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Stock transfer case 22 or 23 spline?

Gimpin

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Jun 9, 2007
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Plant City, FL
Sorry for the newbie question but I need a relitivly quick answer ... did the 91 gvr4 come with a 22 or 23 spline transfer case or were they mixed? Thank you for your help
 

Gvr4-330

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DC
It's a mix. You'll have to count the teeth yourself in order to know.
 

mountaineerjeff

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west virginia
I know I should know this, but whats the difference? is one better then the other? stronger,more reliable? or do they have a different ratio? I figure there has to be some reason for there to be 2 different designs, companies dont normally build 2 designs for the hell of it.
 

talon

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Denham Springs, La
Quoting Gvr4-330:
It's a mix. You'll have to count the teeth yourself in order to know.



Actually there is a noticable difference between the 22 and 23 spline transfer case. The 23 spline transfer case is aluminum, while the 22 spline is steel.
 

mountaineerjeff

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so would that make the 23 lighter? are there any other 'performance' or reliability differences? like useage differences, not just how they are physically different.........sorry for the thread jack lol
 

donniekak

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surprise az
Quoting talon:
Quoting Gvr4-330:
It's a mix. You'll have to count the teeth yourself in order to know.



Actually there is a noticable difference between the 22 and 23 spline transfer case. The 23 spline transfer case is aluminum, while the 22 spline is steel.


For the most part. I have a 22 spline t case in my garage with the steel front case.
 

fuel

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Toronto, ON, Canada
The 23 spline unit on my car has a steel front case and alloy rear. Factory on a 1991 'Evo' VR-4.
 

Struc

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Oconomowoc, WI
Quoting talon:
Quoting Gvr4-330:
It's a mix. You'll have to count the teeth yourself in order to know.



Actually there is a noticable difference between the 22 and 23 spline transfer case. The 23 spline transfer case is aluminum, while the 22 spline is steel.



You have that backwards. The 22-spline is all aluminum, while the 23-spline is a mix.
 

all the x-cases we have at work whether they are 23 or 22 spline are all steel except one.
 

NateCrisman

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Nov 22, 2008
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Location
Blairstown, NJ
ALL 23 spline 91-94 DSM and GVR4 transfer cases are cast steel in the head and cast aluminum body.

Most 22 spline 1990 DSM xcases are steel head/aluminum body as well.

SOME/Few 1990 22 spline Xcases have the lighter aluminun head (it saves 8lb).

I have never seen an aluminum 23 spline Xcase (and I'v seen tons and tons of these things over the years), nor have I seen a 22 on a galant VR4 unless the car had a 1990 DSM tranny swapped in somewhere in it's lifespan. Im 99.5% sure every GVR4 came with the same 91-94 dsm style 23 spline xcase with steel head.

EDIT: I'v now been told that #1051 came with an aluminum 22case stock, so now Im unsure what I posted is correct. Seems the all aluminum 22 spline might also have been on some 91 GVR4's. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/idea.gif

 
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Polish

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NE, IN
My old 91 had one and I am pretty sure it was the stocker.
 

toybreaker

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Apr 30, 2006
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This post is to clear up some mis-information for the searchers.

22 spline cases, in both flavors.
(Both from 90 model year)

23 spline cases in both flavors.
(Cast iron from a 92tsi, aluminum from a 95 2g)

So, there it is, in living color.

Either spline count can be found in either material.

That's not a "guess", or an I "think"...

That's cold hard fact.

Either spline count can be found in either material.

Something to think about when you grab a transfer case out of that thar pile is that there are very few stock cars any more when it comes to driveline bits. Just about all of them have had the t-case repaired/replaced or otherwise molested since they left the factory.

Add into that the fact that many transmissions have also been replaced and all bets are off as to what the spline count of your vr4 will be.



An effective tool for checking the spline count is an old 23 spline transmission output shaft.

The business end will be a 23 spline count, and it will fit nicely into the coupler of a 23 spline case.

The other end is (coincidently) 22 splines.

You can use it as a go/no go gauge to verify that you're looking at a 22 spline t-case when the business end of the 23 spline set won't fit the t-case in front of you. Simply insert the other end into the mystery case's input coupler. If it fits, you're looking at a 22 spline case.

If neither end fits, you've got an orphan from an expo/rvr, or a colt/vista 21 spline or some such.

...Unless you're 'Aroon, and then you're just a little mystified by the whole pointy star shape thingy in the round hole thing, and you should try again after a nap...

.

.

.

One other thing to keep in mind is that the 23 spline all aluminum case was also used in the 2g, and that has the potential to fawk up your whole day.

There are two different internal gear ratios used in the 2g.

The early unit is a direct interchange for us, (and the 23 spline 1g dsm crowd).

The later 2g unit has a different internal ratio.

Installing a later 2g unit into a vr4/earlier car will result in tears and a thinner wallet when the driveline winds up and something has to give.



Sussing out the gear ratio isn't hard, and just requires a bit of time, your 23 spline transmission output shaft and a driveshaft yoke. Insert the shaft and yoke, and make match marks on the case with a paint pen, a marker, or your favorite lip gloss. Spin the imput shaft and count the rotations untill the marks on the yoke line back up.

12 turns to match back up is the number you're looking for. (Could be a problem if you're like me and can't count above ten without a beer in your hand. I suggest adult supervision during this arduous task)

One last thing to consider is the condition of the splines.

A transmission output shaft with a worn spline set will flat destroy the coupler splines in short order.

A t-case coupler with worn splines will destroy the output shaft of the trans just as quickly, due to the limited contact area of the working surfaces.



One way to minimise wear on a good spline set is to clean everything well with a bottle brush and some brakeclean, and then coat the splines with some moly grease before assembling things. This will keep the splines from rusting. The rust particles accellerate the wear of the splines in an ever tightening spiral of wear creating particles and the particles creating wear.

cliffs

T-cases come in 22 and 23 spline versions, and can be found with cast iron noses or all aluminum.

The aluminum cases have the potential to be the wrong internal ratio, and a wise man will check that out before installing it.

'Aroon can fawk up a forged steel anvil with a rubber mallet, and can probably get a worn 23 spline coupler to fit a worn 22 spline shaft.


Good luck, and hope that helps clear up the confusion (some) /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif
 
Last edited:

Rausch

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Dec 21, 2004
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Location
Cleveland, OH
Quoting Toybreaker:

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Good info.



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Good info.



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Cheap shot artist



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Good info.



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/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

Amazing Info, great write up and thanks for clearing things up.

Rock on and may your transmission be forged in the mines of Moria
 

Absolutely excellent post!

This one deserves to be put in the "How To and Info Archive"
 
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