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Need thoughts on case clocking

cyclic

1/2 ton status
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I have an 88 Suburban 700r4 and NP208. It's lifted 2.5 inches, the only thing really hanging down is the NP208. I'm giving serious thought to clocking the transfer case. Just one spot, I believe 16 degrees is what someone said. I'm pretty sure I'll need to clearance the drive shaft joints, anything else I need to look hard at? Will it clear the floor pan? I think the seat area is raised in the burb and crew cabs, but is it enough?

Thanks guys.
 
Mind if I piggyback on your post? 2.5" suspension lift?

Thinking the same thing. When I go with the 241 (even the 205 hangs low) I'd LIKE to get it up just a bit. Not flat. Having no luck finding anything that talks about floor pan clearance when clocked to the first position, and no pictures I can find of the case at that position either.

I *think* this is on the second hole, if not the "fully clocked" position: http://www.wrath.com/4x4/np241np208clocking/np241clockedhighest_rear1.jpg It's what I want to avoid. Don't want to mess with the floor, at all.
 
At 2.5" of lift the front CV will be fine. Well that is to say mine are but they are 1350s and from Tom Woods, so I'm not sure of the difference. Plus mine is clocked flat with 5" of lift. I guess you'll just have to see. Also, if you're on the ragged edge with your front driveshaft length, clocking will pull DS apart even more.

Clocking flat will require modifying the linkage or running a cable. Not sure about "half-clock", it's important to keep the same angles and stroke for a 208/241 to shift right. I'm not familiar with the Burb floor but my guess it's much like a blazer floor considering the gas tank is in the back. If that's correct, it's a very flat floor. With my 1" BL and full clock, I still ended up cutting the floor some. Its not bad, you could probably get away with half-clock and new poly body mounts. But really, a 1" body lift helps open up the underside and working space around everything that it shouldn't be looked at as a negative.

I get the feeling you probably read all this before though lol
 
Also, if you're going to deal with the clocking ring and making a new crossmember, you mine as well 2" BL and fulling clock it and take full advantage. The 2" BL with fresh mounts will be enough to keep the floor.

EDIT: I say new crossmember because leaving the original hanging down below the newly clock case wouldn't make much sense. Maybe a factory flat one would work. If you have the support rod from the bell housing to the T-case, you'll need to figure that out too.
 
The burb does not match the K5 floor pan. It's like the crew cab and regular cab, with the seat area raised.
The point of the exercise is not to add any more lift or go bigger. Just increase ground clearance. I did a bunch of online research and looking at local trucks. I'm EXTREEMLY happy with what the 2.5 to 3 inch lifts do for the suburban.
The transfer case hanging down is the only real obstruction below the frame rails. I was figuring if I could get it rotated up without causing a cascade of changes, I would be much happier. If it's a go then I would alter the cross member and add a second one with a smooth skid plate connecting them. Something simple and clean. I was already planning to mod the cross member to gain exhaust clearance on the left side, so redoing it to cover the exhaust, driveshaft, and skid plate won't be too difficult.
So, anyone with a crewcab or burb done a case clock and how much?
 
All the pictures I can find raise more questions than they answer. Essentially 2" of body lift in these photos: http://www.wrath.com/4x4/np241np208clocking/ yet that is clocked "flat", and is barely making contact.

Apparently this too is a K5, but perhaps you can get an idea of the difference in floor pan since the trans/t-case are out of the way? http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http%3A%2F%2Fcoloradok5.com%2Fdoubler%2F241out.jpg&imgrefurl=http%3A%2F%2Fcoloradok5.com%2Forddoubler.shtml&h=476&w=626&tbnid=PsLRQ_xzE18BrM%3A&zoom=1&docid=mtvJ4BX9YuElJM&ei=PYwlVOGeOof7iwLR-YGwAw&tbm=isch&client=firefox-a&ved=0CGUQMyhBMEE&iact=rc&uact=3&dur=1552&page=2&start=34&ndsp=42
 
I've run a 1/2 clocked tcase for over 7yrs now. First 5 or 6 in my K5, last 2 in the 1 ton crew cab.

No body lift in the K5 and I had to cut the floor to clear the case. It was not high enough to allow a flat belly skid either. Maybe an 1" below the frame.
On the crew cab even with the taller frame that hangs down lower than a k5 frame by about an 1", I still can't clear a flat belly. However it clears the floor. So there's room to raise the case tighter to the floor which might allow for a flat pan. I have no body lift so that would give even more room. Haven't looked at it closely tho because I have yet to contact the skid now due to the height of this truck.

1/2 clocked does still present shifter issues. I had the best luck adding a riser under the tcase shifter that was about 2" tall. This put the linkage closer to stock alignment since the case was rotated up. In the crew cab I'm running a cable shifter so it's not an issue.
 
1/2 clocked...aren't many of the clocking rings drilled for 3 positions?

I know I saw one seller that said they'd stopped drilling one of the 3 positions, so is that what you used?

As mentioned previous, 16* is what I believe is considered the first clocking position, that's what the question centers around.

It sounds to me like the Suburban floor *might* then clear, as IIRC, the t-case should be in the same location no matter what truck it's installed in, relative to the floor pan, assuming stock parts. 1 ton x-member being inside the frame, 3/4 and 1/2 being under the frame, making up the frame height difference.
 
I think 1 of the 3 positions you are seeing is for the factory holes which are used to bolt the ring to the tcase. Then 2 holes left to choose from for how much to clock.
 
Guess it's been a while since I shopped for em. Mine is DIY4X. When I got it them and Great Lakes offroad were the only ones making them.
 
That seems to be a problem in itself...there is no real standard, so who knows if the "first" position on one ring is close to the first position on another ring? Coupled with the different floor pans (and apparent lack of people interested in only clocking the case a bit) you've got a fairly open field when it comes to clearance "specs".
 
I clocked my 241 and had to massage the floor of the suburban still. This was not a full clock, because I couldn't get the right exhaust to run along the frame anymore and I wasn't capable to go single pipe at the time.
 
It had 3 and I went with #2(the countersunk holes for mounting to the t-case were a 4th set). I couldn't do a full clock because of the exhaust and major linkage issues at that point. As for the shifter linkage, I bent the original and it worked fine.

Here is a picture of the one I had.

nv241clockring.jpg
 
So for the OP, with a Suburban, you think the first hole would fit no problem, in regards to solely the floor pan? Any chance you mocked it up like that? Or said screw it I only want to do this once lol.
 
I suspect he is in the same boat I am, even up a bit is going to help, as long as it doesn't require floor mods. As-is they hang down stupid low IMO, 16* up will better than no change.

Thanks for the real-world experience on the same vehicle, that should help the OP out immensely.
 
No problem. And yes, even a little bit will help. My 241 hang down way too far for my liking.

FYI, I had to grind the crap out of the CV to get it to not bind after I did mine. I don't think going up one notch will be as bad, but I would recommend grinding the CV anyway.
 

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