Emergency brake

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AuroraGirl

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I guess the W member does bolt to the trans. Not sure if the one for the TH400 would fit.
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yeah your driveline is really sloping downward and appears to be pushing the mount backwards toward the rear of the truck and the crossmember appears to have caught something on the driver side on the slope that caused it to distort slightly. I would gentle massage it with a mallet if it can get close to fitting or cut the excessand possibly drill a hole if need be, but it should get you close enoughwith a little bit of stepfather love to the disobedient stepchild.


Also,
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It also appears your mount may be taller than mine or mine is just distorted that much from being broken and worn.

Also is your adapter lose to the sm465? I may be seeing things but it looks like its not fastened
 

LateOnTheBrakes

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Oddly enough I am able to read the date after soaking/scrubbing the back of the tag. 1986.
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LateOnTheBrakes

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yeah your driveline is really sloping downward and appears to be pushing the mount backwards toward the rear of the truck and the crossmember appears to have caught something on the driver side on the slope that caused it to distort slightly. I would gentle massage it with a mallet if it can get close to fitting or cut the excessand possibly drill a hole if need be, but it should get you close enough with a little bit of stepfather love to the disobedient stepchild.

Also,
It also appears your mount may be taller than mine or mine is just distorted that much from being broken and worn.

Also is your adapter lose to the sm465? I may be seeing things but it looks like its not fastened
The drivetrain will slope downwards a lot worse if I lift the the crossmember inside the frame. Is there not a mount for the NP208? Mine sags immediately after the transmission.
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LateOnTheBrakes

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Is there a good aftermarket replacement I should be looking at instead of trying to find a junkyard crossmember? Something like off-road design or a similar company?
 

AuroraGirl

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Raising the crossmember will raise the t-case up higher. That crossmember is definitely twisted too.
maybe his 6.2 diesel mount pads are placing his sbc mounts higher? I dont know what the diesel pads or mounts were like, but it seems like a lot of downward angle , if not counting the twist parts.

Its possible the amount of slope isnt bad, and maybe my mounts are just that RIP, but possibly too tall of a np208 mount? It looked ok though. @LateOnTheBrakes I think you are going to be just as easy to find a cross member than to find a custom one. In my opinion, you may consider finding an older NP208 adapter for the taller standoff, but then its weaker. your truck is big, and you seem like you want to have a strong truck, so finding an NP205 sm465 and flat cross member like that came out of my 1980 or 77, but putting to your use. You have a driveline you could swap someoen for, an NP208 has its place definitely. The 1980 NP205 also had a slip joint from what i read from bucket somewhere, which matches the one in my shed has the tail housing like a NP208 where its slip. Its longer than the np205 from the 77 which was fixed output. 2 piece shaft. if you get a slip np205, the length of the driveline might be the same? I wouldnt know.

In terms of jacking up the crossmember to the top of the frame rails, in my opinion, that would make it more level, because the motor mounts wouldnt go anywhere either. I just thought of this. Your slope doesnt seem like its because it hangs that way but the np208 mounting is far lower and its just pivotiing then downward.

You do have two choices of factory crossmember before even thinking about swaps, so there is that. The ebay stores may have them or someone in wanted may have some
 

LateOnTheBrakes

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Are you referring to these? The old motor mounts are gone. I used the dirty dingo ones for the LS swap.
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AuroraGirl

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I have no knowledge about how the pads on a 1 ton frame work, nor for diesel(original) but to my knowledge the "where the engine sits" can be changed using them between 2wd, 4wd. Small block/big blocks, diesels. Etc. But the mounts should ultimately still fit onto the pads. I would extremely recommend someone else like bucket or another expert to chime in or you to find some more about it, because I frankly cant say with certainty. BUT if it is an important factor, hopefully we learn more. Did your holes you drilled have to be drilled? Is that common for those mounts? Thats something Id say can be possibly affecting where your engine sits which will ultimately affect how your trans is pointed/t case. I know the frame on a 1 ton is not the same width OR height as a 3/4 ton or half ton, so this picture I shared couldnt possibly be 100% helpful, but to just show what you asked and what I mentioned, how things can vary. this was a 3/4 ton with a small block and a sm465/np205(4x4 of course) and the pads sit where the small block/th350/np203 of my 78 frame also has them.

