88 Blazer Trike

[peteg59]

Losing a regular job just plain sucks. We all feel bad for you Bob.

When I lost my last job, a friend professed to me: "When one door closes, another one opens". I know it wasn't his personally thought up phrase, but it made me feel a bit better at the time when I heard that.

Turns out he was right. Life does indeed go on, and we continue its journey everyday.:clapping:

Wishing you the best, and keep your chin upThumbUp

 

[Fowler]

Thanks everyone I will make it through somehow.

I found out I should have a job for about another year or so, so its not a soon as I originally thought.

It does still suck though. I am 53 and did not think I would have to be looking for another job at my age.

1 good thing, if needed I can get medical coverage through VA and since my son is handicapped even though he is an adult he can get it also

My wife would use Medicare

OK enough of that...........

Back to the Trike.

I mounted the Turbo 400 on the engine last night.

I have it level like I did the 700r4

BUT the output yoke on the 400 is now lower than the 700 was by about 1 inch. I am not sure why

I will have to re-figure my angles and drive shaft length before I go any further.

I have enough cash saved up to buy all the mounting hardware I need. But need to be sure on the angles and length first

 

[LarryA]

reply to thread

glad to see you are back at it.....you mean from the output shaft c/l to the bottom of the mounting surface? if so, maybe transmission mounts that have different heights would work. I am presuming that your mount is all finished welded in. larry

 

[rrunner]

Hey why not just retire? I retired at age 51 with full benefits. No regrets here really enjoy being on my own schedule.

 

[Fowler]

glad to see you are back at it.....you mean from the output shaft c/l to the bottom of the mounting surface? if so, maybe transmission mounts that have different heights would work. I am presuming that your mount is all finished welded in. larry

With the 700 the distance from the ground to the center of the output yoke (with it level) was 2.5 inches

Now with the 400 the distance from the ground to the center of the output yoke (with it level) is 1.5 inches

This actually works out good for me

 

[Fowler]

Hey why not just retire? I retired at age 51 with full benefits. No regrets here really enjoy being on my own schedule.

I looked into retiring sooner but with most of my investments (IRAs, 401K and so on) I will have to pay a large penalty if I retire before the age of 59

Once I reach that age I should be OK but I have to get there first.

 

[Fowler]

After looking over a number of different options for engine and trany mounts I have finally decided on going with something like this.

I figured it would be easy to find and replace if needed in the future.

If I went with a different type lets say a round bushing type. I would have to remember what busing I used.

These are standard for the engine and Trany so as Long as I know what engine and trany I have i can get the right replacement part

They will go on a Chevy 4.3 V6 and a Turbo 400 Trany

OK now for my question

How much will these compress?

When I build the mounting brackets and cross member that these will connect to I need to allow for this compression (if any)

Or will the compression be so small I don't need to worry about it?

 

[peteg59]

Since you asked, here's my $0.02: If they're polyurethane as they appear, they won't compress as much as rubber, & are the best non solid mount type when it comes to having the least/minimal overall drive-train flex.

If you were building a "tire shredder" trike, solid mount is what you'd want.

Another thing I might consider if the drive-line angles between the trans. & rear end are about at their max for reliable service, solid mounting the eng./trans. would be my plan.

Hope that helps...

 

[stacebg]

with all due respect i would go with the poly if not the original rubber

unless you are in fact building a race "car"

as mentioned the poly will hardly move at all

i wouldnt hesitate to use the rubber

they wont settle much because of the angle they are on

i once replaced the rubbers in my suspension links with heim joints horrible difference... granted the suspension and motor / trans is not exactly the same ... you get the idea...

to each his own

 

[Fowler]

Since you asked, here's my $0.02: If they're polyurethane as they appear, they won't compress as much as rubber, & are the best non solid mount type when it comes to having the least/minimal overall drive-train flex.

If you were building a "tire shredder" trike, solid mount is what you'd want.

