Why is the engine and gearbox mounted at an angle?

[rcx106]

Building a 4x4 buggy and I've taken the gearbox and transfer box from a Suzuki Samurai and engine from a Vitara. I'm looking at the mounts for the engine and gearbox and transferbox and they are all designed so the engine/gearbox/transferbox all sit at a slight incline. So when they are mounted in the car the engine and gearbox are at a 3 degree incline with the rear of the gearbox being lower than the engine at the front (remember that these are rear wheel drive cars).

Why is this?

On the Vitara I thought this was to get the rear of the gearbox in a better position to make use of space and reduce prop shaft angles. But on the Suzuki Samurai this incline does the opposite, it actually puts the transferbox in harms way because it's now so low down in the undercarriage.

I could of course make my own mounts and put the drivetrain at any incline I want, though I'd hoped to use the original mounts to save work.

[E-bmw]

I would keep it as standard or the oil level may be different to its design & could cause issues.

[330p4]

Usuallly mounted at a slight angle to counteract torque reaction
Ian

[spyder dryver]

I'd make new mounts and put the engine/box combo just where I wanted it.
You'll only be changing things by a few degrees. Since the drivetrain came from a 4x4 it will have been designed to cope with far greater angles without oil pickup woes.

[rcx106]

As it's a rear wheel drive setup, the axial incline won't counter engine torque.

I agree that a few degrees rotation is probably acceptable. In the off road world some parts are even rotated 20 degrees with only very basic provisions made for any lubrication problems that this would cause. It seems as though the oil just makes it's way everywhere.

I'm going to position things as I want them, though it's not that easy especially that I'm working within a tight wheelbase. CAD helps a lot!

There's a lot to consider, the drivetrain position affects propshaft angles which need to be limited, the axles need to clear the engine, even at high suspension travel, all while keeping centre of gravity low, and in a short wheelbase, and nothing can protrude beyond the wheels so that "approach angle" ground clearance isn't lost.