Dana 20 twin stick help

[ksouthw80]

OK so I tweaked the shifter for a much better fit and gave it a go! NOPE, I'm sorry to say it seems I've got to pull the tcase out. I will say that I do feel 3 detents but neutral is the most fwd (shifter fwd). I dont know guys. Anyway I'm working on finding the BEST deal on the tera low kit. I might as well. I always tell my guys at work " The only thing worse than work is rework" lol. But being in maintenance I have learned that things do not always go as planned. With all that , Should I pull the cross member again for ease of removal of the case? I've never pulled just the case on a jeep. I most certainly am not removing the Transmission . I will support the Transmission with a stand or floorjack. Guess I'm back to this ( see pics) Hey, at least the cleaning is done.

 

[JR74CJ5]

Can I see a close up of your shifter linkage? Few angles?

Just for Poops and giggles...

 

[ksouthw80]

Can I see a close up of your shifter linkage? Few angles?

Just for Poops and giggles...

Yessir, other than the loose hardware, please let me know if you see something...

 

[Lumpy Grits]

When you're try'n to shift this t'case. Are the hubs lock'd? Is someone try'n to rotate the rear wheels at all?

LG

 

[Hedgehog]

You don't have to pull the Transfer Case just yet. Pull that nice new NOVAK cover and watch what happens while you shift the gears. They should fully engage. When I had the shift fork in backwards the gears would not FULLY engage, some wouldn't engage at all. ..... Nice blue paint.

Edit: If you get the Low Gear kit, don't use the shaft they send unless your stock shaft is defective. The one I got wouldn't even go in the case (yes, I know it's tapered). My jeep guy said that the stock shaft is far superior to the one you get in the kit. I also didn't have enough new needle/pin bearings in the kit. As luck would have it the rebuild kit I got had an additional set of bearings in the set.

This could be a valuable lesson for everybody attempting to rebuild their Transfer Case . Before installation put it on the bench and run through the gears making sure they do exactly what they are supposed to do.
That is the only reason I'm not in the very same boat you might be in. I hope not, but ..... well you know.

Listen to Lumpy on this one. When testing even on the bench you need to move the output gears some to get them to engage. After working on the Transfer Case it should be obvious where the classic bind is. If you were a machinist it would be easy to slightly taper the transitions between splines that will help the sleeve slide from the shaft to the splined gear .... Some shifting is gear to gear, some is a sliding sleeve engaging the shaft spline to a gear spline. Simple genius in design.

 

[ksouthw80]

When you're try'n to shift this t'case. Are the hubs lock'd? Is someone try'n to rotate the rear wheels at all?

LG

i can drive the jeep in all but 2 low. tried shifting combinations. only have front hubs. fwd lo/ hi is fine. i do not have 2 low range.

 

[ksouthw80]

You don't have to pull the Transfer Case just yet. Pull that nice new NOVAK cover and watch what happens while you shift the gears. They should fully engage. When I had the shift fork in backwards the gears would not FULLY engage, some wouldn't engage at all. ..... Nice blue paint.

Edit: If you get the Low Gear kit, don't use the shaft they send unless your stock shaft is defective. The one I got wouldn't even go in the case (yes, I know it's tapered). My jeep guy said that the stock shaft is far superior to the one you get in the kit. I also didn't have enough new needle/pin bearings in the kit. As luck would have it the rebuild kit I got had an additional set of bearings in the set.

This could be a valuable lesson for everybody attempting to rebuild their Transfer Case . Before installation put it on the bench and run through the gears making sure they do exactly what they are supposed to do.
That is the only reason I'm not in the very same boat you might be in. I hope not, but ..... well you know.

My friend, i shifted it with my bare hands while the case was open and bench tested too! I'm good with valuable lessons and I hope you're boat always floats.I'm not above making mistakes. Lay low and stay humble.

 

[Lumpy Grits]

Start'n to sound like it just may be the 'flipped' shift fork deal, that HH had.
As far a 4:1 gears go. Go with Lomax, they are USA made.
JB Conversions, Inc.

Also has a picture comparison between Lomax and Tera-Low gears.

LG

 

[Hedgehog]

Please Don't think I'm ragging on you, no not at all. If this is the problem and I certainly hope it isn't all but for the grace of god go I. I'm totally sympathetic and far from confident in my ability. My point was that I hope others read this and it helps them avoid similar problems. Trust me, if I could screw it up I did when rebuilding my Transfer Case . I'm trying to be helpful, if I've over stayed my welcome I'll drop out of this thread.

Lumpy - He doesn't have a Dana 300 , he has a Dana 20 and as far as I can tell the only option he has is the terra low kit.

 

[ksouthw80]

All is well Hedge.... Anyway, I just ordered the low range kit from advance adapters. I will reuse the main shaft from Novak's kit. I still have the original shaft but they claim theirs is machined stronger and does it really matter. I'm going to rebuild the case at home rather than the hustle and bustle of doing it in my hangar this time. I clearly missed something and I'm ok with that because I now have an upgrade I previously wanted anyway. I deal with far more grinding jobs than pulling a 50lb tcase out of a jeep. All is well. It SIMPLY will not do what its supposed to.. 2wdlow. the sad thing is that 2wd low doesnt require the pills to be pulled. I will resurrect this post in a couple of weeks at worst.

