Hello Everyone,

Since we have had a lot of request from customers we finally put some installation pictures up on the site of our tunnel mounted torque arms and I would like to share. These set-ups are designed to fit the 700R4, T5, TH350 and TH400 transmission and work excellent for transmission swaps. They include a new transmission crossmember and a adjustable torque arm and they can be purchased with or with out a NHRA legal drive shaft loop. If anyone has any questions please ask.

Enjoy the pictures!

Installed with no drive shaft loop-











With built in drive shaft loop

 

After looking at those pictures and how nice that crossmember and torque arm look, I wish I would have upgraded... especially since I had all that out. Bad thinking on my part.

Mike

PS - Love the sig!

Edit: Shouldn't there be washers where the tranny crossmember gets bolted to the body? I just looks like those bolt heads are barely big enough to cover the holes. The stock piece has washers there.

 

yea ryan, where are the washers? they come with the install kit with the torque arm you know. they came with mine.

-edit look at the pics, the washers are there, they are just small diameter, SAE type

 

Looks good and a nice installation. Also it looks like the owner of the car cut off the exhaust hanger behind the cat.

 

Damn, one week after I bought the normal th350 crossmember. I wasn't sure how the other one installed so it scared me a little since I am new at this. It looks pretty st8 forward. Stupid newb me, I thought tunnel mount meant it some how mounted to the trans tunnel area of the body which seemed like a lot of fab work.

Insert expletives here "@@@@@@@@@@@!!!!!!"

 

Sweetaq... did you use the crossmember yet?

 

Not exactly what I would call a tunnel mount, more like crossmember mounted. Looks like a nice piece though, better than the low hanging Spohn crossmember I have now.

 

That looks mint Ryan. I'll be getting one of these over the winter months for my IROC. Once the time comes I'm sure I'll have a few orders for your products done, my buddy with his '91 RS is going to need lots of stuff.

 

How much ?. Later.

 

Thanks everyone

They are priced from $379 to $439 depending on the model. Here is a link for all the information- http://www.umiperformance.com/produc...ategory_id=114

 

UMI thanks. Later.

 

What makes the SAE washers so great? The first time I have ever seen them was when I installed the Hotpart/J&M strut mounts.

 

Any pics of the TH400 cross member? I am looking for one and was going to go with the Spohn, but am concerned about the ground clearence, exhaust clearnce.

 

I wonder if they'll make a rod-ended version eventually? And also since the ground clearance isn't as bad, I wonder if long tubes and mufflex y-pipe would clear it.

 

Hello,

Here is the TH400 transmission crossmember and torque arm below with crossmember below.. the installation is indentical to the pictures posted above.

TH400 Transmission Crossmember Only


Crossmember Mounted Torque Arm with No Loop


Crossmember Mounted Torque Arm with Loop

 

they just have a smaller outside diameter and a more precise inside diameter. They fit in tighter places and look cleaner that a full sized USS washer. I use them in grd8 for just about everything, i rarely use the USS ones. Its pretty much a matter of preference.

So ryan, i know i pm'ed you on how to mod your 700r4 crossmember for a tko500/600, any plans on offering that one too?

 

Interesting. Two questions: 1) Can I assume that the cross member is a direct bolt-in for those cars originally equipped with a secondary cross member? 2) There are three bolts per side in the pics above. There are only two on the OE. Is the forward bolt hole threaded from the factory?

JamesC

 

you may need a new trans mount, i dont know which one the other crossmember uses, may be the same

the extra 2 holes are not threaded from the factory, but the inserts are there and ready to be threaded, i think its 16mm1.5?
I believe those holes were used in the early cars with the 200r4?

 

Yeah I already have it on the car. It is a top notch piece and I am very happy with it as I expect to be with the suspension stuff I have ordered through the group buy.

I thank you for all your support through this site by the way. It helps answer questions that I would have had to call about.

 

is or will there be one for a t56 swap?

 

When you thread the third hole, do not torque the hell out of the bolt you put in there. I dont know why, but the metal seems to be very very soft. It will hold its own on vertical forces, but cant take too much torquing.

ALSO: DITTO on the T56 swap x-member. I was hoping you guys had one, but i either had to buy from Spohn or Skulte. I didnt like either, so it came down to price......

Im not happy with my spohn x-member. Its a quality peice, (looks like good welds and craftsmanship) but its way too low.... I cant go over speedbumps because of it.

