Tera Low , Good... Bad... ????????

I am looking in to buying a Tera Low for my NP231J , as well as Tera 2 wheel low. But I haven't really heard alot of feed back on these parts. What is your opinion? Quality or are these things a P.O.C. :dunno:

My daughter in law has the terra low gears in her YJ transfer case and I think they are great. I don't know how long it will be but I'm definately going to get them for my XJ.

I've had both for quite some time, and I wouldn't be without either. I especially like the 2 Low, which I use frequently. The only thing to be aware of with the Tera 4 to 1 is that they don't want you to spin it more than 3000 rpm in high gear (not OD). It will get hot spinning too fast, and the pinion pins in the planetary case can break or come out.........ask me how I know. This might be a problem for someone who maybe runs sand or mud in low range and needs to be able to wind it out, but it'd be fine in high range. In the rocks it doesn't matter, unless you're a throttle jockey who likes to bounce it off the rev limiter on nasty climbs. You just have to remember to slip it up into high range if you get on a smooth section of trail and want to go faster.

My opinion is that unless you run over 35's with a stick and have a torqueless engine, 4:1 cases are a waste of money. Gear the axles right for your setup and love it. More driveline stress for a fat wad of cash just doesn't really appeal to me. With a stock motor, 5 speed, 33" swampers, and 4.10's I can idle up tons of obstacles. With a small crack of the throttle plate, I can spin all 4 no problem and go about as slowly as I'd ever need to. The last trail I ran we only had 1 vehicle break. Of course it was the guy with the 4.3:1 Atlas II and the Dana 60 rear end. One little hop and the driveline was toast. Boo for the super low range!

2 Low on the other hand is a Godsend. Less wear and tear for the 90% of the trail that you don't need 4Low is a great idea. Especially if you run a locker up front.

Jaredatriot:

PS - If you do go with the 4:1, call up Brandon at Anarchy Off-Road in Salt Lake. He goes by SukaB on www.rockymountainextreme.com - He knows how to beef up the planetaries from Tera and has some of the planetaries from before Tera switched their production to Taiwan. Good prices too. Just plug your ears when he talks - he puts truckers to shame.

I love mine!Proper balance between the axle/transfer case ratios can "increase" drivetrain strength!

Sounds good. Looks like I should be able to pick both of them up tomorow. I am not to worried about snaping any thing, I run 35's with 4:56's and Tom Woods HD drive shafts front and rear plus I am pretty light on the throttle anyways. :cheers:
Mike

DeadEyeJ said:

2 Low on the other hand is a Godsend. Less wear and tear for the 90% of the trail that you don't need 4Low is a great idea. Especially if you run a locker up front.

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Amen

I've gotta disagree with DeadEyeJ

I have an auto 4.10s and 35s and I really like my 4-1 kit. Makes it so much easier to control. Torque converters are pretty smooth but it seems like it builds up then just locks it up and transfers it through. So I think a 4-1 kit would actually help keep from breaking stuff. I have also watched guys with 3.55s 35s and stock t-case gears and its very difficult for them to be smooth its either no go or spin.

And some folks consider it a requirement if you want run with them in some of the really good stuff like JV.

You will like the 4:1 & the 2Low. I've run it years

Andy

DeadEyeJ said:

My opinion is that unless you run over 35's with a stick and have a torqueless engine, 4:1 cases are a waste of money. Gear the axles right for your setup and love it. More driveline stress for a fat wad of cash just doesn't really appeal to me. With a stock motor, 5 speed, 33" swampers, and 4.10's I can idle up tons of obstacles.

2 Low on the other hand is a Godsend. Less wear and tear for the 90% of the trail that you don't need 4Low is a great idea. Especially if you run a locker up front.

Jaredatriot:

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We won't let anyone run with us at JV and similar places if they have a non-granny gear stick trans and stock t-case gears, regardless of their rear end ratio or tire size. Driveline stress is actually decreased with the extra control that the 4 to 1 provides. Besides, 4 to 1 t-case gears are WCGIC approved.

I totally agree on the 2 Low. I've always thought that was one of the best mods ever done to my rig.

As far as beefing up the Tera Low, here's what I know. The pins that hold the pinion gears into the planetary case are staked on one side.....meaning that the pin is held in with three small punch indentations around the edge of the hole. Tera recommended to a friend, who was going to use the 4 to 1 in a competition rig, that he spot weld the ends of the pins to the case where the stakes are. I have had a pin come out and break, and I'm pretty convinced that it came out past the stakes and broke, partially because I didn't observe the 3000 rpm limit that Tera requests. They were still fair, and sent me a whole new input shaft/planetary assembly at a very reasonable price, and I spot welded the pinion pins to the case.

Goatman said:

We won't let anyone run with us at JV and similar places if they have a non-granny gear stick trans and stock t-case gears, regardless of their rear end ratio or tire size. Driveline stress is actually decreased with the extra control that the 4 to 1 provides. Besides, 4 to 1 t-case gears are WCGIC approved.

I totally agree on the 2 Low. I've always thought that was one of the best mods ever done to my rig.

As far as beefing up the Tera Low, here's what I know. The pins that hold the pinion gears into the planetary case are staked on one side.....meaning that the pin is held in with three small punch indentations around the edge of the hole. Tera recommended to a friend, who was going to use the 4 to 1 in a competition rig, that he spot weld the ends of the pins to the case where the stakes are. I have had a pin come out and break, and I'm pretty convinced that it came out past the stakes and broke, partially because I didn't observe the 3000 rpm limit that Tera requests. They were still fair, and sent me a whole new input shaft/planetary assembly at a very reasonable price, and I spot welded the pinion pins to the case.

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We started putting my buddies togethor last night and if I remember corectly Tera had already spot welded the pins. I will check mine, I pick it up later on today.
Thanx for all the input,
Mike