questions from the new young guy...

i'm currently trying to get a m-715 from a guy in texas. (i live in florida) if and when i get it, i have some big plans for it, but i just had a few questions first...yeah, i'm a newby. :wink:

1. what kinda of lift/suspension modifications and wheel combination (offset, etc..)would i need to run 44 bogers?

2. i know the kaiser is a 1&1/4 ton truck, but i have had people ask questions as to the stoutness of the axles since it was built with an inline 6 (and not a v-8 ), so is there anything in particular i need to do to the axles in order to run bigger tires or to handle more power from a v8 swap?

and 3. with bigger tires will the 5.78 gears and the 6 cyclinder have enough "oomph" to get around until i can do a v8 swap or will it turn into a dog on the trail? the truck has less than 10k original miles and i think the engine was an original crate engine replacement too.

thanks for any help!

p.s. i've got a buddy with a first generation bronco on 44's at his hunt camp and it'll go anywhere, so i'm hoping that once i get all done with the kaiser that i'll be able to show him a thing or two about offroading. :twisted: i'll keep you posted if it all goes through.

I am in Texas(Dallas) and I bought my truck in Iowa. Word of Caution! If you are going to use a transport company.Check them out First! Make sure they know what they are hauling and what type of trailer they plan to use.

You will find the gear ratio will give your six enough power to go most anywhere you aim it. The M715 is a very capable vehicle and a tire replacement is an excellent idea. I would recommend 38s though and spend the rest of the money on two lockers or a locker for the rear and a limited slip in the front. The Kaisers have a Dana 70 in the rear and a Dana 60 in the front. I have abused mine pretty hard and so far, nothing gave in the axles. The trucks are a real turtle, do not expect it to be as nimble as the Bronco. Turning radius is next to an acre, but these are excellent trucks. By the way, no lift necessary up to 40" and I think the easiest swap would be a spring over conversion for the big 44 inchers. Your six is a real torque monster when properly tuned. It is also a very low rpm engine. They were designed to convoy at 45 mph and much faster than that will cause great grief for you and your engine. You will also experience transfer case heating in warm weather at speeds over 48 to 50. Welcome to the addiction....Glen

question for mr. green machine ,
is there any way of adapting a tranny cooler type set up for the transfer case ? been given a 725 and want to rebuild it into a jeep flat bed pickup . the body is shot and have a 350 / 400 chevy waiting for a good home . i want to research this project idea before i go to far ! help !

There have been roughly 2000 posts on this very topic...basically you can go 4 ways:
1. Have your NP200 rebuilt, cost around $250-500, and in most cases, the heat problem will be gone.
2. Find and mount a pump that will pump gear lube, find and mount a cooler, possibly one with a fan on it so as to keep the lines shorter...dont let stuff hang below the frame rail unless you plan to disconnect it everytime you go wheelin, if so put in quick disconnects and shut off valves...total cost will be several hundred bucks...cheapest pump anyone has found is over $200 itself.
3. Find and mount a cooler very close to the tcase, preferrably with an integral fan...put shut off valves and quick disconnects cause at least the bottom one is gonna stick down to far...plumb it with one line to the cooler from the tcase fill plug and one from the drain plug. Then hope that by convection alone, you will have enough flow to make it work good....also remember, there isn't a ton of room to make nice short straight lines, but it may be possible...cost, probably in the $200 or more area and a lot of work...no one seems to know if it will work effectively as a coler especially at high speed/high temps in the M715 environment.
4. Get a NP205 for around $150-$200 and with some angle iron, adapt the stock mounts to fit the 205 and call it a day...not only wil the heat problem be gone, but parts are more widely available, a possible 3:1 low range kit may be coming out, and it is just as strong as the NP 200.
brute4c

I like that answer Jon. You need to save it so you don't have to rewrite it every few weeks.

Better yet, make an annoucement out of it and put it at the top of the Stock and Modified Forums.

I agree with Barrman! good info Jon!