If you make one, PLEASE make sure it stays ABOVE the lowest factory item on the car. ieL either the sub-frame rails in front, or a factory cat. You guys are usually pretty good about that.

If you had one, i would have bought one.

+1 for T56 swap and TKO series trans x-members.

 

will the DS loop clear a 3 1/2 driveshaft??

 

We recommend a 3" driveshaft for optimal clearance... a 3.5" would mostly clear but may cause some rubbing issues.

A T56 is the in plans for the future.

thanks!
Ryan

 

Ryan,

Any comments on the following:

 

James, Sorry I missed this

I am not sure what you mean by vehicles with a secondary crossmember? Please explain and I will be glad to help.

I am unsure of the years but I think its 84 - 92 vehicles had the (3) holes for the crossmember although the factory crossmember still only used (2) holes... the 82 and 83 models might have only had (2) holes? Don't hold me too that. All vehicles we have here have (3) holes in the frame from the factory so no drilling or trapping is required, we just took advantage of the 3rd hole for additional support.

Hope that helps!
Ryan

 

Many cars were equipped with the secondary cross member as seen in the following pic:

https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/atta...ber-mounts.jpg

JamesC

 

I don't see any reason why it wouldn't work with that.

thanks!
Ryan

 

Is the initial pinion-angle setting OE?

JamesC

 

Yes, the torque arm is preset to hold the factory pinion angle and can be installed as it is shipped. The pinion angle will vary depending on the vehicle height though

 

I am ready to buy a th400 set up.

Can you tell me if I will run into clearence issues with long tube headers and your crossmember?

 

most likely, LT's and crossmember torque arm, no matter who makes them, dont play well together. You can probably get creative, use oval tubing, and run the pipes under the subframe just before the crossmember, but ground clearance will still suffer.

 

Like mentioned it might be an issue depending on where your exhaust is ran. If its down the tunnel it could be an issue... if your exhaust isn't ran yet you can work it around the torque arm.

Do you have any pictures of your exhaust?

Thanks,
Ryan

 

I do not have any exhaust right now.

The HEaders are ED Quay 2.25" primary 3.5" collector.

I plan to just run pipes back with bullet mufflers and turn downs.

The car is a drag car.

 

The best thing to do there is build the exhaust around the torque arm... that is what we do in a case like. Its the only way to guarantee the correct fitment

 

My crossmember and torque arm were just delivered yesterday. They are beautifully made and I can't wait to install them! One thing that's not mentioned in the installation instructions, should the torque arm be attached to the top or middle hole of the link connecting it to the crossmember? Would there be an handling/traction difference using one rather than the other?

Thanks,
Mike

 

Ryan,

I was/am interested in this piece (and had added it to my shopping cart); however, I am a bit troubled by the following link. Would you care to comment?

https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/susp...orque-arm.html

JamesC

 

i saw that thread too, i have not heard of issues of clearance with the fuel brackets and stuff. I have plenty of room there. It does rub the driveshaft tunnel a bit by the rear seat, but nothing major. It could just be an issue with the posters suspension and the rear not being centered?

 

the issue with rubbing on the fuel line bracket is with the bolt head that secures it on top. the bolt holding my fuel line is longer than it needs to be probably 5/8 overall length and when the bolt is fully tighted the bottom of the bolt hits the tunnel and instead of pulling the bracket towards the tunnel it pushes it out, as it bottoms out it pushes it towrds the torque arm. i was lazy and just ground the head down some. a slightly shorter bolt and some light massaging would have been the proper fix but some cars may have slightly longer or shorter bolts so that was not that big of deal.


although i am having a terrible driveshaft vibration problem pinion angle has been set from -8 through +5 degrees.

when i removed the original crossmember , before install, i had the trans supported on the pan, and as i installed the new crossmember and i tightened up the bolts it moved the trans up another 1/2 inch or so. i am using a energysupsension bushing. it worked on the stock crossmember.

this crossmembere does hang a bit low. probably an inch or so below sea level it scrapes on steep driveways and excessively tall speed bumps. on the outside tabs, not the weaker center area wich is aboutr 1/4 above theese tabs/ears. i do worry about hitting any bumps or dips at speed i think it might due severe damage.

the rear is centered i spent propaly 4-5 hours total meassuring and playing with it untill it looked, measured, and performed perfect probably within 1/32" -1/16" centered. i'm very picky about things not being perfect.

