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 | There's a lot of talk about increasing joint sizes to accommodate high horsepower engines. Due to limited parts availability, there will be upper limits to how large a U joint you can install against any particular transfer case or differential. Additionally, a larger U joint will usually incur a binding interference at a lower degree of articulation than a smaller U joint. If money is no object, almost anything can be built. Isn't America great?
Beyond increasing their size, quality of components is more likely the most significant improvement that can be made for increasing the strength of your power train. Look for good quality parts. The U joints should have a large central body, large trunnions, and a channel across the end of the trunnion or in the bearing cap to allow for thorough greasing of all the caps. They should also be a forged and hardened joint. Try dragging a file across the trunnion of the joint. If you are cutting away any material, the joint is too soft. Experience has shown that Spicer components are worth hunting and asking for. The tube should be drawn over a mandrel (factory tube is cold rolled electric welded). This will nearly double the yield and tensile strength of a comparable size of tube. The best weld will be done with the M.I.G. process. Additional strength will be the result of the uniform consistency of the M.I.G. weld having a lower potential for stress risers. | |
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Also consider that if you intend on utilizing all of that 500 horsepower available in your Jeep, while in low range and 1st gear, it would be impossible to assure that you won't break something. If horsepower is constant (which it would be at a given RPM of the engine) and you halve the speed on the output shaft of the transfer case (low range) you will double the torque on the driveshaft. Compound-low gear sets in many of today's transfer cases make things even worse.
One hundred horsepower at 3000 RPM equals 175-pound feet of torque. One hundred horsepower at 300 rpm equals 1,750-pound feet of torque. I think that we'll find that if we get our vehicles against an immovable object or the wheels into a deep hole, it can develop enough torque to break ANYTHING we could conceivably build and install. | 
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