Dana 300 problems

[cjs cj]

Had some work done to my Dana 300 and when I got it back the shift rods were out of line and took me forever to get them even. Then I finally got the shifter on, but it won't shift at all! I don't know if it's because they put it on in the wrong gear or if something is wrong with it. Help appreciated!

 

[Woolyworm]

What did you have done to it and by who?


Wooly

 

[cjs cj]

That's where it gets sketchy, they never told me everything they ended up doing to it to unfreeze it. It was by a Transmission shop.

 

[GatorBate]

You said it was locked up. It maybe that the rods between the shifting rails may be rusted or for some reason they cannot move freely. that would jam the shifting rods.

I think this drawing is the shifting rods from a Dana 20 but the 300 has a similar setup. If one of the rod are rolled 180° so the detent ball can't go into there slot at the right time, that would lock it up too.

 

[Bent]

The gear driven transfer cases don't always shift easy. I have to let the clutch out a little with the Transmission in gear to get mine into low gear. I also need to back up in a straight line or unlock the hubs some times to get it out.
You may need to make sure they didn't loose the "pill" if they had the shifter assembly off. I would suggest you go to a website for a company that sells a low range gear set for the 300 and download their installation instructions. The instructions I've seen on those sites are very detailed with good pictures of how the shifter assembly works and is installed.
Is the vehicle running? If so, what length did your rear driveline work out to be with the inline six and AX15 in a CJ5 ? (Not that a super short driveline would affect the shifting of the Transfer Case . Just curious.)

 

[Woolyworm]

They will be "uneven" in many of the shift positions. The ball do get stuck if sitting a long time. There are two plastic plugs at the top that you can pull out and spray in PB Blaster or similar to try and unfreeze them. I'd bring it back to the tranny shop and describe the problem you are having now and find out exactly what they did. Did they just fiddle with the shifter, disassemble the shifting linkage, the Transfer Case , lubricate etc? Mine stuck and I was able to work it free with PBB. Is it stuck in gear or neutral? Lots of times you can work it back and forth after going in forward and reverse. You may need to drive back and forth to try an release pressure on the gears.


Wooly

 

[cjs cj]

The gear driven transfer cases don't always shift easy. I have to let the clutch out a little with the transmission in gear to get mine into low gear. I also need to back up in a straight line or unlock the hubs some times to get it out.
You may need to make sure they didn't loose the "pill" if they had the shifter assembly off. I would suggest you go to a website for a company that sells a low range gear set for the 300 and download their installation instructions. The instructions I've seen on those sites are very detailed with good pictures of how the shifter assembly works and is installed.
Is the vehicle running? If so, what length did your rear driveline work out to be with the inline six and AX15 in a CJ5? (Not that a super short driveline would affect the shifting of the transfer case. Just curious.)

I'll have to try those tricks for shifting, thank you. But, no it's not running at the moment but it has and the driveline is at a one inch drop with a 36 in front driveshaft and 12 in collapsed rear cardan style driveshaft with 2 1/2 inch play at like 28 degrees. Crazy short and if I did it again I would have moved the whole driveline up to give a little extra play room.

 

[Bent]

I'll have to try those tricks for shifting, thank you. But, no it's not running at the moment but it has and the driveline is at a one inch drop with a 36 in front driveshaft and 12 in collapsed rear cardan style driveshaft with 2 1/2 inch play at like 28 degrees. Crazy short and if I did it again I would have moved the whole driveline up to give a little extra play room.

I'm at 15" yoke to yoke with the AMC 258 i6 / 4.2l /t177/Dana 300 . It makes you respect the Dana 18 design with the dropped rear output.

 

[76cj7chick]

Hey, I know this thread is a few months old but just wondering if you figures out the Dana 300 shifting issues as I recently got one in a trade and it doesn't go into neutral gear. It always has the front driveshaft engaged.
Thanks!