Dana 20 twin stick help

[ksouthw80]

I finally drove my jeep after t AMC 150 Transmission and Dana 20 rebuild w/ JB twin stick, the pills were removed. Everything works great except I cannot seem to get 2wd low. I didnt mess with it too long and am new to the twin stick but any thoughts would be great. Not to throw a wrench in things but it feels and sounds like its hitting solid when i moved the stick fwd for low range. I did look briefly for binding in the linkage but nothing looks to be hitting. Is it a very noticeable difference in gearing? low vs hi

 

[Hedgehog]

Who's twin stick are you using? JB's is simple and almost fool proof. Others are linkage heavy and easily screwed up. Look at your bolts. Are they sticking out far enough to bind on the components they are living next to? I assume it does go into 4wd low. There should be Quite the difference. As I think of it, you would be in neutral if the gear isn't properly in. If you aren't sure, take the jeep out and run it on the road in Hi, stop, drop it in low and you should see a gig difference. If not look for Transfer Case neutral, if you can't find it the stick isn't doing a thing.

 

[ksouthw80]

I'm using JB. I can get 2 hi and neutral but not 2lo. I'm going to go look at it better this morning and try it on the road again once the neighborhood is awake.

 

[ksouthw80]

no luck today. the rwd stick is binding some, not sure this is enough to cause it not to go in 2wd low but i'm going to take the shifter to work tomorrow and heat and tweak it a little. Maybe its in the case, just not sure at the moment. I gave it a considerable amount of force and its just not going into that gear range. the binding is somewhat of a side load.

 

[Hedgehog]

Did you cut the extra length of the original shift mechanism off? As I wrote before, make sure the bolts are in correctly. If in backwards or with their extra length in the right direction, sometimes just a little bit long, they will hit the other lever effectively locking the stick in place, well not in place, but from moving the full travel necessary preventing Low range engagement. Unless there is something terribly wrong with your Transfer Case the solution will be something simple.

Call JB and speak to the owner, usually at night, he is VERY helpful.

 

[ksouthw80]

i did cut the original attachment point like it calls for. I do plan to call them tomorrow. i really hope the binding i found is enough to cause the problem but i'm not convinced. i went back and reviewed the rebuild, just cant put a finger on it. the Transmission is awesome as i had many problems with it before the rebuild. i found the case easier to do than the Transmission . more than likely your right that it will be something simple. its definitely not going into the last detent.

 

[JR74CJ5]

Sometimes the Dana 20 will stick a bit and is tricky to get in and out of low range, but should be pretty easy after a rebuild.

Sometimes a little rolling motion is all that's needed to find it's groove.

 

[ksouthw80]

I never made it to the shop today to tweak the shifter but did speak to Novak, the person there said once the interlock pills are removed there is absolutely nothing internally to keep the shift rail from moving. He says linkage. Also he said no one has ever called with this problem so if it is internal Im gonna feel "special" . We talked about possibities of shift rails swapped and or in backwards. he reassured me i would had a hard time getting it back together. Which i didnt. Waiting on a call back from JB Conversion for maybe another opinion. I will be doing the shifter tomorrow for sure so I will know something more tomorrow night. Between starting and operating a business this year and taking on the rebuilds myself it just sux when this happens. Just not enough time right now. Thanks for the inputs.

 

[JR74CJ5]

http://www.jeep-cj.com/forums/f105/transfer-cases-12108/#post97070

Check that out for a good .gif of how the gears all move around. What I was saying is that you may have to have the shaft rotate slightly to switch to low because everything might not line up at first stab.

Removing the interlock pills removes the safety against putting the rear in low and front in high or vise versa. It also opens up the front wheel only options. Twin sticking itself opens up the rear only low option without removing the pills (what I did).

I'm sure you know all that with rebuilding, just mentioning again just in case...

When I twin sticked mine, I also swapped transmissions so I had to custom build the linkage.

For the record, I agree you probably have a linkage issue binding your operation of the stick vs internal issue in the Transfer Case . Just thought I'd mention the easiest possibility, it just isn't lined up when you try to stab it.

Hope for an easy fix for you!

 

[ksouthw80]

I never made it to the shop today to tweak the shifter but did speak to Novak, the person there said once the interlock pills are removed there is absolutely nothing internally to keep the shift rail from moving. He says linkage. Also he said no one has ever called with this problem so if it is internal Im gonna feel "special" . We talked about possibities of shift rails swapped and or in backwards. he reassured me i would had a hard time getting it back together. Which i didnt. Waiting on a call back from JB Conversion for maybe another opinion. I will be doing the shifter tomorrow for sure so I will know something more tomorrow night. Between starting and operating a business this year and taking on the rebuilds myself it just sux when this happens. Just not enough time right now. Thanks for the inputs.

 

[ksouthw80]

Thanks for the link. i havent seen that in a while. I have tried shifter with some movement and whle putting in 4lo/ 4hi/ 2hi. I,ve tried some force, theres no grinding. at this point i can see that the shift rails has more room to move and that theres a chance that its binding enough just to not engage enuff, i do not have a vice and or propane torch here at the house. Hopefully i'll post good news tomorrow.

