"Date: Saturday, June 3, 2006 11:11 AM From: d stohler <das24rules@xxxxxxxxx> i came across a t86 tranny with a borg warner overdrive unit, torque tube mount and all. how hard would it be to shorten my torque tube to fit this set up, or would i even have to cause if i remeber right, i have a long tail shaft on my transmission, and i see this overdrive unit taking up where my long tail shaft is. did they put that long tail shaft on the back of none overdrive units so they could use the same torque tube set up? if not, would i be able to cut a section of the torque tube out, reweld it and shorten the driveshaft? i have a triangulated 4 link for the rear now so the torque tube will not be stressed so cutting and welding shouldnt be a problem would it? " Dave, I'd use a regular driveshaft with the trans and the four link. The rear axle will want to twist in the four link setup with the torque tube attached, causing a little binding. That or just leave the upper two links off -- the tube will keep the axle from twisting and that should eliminate most, if not all, binding. The seal on the torque tube tailshaft is the same as a Borg Warner trans with an open driveshaft. You'll have the flange for the torque tube back there, but that won't hurt a thing. You are correct -- the OD unit just replaces the long tailshaft housing on the standard (non-OD) trans. The torque tube is the same length. There are two different torque tube designs where they connect to the transmission. You will need the tube that came with the transmission you have. You can cut the front off and weld to the other outer tube if necessary, you don't have to have the entire tube and shaft, just the front portion. The 56-62 models use two large bolts, one on each side, with some springs to keep tension on them. 63-66 models use four bolts on a rectangular flange (one each corner) and a thick rubber piece between the transmission flange and tube. Of course the trans flange and tube flange must match. The flange bolts off the OD unit, so you can swap the flanges if you can find one of the correct types instead of modifying or changing the torque tube. You can shorten a torque tube, but it would be difficult for six cylinder or 56-62 V-8 models. They use a solid shaft similar to an axle shaft. It would have to be cut then resplined, something local shops may not be able to do. 63-66 V-8 shafts are two piece with a tubular front part. The front tubular section can be shortened by any driveshaft shop. _______________________________________________ AMC-List mailing list AMC-List@xxxxxxxxxxxx http://www.amc-list.com/mailman/listinfo/amc-list or go to http://www.amc-list.com