Another thing I might consider if the drive-line angles between the trans. & rear end are about at their max for reliable service, solid mounting the eng./trans. would be my plan.

Hope that helps...

As you guessed they are Poly.

I thought about solid mounts, I had solid mounts on my first trike I built with my father back when I was young (a long time ago)

But I decided against it this time.

This weekend if I have time I will be mocking up everything in place, temporary bracing the engine and trany for they will not move and then start fabricating the brackets.

I talked to Shawn at Tom Woods drive shafts, he suggested I do not go any more then 20 degrees on the double cardan drive shaft for my application. It will be about 7.5 degrees (will make the final measurements this weekend)

 

[Fowler]

with all due respect i would go with the poly if not the original rubber

unless you are in fact building a race "car"

as mentioned the poly will hardly move at all

i wouldnt hesitate to use the rubber

they wont settle much because of the angle they are on

i once replaced the rubbers in my suspension links with heim joints horrible difference... granted the suspension and motor / trans is not exactly the same ... you get the idea...

to each his own

These are Poly.

I did not want to go back to rubber because I have seen so many nasty worn out rubber bushings. The rubber ones I pulled of (although they are very old) were misshaped and degrading

I am glad they will not settle or compress much. That makes my mounting brackets easier to figure out

 

[stacebg]

These are Poly.

I did not want to go back to rubber because I have seen so many nasty worn out rubber bushings. The rubber ones I pulled of (although they are very old) were misshaped and degrading

I am glad they will not settle or compress much. That makes my mounting brackets easier to figure out

unless they are subject to oil factory seem to last pretty well

have a couple elcaminos an 85 an 86 ive had about 15 yrs no idea if they were changed previous but i havent changed em..

but i know oil will kill em

each his own...

 

[Fowler]

Worked on my mounts this weekend

I spent all Saturday morning trying to get it straight.

I would move the front and the back would go out of aliment. I went through this for a while

Finally I figured it out

I got it as close as I could then lined up the Trany output shaft and braced in place with rebar

Then I lined up the front and braced it. Since the trany was braced it stayed in line

I took measurements from every spot I could find.

In the end it lined up real well

I still need to drill 1 hole (where the C clamp is) on the R/S mount but I broke my pilot hole bits so I have to go buy another one.

I also need to fabricate the cross-member for the Trany

In all broke 4 bits and the belt on my drill press

 

[LarryA]

reply

i will share my nightmare.....the 3 circles are the mounts....i made 3 caster wheel mounts for 3 points. i kept the same engine layback angle that the car had. then the engine and transaxle could be moved around the shop. in order to remove the engine i attach the caster wheels and mounts, then lift the frame up and over the engine. it looks like you got it figured out fowler, good idea about using the rebar to hold engine/trans location with respect to the frame! larry

 

[Fowler]

fowler...one idea is to ditch the serpentine.....get a v-belt style waterpump (should turn opposite direction) ,crank pulley and alt/w/v pulley and mount the alt down where the ps.was?? larry

So after I fabricate the transmission mount I need to start on the front.

Be fore I do that I need to figure out how I will mount the Alternator and run the belt.

I may do as you said and mount it low. I'm not crazy about having it that low but dont know what else to do right now

 

[Fowler]

Need to do more research on different options

 

[vwbug72501]

Would reverse rotation water pump make belt routing easier?

 

[Fowler]

Would reverse rotation water pump make belt routing easier?

It is running in "reverse" direction now. I could change the pump and run in standard direction but wouldn't that change my coolant flow direction? That would not be good.

I need to do more research on this but I am just to tired now. I have only gotten a few hours sleep in the last couple days

 

[stacebg]

View attachment 44215

So after I fabricate the transmission mount I need to start on the front.

Be fore I do that I need to figure out how I will mount the Alternator and run the belt.

