Strongest tranny for '81 22r?

[Jeromy Hess]

I have blown overdrive out of my second 5 speed tranny (4x4). What is the strongest 5 speed I can bolt to my 1981 22r (longbed)? And will I my old transfer case work?

Thanks fellas.

[GregoryM]

Jeromy, you have found the "Achilles' heel" in that gear box. I don't think you can swap just the trans and keep the original transfer case. The 5th gear in those units is a "over hung" type which just means that they are only supported on one side by a bearing. Are you pulling big tires? I have gone to running stock size tires on the street and bigger Mud Terrains off road where I don't get into 5th gear anyway. I Know this kinda sucks but, I think it's the least expensive way out. I may also try running a full synthetic gear lube in the future. BTW, I have an '81 SR5 4x4 and have repaired the trans too.

[Jeromy Hess]

ya, Greg, I am just running 31's on it. I have heard that later v6 trannies will fit, but I have not found that kind of info anywhere in here or on the net. What problem did you have with yours?

[GregoryM]

I replaced a couple of bearings but, no gears, yet.

[Jeromy Hess]

This website helped a lot with figuring which trannies came in which years.

http://www.marlincrawler.com/trans.html

The '81-82 L50 transmission is the one I am having problems with. It looks like the 1983 L52 is a better tranny and the way to go to avoid the added length of later models. I am going to start looking. I assume the transfer cases are the same... I'll check on that. I am still thinking about having my 81 L50 rebuilt to a L52 Heavy Duty by Marlin Crawler. I'll let you guys know what I come up with.

I hear the tranny out of an 86 or 87 turbo is pretty beefy (R151?)... might involve too many alterations, though.