Niva Resource: Transfer-case braces and mounts

Transfer-case mount upgrades, braces, carriers and cradles.

Transfer-case mount floor upgrades

Reinforcing the transfer-case and gearbox mounts is usually a good idea in general on Nivas, as the vibrations caused from having a separate gearbox and transfer-case can tear through the relatively thin steel of the floor that they're bolted to. Strengthening plates sandwich in between the mounts and the floor and are a easy do-it-yourself (especially if you're already removing or realigning the transfer-case). Note you can't use very thick metal for these sandwich plates as it may move the gearbox and transfer-case downwards too much.

A popular proven way of reinforcing this area is the Paris-Dakar Niva gearbox and transfer-case mount modifications, where a new thicker plate is welded inside the floor of the interior with beefier studs attached to hold the transfer-case and gearbox in place (find the full Paris-Dakar Niva preparation document on the Tech' Resources Page)

My own version of the Paris-Dakar gearbox mount modification; the transfer-case has exactly the same done to it — I drilled out the factory studs and made a thick steel plate put bigger studs (bolts) through two holes and welded them to the plate, these studs now drop down through two holes in the floor. I had intended to also weld the plates to the floor, but this hasn't proved necessary yet (once the greabox and transfer-case are bolted in place there's no movement).

Transfer-case—to—Body Braces

Many people have tried braces to stabilise the transfer-case and minimise its movement (which causes vibrations). I've not tried these so I can't vouch for them.

Note: you should only really use a brace as a last resort solution to transmission vibrations and shudders — go through the usual alignment and vibration solving processes first, or you'll very likely just be masking a problem that will come back to bite you.

Here's a variety of different approaches...

Nia transfer-case brace

Mk3 (Chevrolet) Niva factory "fix"

Double Mounts

Likewise, double mounting transfer-cases is another popular way of minimising its excessive up-and-down rotational movement.

Niva transfer-case Double Mounts

Transfer-case Carriers and Cradles

Cradles or carriers that hold the transfer-case from underneath are popular (to either help with vibrations or to replace weak/missing/stripped original mounting bolts). These can include double mounts or a third moiunt to help minimise movements.

Madman's DIY transfer-case cradle; the box section that holds it in place means this design doesn't need crush-tubes (ie to stop the chassis crusing when you tighten the bolts up) through the chassis. They could also be extended to become armour for the chassis rails.

A commonly available Russian after-market trandfer-case cradle; this includes a mout on the gearbox mount to minimise movement in that direction.

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