft, the cut off portion of the shaft (which did NOT have any splines in it), the cut off portion of the Klune output shaft and the Klune output shaft. I used a 4.5" angle grinder with a cutoff wheel to cut the shafts down while they spun in a lathe since they were both quite hard and a lathe bit would not touch them.

The Klune output shaft splines end before the shoulder.

This necessitated a little grinding of the the ends of the Stak internal splines.

I used a Grainger die grinder stone (A11 Course I believe) and it shaved the hardened splines quite easily.

This shows the two shafts together. Notice the input fully rests against the output shoulder.

With the cases bolted together and the output and input installed I checked end play between the shafts.

Holding the bearing tight to the input retainer lip, I measured .063" of end play which is within the .05 to .2 specs for the Klune.

This shows the input on the output. I might be able to install a seal in the Klune bore that seals on the input.

Jeff

 

[Jeff 98XJ WI]

Here is a pic of half the Stak case bolted tightly to the Klune with the 1/4" mounting flange between them.

Here is a dark pic of the marks I made between the Klune and the Stak case showing the different clocking positions in the Stak case. The Klune has additional clocking features.

I've still got to get a 32 spine output, figure out the parking brake mounting setup, figure out the shifting setup for the Klune and Stak 300, and see how it will all fit in the MJ. Northwest Fab Works (http://www.northwestfab.com/Shifters.html) mentions on Pirate4x4.com that they are working on a cable shift setup specifically for the Stak that comes in from the back, passes over the case and attaches to the shift rails from behind. This intrigues me because that should leave room for a tall single upper suspension arm mount between the driveshaft and the Klune case tucked up into the tunnel. We'll see. Jeff

 

[Starboard M]

Whats the benefit of doing a klune and a stak 300 versus a 2 or 4 speed atlas, or stak?

 

[ZacSquatch]

For him the fact that he got a free 300 and bought a used Klune off a friend may have been the benefit. Buying new from scratch may have yeilded different results I'm willing to bet but then again maybe not.

 

[DaffyXJ]

Whats the benefit of doing a klune and a stak 300 versus a 2 or 4 speed atlas, or stak?

Small matter of money. free parts that you make fit are always a benefit.
As for the difference, with the klune infront of the stak there are more gear selections available.
Advantage over an atlas 4 speed, well he built it himself.

As for the utility of the 10+:1 I use mine ALL the time. (Atlas 4 speed) down side is no wheel speed when you get in trouble, so install a cage.

 

[Jeff 98XJ WI]

I couldn't find a stock seal to fit the hole in the Klune output and fit the Stak D300 input shaft. So, I took the Klune apart, brought the output housing to the high school lathe and opened up the hole.

This pic shows the stak input shaft installed in the seal that is now installed in the Klune output.

I could have used the same seal that the Stak output used, but I wanted something a little thicker and I found this one which is thicker and cheaper. Napa 21771 is a funny looking seal that does not use springs on the sealing lip, but it does fit the shaft tightly and actually has two rubber lips. It is supposed to be used as an inner wheel bearing seal for 2wd hubs on 60's to mid 80's Chevy trucks, so I'm confident it will work here. The hole needed to be enlarged from 2.6" or so to 3.000 inches. The Klune input shaft sealing surface is 2.188" in diameter.

The above pic shows the Klune output housing with the seal installed, the seal box, the Stak input shaft installed in the seal, and the Stak input housing. While I was at the school, I shaved some off the face of the Stak input housing for additional clearance as well. Cutting aluminum is FUN!

The above pic shows the input housing with it's seal and bearing on the input shaft which is installed in the seal in the Klune output housing.

Jeff

 

[Jeff 98XJ WI]

Since I had split the Klune, I took some pictures of it.

The following pic shows the 4:1 planetary gear set. Notice how the pins are welded. I saw a Tera setup like this once break apart where the pins are welded in this one. I think they were crimped in place on that unit.

The following kind of dark pic shows the shift fork mechanism

The following pic shows the shift fork.

The following pic shows the end of the shift fork where it attaches to the shift rod. Notice the tig weld.

The following pic shows the other side of the shift fork where it attaches to the shift rod. More tig weld!

The following pic shows the Klune case tightened to the front of the Stak 300 case. You can see marks on the klune case showing how one can clock the two halves of the Klune. In this pic, the klune output is installed, the 300 input is installed, the 300 input retainer is installed, the seal in the Klune case that the 300 input rides on is installed and the seal in the 300 input retainer that the 300 input rides on is installed.

Jeff

 

[Root Moose]

Impressive looking bit of kit.

 

[Jeff 98XJ WI]

With the Klune together, bolted to the Stak case and the shift mechanism holes exposed, I took some pics of the innards.

The following pic shows the Klune output shaft bottomed in the Klune and the 300 input shaft (without the 300 input gear) bottomed on the Klune shaft.

The following pic shows the 1/16" or more gap between the end of the Klune output shaft splines and the end of the 300 input shaft with the 300 input shaft pulled tight to the bearing in the 300 input retainer. This Klune output shaft end play measurement meets with the specs from Klune.

The following pic shows the edge of the seal installed in the Klune housing and the 300 input shaft running through it.

In order to be sure the Klune shifter would function properly, I manually operated the shift fork as far as it would go in the Low Range direction. It moved past the proper position for low range, so there will be no problems there. The next two pics show the sliding gear tight to the end of the 300 input shaft and it's gear teeth beyond the planetary gear.

The following two pics show the sliding gear in the correct spot for low gear.

This shot shows the inside of the stak case half with the Klune housing bolted up and the input/output shafts installed. The 300 input shaft passes through the seal in the Klune case and the seal in the 300 input retainer. The 300 input gear is also installed on the 300 input shaft.

To illustrate the strength of the Stak Case, I took a couple pictures showing it's thickness. 15/16" at the thinnest spot and 1 5/8" above the dowel pins.

Jeff