I just did some googling, your CUCV frame should be the same width just not height as most other trucks should be, especially in the engine area. Apparently the cab area it was different? anyway. not-1 ton pads have the front crossmemeer and also span directly down to the bottom rail. I think your pads would be 1 ton only then unless something else is special about them I dont know
mind the icky oil and full of rust and other ick:

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bucket

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The crossmember definitely needs to be raised up into the frame to work with the short style t-case adapter. An '87-'91 style will work in place of the easily bent '85-'86 (civilian) version. Or revert back to the tall style adapter like what the truck had to start with, along with the matching '77-'84 K30-specific crossmember.

Finding stock stuff should be easier and faster than building or modifying something aftermarket.
 

LateOnTheBrakes

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The crossmember definitely needs to be raised up into the frame to work with the short style t-case adapter. An '87-'91 style will work in place of the easily bent '85-'86 (civilian) version. Or revert back to the tall style adapter like what the truck had to start with, along with the matching '77-'84 K30-specific crossmember.

Finding stock stuff should be easier and faster than building or modifying something aftermarket.
I'm not sure I follow what you're talking about with a tall style adapter. I will try to put my hands on one of the other cross members though.
 

LateOnTheBrakes

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I have no knowledge about how the pads on a 1 ton frame work, nor for diesel(original) but to my knowledge the "where the engine sits" can be changed using them between 2wd, 4wd. Small block/big blocks, diesels. Etc. But the mounts should ultimately still fit onto the pads. I would extremely recommend someone else like bucket or another expert to chime in or you to find some more about it, because I frankly cant say with certainty. BUT if it is an important factor, hopefully we learn more. Did your holes you drilled have to be drilled? Is that common for those mounts? Thats something Id say can be possibly affecting where your engine sits which will ultimately affect how your trans is pointed/t case. I know the frame on a 1 ton is not the same width OR height as a 3/4 ton or half ton, so this picture I shared couldnt possibly be 100% helpful, but to just show what you asked and what I mentioned, how things can vary. this was a 3/4 ton with a small block and a sm465/np205(4x4 of course) and the pads sit where the small block/th350/np203 of my 78 frame also has them.

I just did some googling, your CUCV frame should be the same width just not height as most other trucks should be, especially in the engine area. Apparently the cab area it was different? anyway. not-1 ton pads have the front crossmemeer and also span directly down to the bottom rail. I think your pads would be 1 ton only then unless something else is special about them I dont know
mind the icky oil and full of rust and other ick:
The truck had a blown small block 350 when I got it. I'm sure they didn't change the engine pads. They just drilled the extra holes.
 

bucket

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I'm not sure I follow what you're talking about with a tall style adapter. I will try to put my hands on one of the other cross members though.

There are tall foot adapters used '81-'84, and then short foot adapters used starting in '85. This applies to civilian stuff. The CUCV's all used the production '84 stuff.

These are both styles of 465/208 adapters:
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Then here's a selection of the crossmembers that were used. The "tall" style had a separate version for K30 (the ones shown are 10-20 series) and they all mount to the bottom of the frame. The "short" style did not have a separate version for the K30. They mounted below the frame on the 10-20's, and within the frame on the K30.

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AuroraGirl

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The truck had a blown small block 350 when I got it. I'm sure they didn't change the engine pads. They just drilled the extra holes.
Well in your situation, I would get the crossmember situation figured out, loosen your motor mounts on the pads, and place the driveline unbound onto the eventual crossmemebr on the mount, using that mount to situate the driveline. since your pads are hacked up and you have an LS in there. this would be the extra mile to go to make sure there isnt any undue stresses on the mount or crossmember which could cause issues or tilt things etc. since you have an exhaust which has the shaping to clear a flat crossmemebr you are probably safe to run either of the two last crossmembers my guess. They also have factory skid plates too, so hopefully you can nab one of those.
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LateOnTheBrakes

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These are the best pictures I could find of mind when the lift blocks were still in the rear.
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LateOnTheBrakes

5.3-Swapped 86 CUCV
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There are tall foot adapters used '81-'84, and then short foot adapters used starting in '85. This applies to civilian stuff. The CUCV's all used the production '84 stuff.

These are both styles of 465/208 adapters:

Then here's a selection of the crossmembers that were used. The "tall" style had a separate version for K30 (the ones shown are 10-20 series) and they all mount to the bottom of the frame. The "short" style did not have a separate version for the K30. They mounted below the frame on the 10-20's, and within the frame on the K30.
I will see if I can put my hands on a transmission jack and try to get it inside the frame. If not I will have to see what I can find. There is only one junkyard around here and you almost never see square bodies in there. I figured the aftermarket would be the best bet. You mentioned the stock parts are easier to find. Where? Forum members?

Do the middle two "tall" crossmembers fit with any trans, or are they trans specific?
 

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