but on a good note this torque arm makes a hudge diffference, and is very heavy duty!! i still haven't got mine dialed in but no matter where it's set the traction is way better than stock, just not having the pumpkin twisting up and down makes the car way more preddictable and the throttle is more responsive to the tires. i'm not sure if its in my head or not but it feels like the chasis flexes a little less when i'm throwing it around, maybe the stiffer crossmember helps???


after i get rid of the vivbration and get it dialed in i think i'll be very happy with it


i sent an email to umi today to ask about the vibration problem, i will post results

 

almost forgot i have a 4th gen aluminum DS and the front yoke area is located further down the the drivshaft, than stock. and in my case putting part of the yoke area inside of the DS saftey loop, the stock DS is shown above in the install pics and it fits in there great, the 4th gen fits but with about 1/8" clearence around yoke/pivot area and i was worried about the corners catching inside the loop during driveshaft vertical movent while to the rear is moving up and down, i eneded up with the grinder once again shaved 3/16 of an inch off the DS safety lope inside edge, so just a little heads up for you 4th gen aluminum DS people, i'll try to get a pic tomorrow

 

We never had any issues...

Fuels lines can be in different locations since they have most likely been changed at one time... we can't control this. Hitting the tunnel in the rear is common, the torque arm has to sit to the drivers side... every brand does this Spohn, BMR ect... there all the same. A little tapping on the tunnel with a hammer will take care of this. As for the front, if they have a T5 the mount on the transmission needs ground off... this isn't in the instructions yet. Other transmissions do not need this.

I don't think you will have any issues. Thank you,
Ryan

 

I had the same issue, went back to stock type tranny mount, all is fine now. Just something about the ES mounts. I tried ES and Prothane brands, but the stock rubber one is the only one I could get to work with no vibrations.

 

for the record i'm running the prokit in the rear, with no isolaters so i'm probaly a bit lower than most, that extra 1/2 inch in height would probaly be enough to keep the TA from hitting in the tunnel. dont' be confused the TA wasn't hitting the fuel lines jus tthe bolt head, realy not a big deal just make sure your clear before you start the abuse.

i swapped the poly trans mount in a couple of years back, and i was thinking about it when i installed the new mount i think it was a bit taller than the factory rubber mount. it's hard to say it was broken in 2 when i removed it. so i won't be using a rubber mount again


i think i'll pull off the new crossmember install the original with the poly mount and measure the difference the new crossmember makes, than maybe trim down the mount accordingly.

UMi said to use the factory rubber mount, but i was reading another post, forget if it was about umi or spohn, Tunnel TA, but they said they had the same problems with vibration, with the the factory mount and were told to use the energy suspension bushing and ended up triming down the ES bushing to success.
----------
https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/afte...ight=spohn+buy thats the post, ended up trimming down the bushing

 

Old thread but I am just wondering, I have the torque arm with the tunnel mount setup. And there is not anywhere close to enough room for the linkage to mount properly because the old tail shaft mount is directly in the way. Is the transmission mount suppose to go in the center slot of the cross member or is there something else I have messed up??

 

yes the trans mount goes in the canter hole, some poly mounts give you the option of using 2 bolts through the crossmember for added strength, hence the extra slots in the crossmember.

remove the old torque arm bracket form the tail shaft if its in the way.

 

did you take off your old tailshaft mount bracket? if not......... it's gonna be in the way......

 

Yeah the whole bracket is gone. The spot where the lower bolt of the bracket mounts is in the way. So it appears the only way to make it work is to cut off the nub-hole that sticks out in the way of the linkage, unless there is a way to adjust the linkage so it does not run into the tail shaft nub.

 

Also this is on a rebuilt 700r4 so Im not sure if its possible that tailshaft got swapped.

 

i had the same issue with my TA after removing the mount, the raised part of the TA where the mount used to be was rubbing, i took a cut off wheel to it and took off 1/2" and no more problems

 

Figured it out, like you said I had to cut the mount off that was overlapping the travel of the linkage. It would have been nice if that was mentioned in the directions. But other than that it fit right in and hooked right up. So far i am pleased with how well it works and I have no noticeable vibrations.

Here is a picture of the overlap.

 

glad to see i'm not the only one that had this problem, mine looked exactly the same as the picture