I may do as you said and mount it low. I'm not crazy about having it that low but dont know what else to do right now

this is what i did on my sidecar rig... drive shaft is a better option...ran that way for yrs and countless miles

 

[LarryA]

reply

i think just buy for a chev v-belt pump ,,,,,maybe the older 4.3's used vblt style. might need to be the long style pump. the inlet is behind the impeller..the water flings out thru the impeller and the housing directs the water into the block....same principle for both forward and reverse pumps. i'm guessing waterpumps for all smallblocks would fit. my 2c. larry

 

[Fowler]

i think just buy for a chev v-belt pump ,,,,,maybe the older 4.3's used vblt style. might need to be the long style pump. the inlet is behind the impeller..the water flings out thru the impeller and the housing directs the water into the block....same principle for both forward and reverse pumps. i'm guessing waterpumps for all smallblocks would fit. my 2c. larry

so are you saying If I purchased a pump that the turns the other direction it would still send the coolant in the correct path through the engine?

 

[vwbug72501]

Yup. Then you could go to something like this:

Easiest picture to find on Web. Think of ALT in place of PS. Delete red belt.

The belt routing you have now causes the wp to rotate counter to the cs. The new belt routing the cs and wp rotate the same way. Probably v-belt set up would be easier. Lots of GM stuff is interchangeable.

 

[LarryA]

reply

bob....looking at the water pumps pictured on your last page....the one on the left , the impeller turns clock wise, flinging the water outward while sucking water in under the impeller. turning that same pump around, the pulley end would have to turn counterclockwise......meaning its driven by the backside of a serpentine belt. hense, reverse rotation.....the pump on the right would be a v-belt pump or clockwise rotation as viewed from the pulley end. hope this helps! larry

 

[LarryA]

reply



this is an 18 in dia pump I made in 2011. rotation as you see in the picture is ccw. the discharge is 4 in. pto driven from tractor....the pump suction is thru the bearing race in the center....the water flings outward in the volute housing to the discharge pipe. there is a cover with a bushing that bolts over the housing. the pump is screened over the race and is turned over. there is a shaft and a 90 deg. gearbox to drive it it will push 4 in stream of water thru more than 100 ft of pipe,....2011 was a wet spring and some of our property is low ground, so a spring project! larry

 

[vwbug72501]

The clockwise rotation pump could be driven by a serpentine belt also if the WP pulley was changed from a smooth (Belt back side) to grooved (Belt front side) pulley. That way you could use an ALT pivot mount to act as the belt tensioner. Just need to make sure you have enough belt contact area on the WP so it won't slip and squeal. With this arrangement you can reuse your serpentine crank pulley and ALT pulley. Just need a shorter belt.

 

[Fowler]

Thanks guys, I have not had a lot of time to research this myself lately so your information is defiantly helpful

I will be done with the work project I am doing this week so should have more time next week,

.

.

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I also got this back from March Performance

To be honest I don't know if I will buy their kit or not but it does give me ideas as your suggestions do also

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.

 

[Fowler]

Hey guys I cant thank you enough for your advise.

Its pointing me in the right direction

I had a little time this morning and found I can get a Long standard rotation WP for under $50 and a set of pulleys for under $120

I even found a chrome set with water pump for under $150 (would have to buy a separate Alt pulley)

Most likely cheaper if I go to the wrecking yard

My concern now is will I find a belt to match?

Got to stop screwing off and get back to work.

Will look into this more later

 

[vwbug72501]

This should help. Measure outside diameter of belt as routed and lookup a part # from dimension, # of grooves, etc. You should be able to go to parts store with belt # and get one. If not, try Grainger or McMaster-Carr.

http://www.gates.com/oreilly/PDFs/SizeListings.pdf

 

[Fowler]

Wouldn't the below setup work for me?

I know this is a different engine but I should be able to fabricate the brackets to fit my engine and could still use the WP, Alt and pulleys I have now.

Would need to get the the idler/dummy pulley but they are not that expensive

 

[vwbug72501]

That'll work. Just need an idler pulley with grooves rather than smooth. I'll bet a field trip to the junk yard will solve that problem right nicely.