 

[Hedgehog]

The gear kit comes with very decent instructions. The shaft in the kit is nothing special, it's from Omix or Crown I can't remember which. As written above the replacement shaft wouldn't even go in the case holes and yes I know it's tapered thus only comes out and goes in one way. But you know yours will fit so go ahead and use it. My Transfer Case is a '79 so it's one of the last ones made. Some articles say that the later cases didn't need grinding, in my case they wee very wrong. Lots of grinding was needed both in the input shaft area AND the shift fork that you might have gotten backwards. Essentially, if the fork doesn't need grinding it's probably in backwards. The big gear teeth hit the forged radius area on the fork above the allen screw. That's also when you know the fork is in backwards. When in correctly you can't get to the allen screw to remove it or tighten it without removing most of the gears. When you are working with the shafts and splined gears watch the way they mesh with the sleeve gear. You will notice where the binding is when dropping it in low range.

By-the-way they will send the kit by UPS and you HAVE to be there to receive the package. No signing the receipt for them to leave it. Remember you'll be getting $1,000 in parts in a relatively small heavy box. They won't leave it. In my case they left it at the UPS store. It would have been nice if they told me that at the time. UPS and I played hard to find my package.

Good luck man, you are taking this better than I would. I know that when I realized that I'd installed mine backwards I had to walk away for a few hours .... of course it was 3 am and the sleep did me well. Also, like any other project things will ge MUCH quicker this time. The case is clean, the bolts have moved recently and you know what you are looking at.

 

[Lumpy Grits]

THX HH-My CRS must be act'n up again.
Ksouthw80-Best of luck.
LG

 

[gert]

All is well Hedge.... Anyway, I just ordered the low range kit from advance adapters. I will reuse the main shaft from Novak's kit. I still have the original shaft but they claim theirs is machined stronger and does it really matter. I'm going to rebuild the case at home rather than the hustle and bustle of doing it in my hangar this time. I clearly missed something and I'm ok with that because I now have an upgrade I previously wanted anyway. I deal with far more grinding jobs than pulling a 50lb tcase out of a jeep. All is well. It SIMPLY will not do what its supposed to.. 2wdlow. the sad thing is that 2wd low doesnt require the pills to be pulled. I will resurrect this post in a couple of weeks at worst.

Man it sure does suck doing things twice, good luck and let us know how it goes ps i sure do love that Novak cover its on my wish list for my jeep

 

[JR74CJ5]

Like you said, at least you're getting a nice upgrade out of it...

Small positives right?

I was going to suggest taking all linkage off, and removing driveshafts. Then twisting the front and rear yokes slightly while trying to move the shift-rail for the rear into low range (i believe pushing all the way in). Then you can completely rule out everything except the internals of the case - then you know for sure it's in there.

But, it sounds like you have the plan together already, and I'm anxious to see if how you like the low kit!

 

[Posi]

Ok, I only read two posts, the one where JR asked you to post pics of your linkage, and your pics. So, disregard if you already repaired it, or if my post is repetitive.

Looking at your pics, is it possible the linkage where it attaches to the rails is binding and not giving you enough throw to fully engage?

If that may be true I'd remove the linkage and shift the rails by hand. Grab the rail and pull out, and a rubber mallet if need be for the in position. Turning the yoke as JR mentioned will help. You will need to give it a good tug out to engage it.

 

[JR74CJ5]

Looking at your pics, is it possible the linkage where it attaches to the rails is binding and not giving you enough throw to fully engage?

If that may be true I'd remove the linkage and shift the rails by hand. Grab the rail and pull out, and a rubber mallet if need be for the in position. Turning the yoke as JR mentioned will help. You will need to give it a good tug out to engage it.

That's what I was thinking too, but with new parts on the way I'd say he can check it all out thouroughly, then shift all positions with it buttoned up on the bench before slapping back on tranny in the ride. Test without linkage then with before install. That's what I would do - or find out now while you're waiting if there was a conflict there. Low is all the way forward on the stick, so you should have to shove the shift rail all the way into the case for low. The rear is closest to center. (sure you know all that - just rambling... )

 

[Lumpy Grits]

I wonder if the 'sleeves'(black tubes in the pictures)that fits over each shift rail needs to be shortened, to allow full travel of the shift rail back into the t'case.
LG

 

[Hedgehog]

When the gears are installed he could do his bench test with the twin sticks installed killing two birds with one stone. The stick mechanism can be proven and it would be a LOT easier to move/shift the rods. Naturally it would be easier to move the output shafts/gears while testing. Also, leave the cover off so you can see the gears moving.

Lumpy - Not a bad thought. One that never crossed my mind. JB most likely would notice an error in manufacturing like that, but it is possible.

 

[JR74CJ5]

I wonder if the 'sleeves'(black tubes in the pictures)that fits over each shift rail needs to be shortened, to allow full travel of the shift rail back into the t'case.
LG

That's what I saw too...

 

[Posi]

This is what I was talking about in my previous post. I have mine flush with the end of the rail and get full throw.

I also have a pin mounted on the outside.