Clocked my 208-some updated info at bottom

[mrk5]

jiminycricket and I clocked my NP208 this weekend.

I wanted to post up some pics and info because I only clocked it to the first position. I haven't seen much info on that, so I hope this helps others out.

I purchased the clocking ring from DIY4x. They got it to me quicker than I expected, so I was definitely happy about that.

I measured from the floor to the flat part of the output flange and it was 19.75". Before picture:

Clocking to the first position gained 2". After picture:

I don't have any body lift. Even going to the first position we had to massage the floor. Where the tunnel ends on the passenger side we had to pound it over more, about 2". Basically we beat the floor in to the first captive nut for the passenger seat.

I have a TH400/NP208 combo. The adapter is what I would term "tall" and uses the older style C shaped tranny mounts. Clocking it up 2" put the lowest point above the bottom of my crossmember about 1/2" to 1" at the most.

All this allowed me to ditch the factory skid plate. I made a new one that is flatter and beefier:

jiminy admiring my fabricating prowess.

Concerning the front driveshaft: I'm only running 2.5" lift. All I had to do was grind the stops off of the double cardon junk. Before grinding I had a good deal less than 1/8" clearance on the stop that is on the shaft itself.

In the future I will clock the t-case all the way up. However when I do that I'll have to do a lot more clearancing in the floor; either cut or body lift, probably a combination of both. I'll also need to get a better high angle front driveshaft. I will also need to come up with a different way to do the cross member/tranny mounts so that I can utilize the clearance it will give me.

I wasn't ready to do all that work yet, so that's why I only did one position. I think it was a pretty good gain for a simple day's work.

 

[Cricket]

jiminy admiring my fabricating prowess.

I believe I was snoring.

Nice finish job, where'd the bolt heads go?

 

[mrk5]

I cut 'em off and welded them in as studs.

 

[mrk5]

UPDATE

I had to do a couple of things to address some issues I was having.

The t-case would hit the floor occasionally, like on hard acceleration and bumpy terrain. On the more difficult trails with more suspension flex, the shifter would sometimes pop out of 4lo.

So I cut a patch out of the floor where the t-case was hitting. Then I riveted sheetmetal over the hole. The first pic shows where we pounded the floor in originally. The second pic shows the hole we cut and the third shows the patch panel.

To address the shifter issue we simply raised the shifter 2". After the clocking the linkage was at an angle that pointed down towards the front of the truck. By raising the shifter up 2", the linkage is level again. We also bent the part of the shifter under the floor in about 1". We had to notch the opening for the shifter because after raising it, it would hit the floor. I built a box that went under the shifter so that there wasn't an open hole under it.

The pictures below show the shifter installed with 2" spacer box and the box itself built with aluminum.

Raising the shift makes it much easier to use. I don't have to reach so far to use it.

 

[Cricket]

Whose snow white legs are those, somebody needs a tan.

 

[dontoe]

Kool, been wanting to do that myself.

Any lubrication problems ya know of?

 

[mrk5]

Kool, been wanting to do that myself.

Any lubrication problems ya know of?

Not that I can tell. No noises anyways or vibes anyways.

I'm happy with it. I haven't hit the new skid, so I guess it's helped.

 

[MNorby]

not to hijack but for reference here is a 241 clocked all the way up

 

[mrk5]

I'd like to do that at some point, but I'm not in a hurry. Two reasons, the first is that I have a tall adapter so it would still be in the way. The other is that I don't have money for a new driveshaft.

 

[cwn anwyn]

Here are some more clocked 208 pics for you.

Z

 

[79Stomper]

Great pictures all. One question, for those that took it all the way up, are there any exhaust routing issues? The clearance look aweful close between the frame rail and the t case.

 

[cwn anwyn]

I was able to run my exhaust pretty tight without any clearance issues. Here are some more pics.

There is a few more in my gallery.

Z

 

[cwn anwyn]

The only issues I've had so far was trimming the floor, and having to lengthen the linkage a bit. I will probably ditch the stock crossmember for a custom fab'd one after I find another short adapter. I sold my short adapter thinking I wouldnt need it. Also that crossover tube is 3" exhaust so there is plenty of room if you route it right.

Z

 

[steve_kibbe]

I have your short adapter

 

[rcamacho]

Given how common t-case clocking appears to be, it might be a good idea to move this to a tech article on the main site vs. the forum.

Also, clocking prohibits use of a t-case strut or supplemental frame mount. Any concerns about cracking the case or are folks fabricating new struts, etc?

 

[jekbrown]

check out a 208 in a Bronco sometime... clocked flat from the factory.. and a fixed yoke rear output too!

j

 

[mrk5]

Given how common t-case clocking appears to be, it might be a good idea to move this to a tech article on the main site vs. the forum.

Also, clocking prohibits use of a t-case strut or supplemental frame mount. Any concerns about cracking the case or are folks fabricating new struts, etc?

I think some people have managed to modify the strut supports. Mine didn't have any when I bought the truck surplus. I plan to build a new crossmember and add a support plate.

I want to move the tranny mounts out to the frame rails and use mounts like these from Ruffstuff:

Run a piece of square tube across with the adapter bolted straight to that. Then make a plate that's welded to the cross-tube and bolts where the strut normally would.

 

[jekbrown]

if you do that, hopefully you are running super stiff engine mounts also. Bushings mounted that far from the center-line of the drivetrain aren't going to allow for hardly any flex. Greg72 and I talked about this in various PMs... he is more of a tech guru than I am and has fabbed his own custom crossmembers so ya might wanna get his take. Just something to consider...

j

 

[mrk5]

I was planning to use DIY's competition motor mounts.

Funny you mention the rigidity I was thinking the same thing as I pictured in my head what I was typing. I may do something different with the mounts to move them in closer to centerline. And talk to Greg72.

I would probably stick with something closer to stock if I could find a short adapter like Steve Kibbe pictured, but then I'd have to come up with a new idea on the tcase strut rod.

Oddly enough, out of the 4 various GM trucks I've owned, none of them have come to me with the extra braces.