Spider's 4WD Moke Project

[spider]

I'm with the 4wd bit so i can give these sand dunes more of a shock!!
    Smokey

Stay tuned 

Well, I should kick off by say this is not for me! This is actually the repair of the Quadra. As some here may know, the Quadra suffered a major failure at Wagga last year.

This was the gearcase from it, after I'd stripped most of it




When it was stripped down, the diff pinion was found in a hundred pieces. Not the first one I've seen like this



but closer inspection of the gearcase show a LOT of other problems, most of them old, but signs that this design was not up to the task



the case and the diff cap were fund FULL of cracks and other damage from previous failures. The diff cap hardly even lined up, so no wonder it leaked oil.

It was off to the drawing board for a few weeks. I came up with a solution and design to overcome all it problems and (hopefully!) make it un-breakable.

So, next thing was to start making all the bits

First was the diff hemispehere. The stock 2 sun gear designs are hopeless, so I made a 4 sun gear, X-pin type









I had to make a special tool to cut the thrust faces for the sun gears



trial fit to check it's shape - perfect!



now to cut them for real



starting to take shape





next, I had to machine up a crown wheel, this is another weak point in the stock mokes and this one is no exception



then fit the bevel gear to it



then the next major problem part, the diff cap. We got a new gearcase and I had to measure up super-accurately the existing diff cap



I machined up a new one from a soild billet. Here, I'm just starting to face it, to get it 100% square and flat



then next was the bearing tunnel. to get this perfectly round and on size, I had to bolt it up to another piece the same. This is the start of something BIG



back in the lathe



boring it



perfect!



pitch out and drill all the holes. This needed to be super-accurate (I was working to +/- 0.005 mm!)



fits and lines up! Bonus!



next, some relieving of the gearcase as the new diff is bigger



trail fitting the diff



yippie!

next, I had to measure exatly where the output pinion needed to be for the RWD part



then, I could machine out the guts of the cap



look it fits!



then face back the cap to get it all lined up with the gearcase



planing the back of the diff cap at an angle, to get the output pinion facing the right way



boring the hole for the pinion



just about there!



there, all major machining done!



all that's left now is the big clean up and assembly!

[GS MOKE]

Wow, thats some impressive work.

[Halfpint]

WOW 


Thats awsome work there Spider . Its all so shiney


How many pencils and rubbers did you go through drawing it up .


Be nice to know Hydra will be back!


Please update when you take it for a test drive, maybe a youtube link


Cheers
HP

[Newie]

Obviously not your first time in a machine shop Spider 

Do you have others helping you with the project?

All looks very professional, so hopefully it will all prove to be a lot stronger this time around.

Like HP said, keep us updated and a You Tube link when it's finished would be great.


Newie

[spider]

Thanks for the replies and kind words there guys!

HP, I would have gone through boxes and boxes of pencils and rubbers but thank goodness for CAD.

Newie, before setting out on this project, it had been 25 years since I was near a lathe and I'd never really done any serious milling work, only keyway slots. I've had a couple of people give me tips on cutters, feeds and speeds, but otherwise, I stumbbled along on my own - mostly in the dark!

The guy that owns the Quadra is doing a few other jobs to it while he has the chance and so will probably be a few weeks before it get back on the road. I don't have the whole car here, just the engine and what was left of the old gearbox. And now it's new one! I'll be sure to get him to bring it to my test track once running again and I'll see what I can do for youtube.

I'm actually looking forward to getting this one off the bench, as I have my own Moke to prepare for our Trip.

[Halfpint]

It could be better Spider, and I think I can help
I'll send you some paper roll
HP

[Newie]

I'll send you some paper roll
HP

Yep, that would certainly add the finishing touch and take it to the next level 

[Tim]

Spider, thats amazing. Do you have one of these on your workshop door?



Could you do the whole 4WD conversion from scratch? is it feasible to machine up the parts to make the bevel and the diff?


Tim (in awe)

[spider]

HP, I knew something was missing, but didn't know what!

Ta, that I'll keep an eye out for - the paper, of course!

Could you do the whole 4WD conversion from scratch? is it feasible to machine up the parts to make the bevel and the diff?

Tim

 

Tim, thanks for your kind words.

While this one is a repair of the original Leyland concept (only done the way it should have been), this is (for me anyway) a precursor to my own 4WD Moke. I have been planning it for some time now and some details I haven't yet nutted out, but in answer to your question - yes - stay tuned (just don't fall asleep!). I hope to be getting on to this next year (I've already got a fairly full plate atm).

The gearbox I have planned for that will be 5 speed + Hi & Lo range. But just to put it in to some perspective, that's really only the smaller part of it, there is a lot of work in the rear suspension and drive too and this part of it I haven't yet come close to sorting a design for just yet.

[Darth Moke]

Beau travail l'araignée !!!!!!!!!
(nice work Spider)
 
What metal are you using ? soooo shinny !!!

[.]

You have got to be joking...Man...I cant believe that..
I'm having a brain overload on a simple wiring loom.
 
that is .................................................cant find the right words......WOW...
 
mavro

[spider]

Beau travail l'araignée !!!!!!!!!
(nice work Spider)
 
What metal are you using ? soooo shinny !!!

Thanks - for the translation.

The steel for the diff hemisphere is 4140 - overkill, but the original one was only 1020 (mild seel). Where the bearing mounts had ooozed out and the bearing was flopping around. Also, the threaded holes for the Crown Wheel bolt - the threads were pulling out.

Note that these were actually factory proto-type parts. I don't think that they were going to use these in production (if it ever got that far), but where quick and cheap to machine up and get them running.

The diff cap is 5083 aluminium. Yeah, I couldn't believe how nice it machined up, looks a million bucks! This is a high tensile grade aluminium and I tell you what, it is soooooo nice to work with and the few threads I had to tap in to it, you can just feel that they are sooo much nice and better than the stock cast what-ever they used.

You have got to be joking...Man...I cant believe that..
I'm having a brain overload on a simple wiring loom.
 
that is .................................................cant find the right words......WOW...
 
mavro

Mav, wiring does my head in too. I loath it!

[aussieclown]

Mate, one word
WOW
AC

[martin]

I cant wait to see the spider gearbox after seeing that sequence of pics
That is fantastic!

Martin

[Terry]

While this one is a repair of the original Leyland concept (only done the way it should have been), this is (for me anyway) a precursor to my own 4WD Moke. I have been planning it for some time now and some details I haven't yet nutted out, but in answer to your question - yes - stay tuned (just don't fall asleep!). I hope to be getting on to this next year (I've already got a fairly full plate atm).

I thought the Quadro Moke was the backyard conversion from the German guy in South Australia, Max(?), and not related to the Factory prototype(s) There was an article about it in an early issue of The Mini Experience.

I have seen a few milling machines going cheap at auctiosn and couldn't think of a good reason to pick one up, but now maybe i can. Nice work.

Terry