 

[Hedgehog]

I hate to say this .... honestly I do. Did you run through the gears making sure they worked properly during your rebuild? The reason I ask is. I recently rebuilt my Dana 20 with Terra low gears. During the rebuild I was bound and determined to do the thing wrong. In doing that I found that you can put the thing together with one of the shift forks backwards. The one that is behind the front drive shaft. and almost the very first item you put in on the rebuild. Everything seemed to be working until you ran through the gears. Putting it in low range was impossible. I most certainly hope this isn't the problem because the only thing you can do is take the Transfer Case apart and start over again. Mine took a bunch more clearance grinding to get things to work properly. They hardly mention the issue with the shifting fork binding.

 

[ksouthw80]

I am aware of some of them needing grinding. nothings impossible, you may be on to something here. from what i remember i was able to move all the gears into place. at the time i saw no reason to grind. if i remember correctly in my research mine did not fall into that category.(cant remember if its older units that need it verses later units? i am not beyond pulling the case back out. its 41$ for the seal kit i'll need if it comes to that. Hey, Hedge did that account for both fwd and rear going into low or just fwd? Thanks for your interest in trying to help.

 

[ksouthw80]

also i went back with origanal gearing. I'd love to have gone tera low but the funds at the moment just arent there for that. heck , if i pull it back out i may come up with a way to get the kit. isnt it around 1k$ ? A quick search shows the kit @ 900$ and comes with the main shaft again. Where did you purchase yours?

 

[JR74CJ5]

I've heard of a few other option besides terra low too here recently. Lowmax? or Low Max - someone was just saying their kit was great and close if not better in quality. They were also a bit cheaper, and even cheaper if you were willing to wait for them to get finished - they're backordered or something??

Looks like terralow / terra flex low kits are around 750 to 900 depending from my quick search too.

I'd really love one someday too :drool::drool::drool:

 

[Hedgehog]

For a Dana 20 the Terra Low kit is the only option available. I wish the Low max gears were available but it is not, they are a Dana 300 choice though.

You've got to be very careful with the search. many of the Dana 20 Terra Low kits you see for less actually don't fit a CJ Dana 20 , they are usually for a Bronco or IH. Mine came from Advance Adaptors for $945 if you are logged in (Listed as $557 if you are not) and that was the least expensive place. Many sites want well over $1,000.

Try this. With the sticks removed. Push the rod as far in as possible. Very short. See if you can engage Low range without the sticks in place, then drive the jeep. It won't hurt anything. You might need to use a stick of wood and tap the rods with a hammer. Try not to damage the rod ends. Many rods are battered. You could remove the front wheel drive stick and try using just the one stick. Yes the stick will be loose and you don't want to do it much, but you can tell a lot by seeing if your Transfer Case has a full range of motion in the rods and in shifting. That will eliminate your Transfer Case from possible problems. Of course that is if you don't find something simple in the T-S set up.

 

[CJ]

I've heard of a few other option besides terra low too here recently. Lowmax? or Low Max - someone was just saying their kit was great and close if not better in quality. They were also a bit cheaper, and even cheaper if you were willing to wait for them to get finished - they're backordered or something??

Looks like terralow / terra flex low kits are around 750 to 900 depending from my quick search too.

I'd really love one someday too :drool::drool::drool:

I believe JB Conversion makes a LoMax kit for a Dana 300 but not a Dana 20 ...

-->> JB Conversions, Inc.

 

[Hedgehog]

I forgot to mention. The reason for the extra cost is the CJ Dana 20 has an extra gear in the kit. The much older kits used a stock gear. That caused problems so they now ship with the full set of gears.

I find the JB name to be confusing. JB Conversions isn't the same company that makes the JB Custom Fabrication, Twin Stick Kit we like. JB Custom Fabrication provide the kit that NOVAK sells. The same as the low gear kit Advance Adaptors sells.

 

[ksouthw80]

I forgot to mention. The reason for the extra cost is the CJ Dana 20 has an extra gear in the kit. The much older kits used a stock gear. That caused problems so they now ship with the full set of gears.

I find the JB name to be confusing. JB Conversions isn't the same company that makes the JB Custom Fabrication, Twin Stick Kit we like. JB Custom Fabrication provide the kit that NOVAK sells. The same as the low gear kit Advance Adaptors sells.

I did not think of that or put 2 and 2 together. Thanks for pointing that out before i possibly embarrassed myself talking to them. I may have even called the wrong company

 

[Hedgehog]

I forgot to mention. The reason for the extra cost is the CJ Dana 20 has an extra gear in the kit. The much older kits used a stock gear. That caused problems so they now ship with the full set of gears.

I find the JB name to be confusing. JB Conversions isn't the same company that makes the JB Custom Fabrication, Twin Stick Kit we like. JB Custom Fabrication provide the kit that NOVAK sells. The same as the low gear kit Advance Adaptors sells.

It's funny how something makes perfect sense while typing isn't so clear and logical 24 hours later.

My whole post stands but for one thing. It appears that I said that JB Custom Fabrication makes the terra Low kit that Advanced sells. Not, my point was that the low gear kit for the Dana 20 that Advance Adaptors sells is drop shipped from Terra Low (Or is that Terra max). The twin Stick NAOVK sell is the JB Custom Fabrication kit.