dana 20 transfer case issues

cgrand · Apr 9, 2012

hello everyone
i recently bought a bronco project and have spent lots of time looking through this site, looking forward to being here

here's the truck:
1974 bronco 302V8 3spd manual transmission, dana 20 J shift
96000 miles on the odometer
i bought it at auction so the provenance of the truck is unknown

the column shifter was toast, so i installed a hurst 3spd shifter over the weekend; now that it is driveable i have the following issues:

-vehicle will not drive either in 1st or R with the transfer case in 2H
-it will drive in 4H or 4L, and go thru all the gears, except that while underway, the transfer case shifter jumps out of gear and into neutral

the engine and drivetrain all appear to be original

so...what should i do to diagnose the transfer case?
dropping it and disassembling may be above my head
used and rebuilt transfer cases appear to be available in the $300- $600 range

Viperwolf1 · Apr 9, 2012

What does it do or not do in 2hi? If it seems like the tcase is in neutral, it's possible that the tcase is in neutral. The J shifters are problematic. When worn they are nearly impossible to use. A twin stick shifter will cure that.

Another possibility is the tcase input gear is installed backwards. This will allow the rear output to drive only in 4lo. Tcase needs to come out to fix that.

Jumping out of gear has muliple causes. Worn shifter, worn tcase bearings, worn shift rail springs/balls, bent or out of balance driveshaft, shifter hitting floor pan will all do it. Crawl under it and see if there's any up and down or side to side movement at the tcase yokes. They should be very tight. If not it's time for a rebuild. Tcase rebuilds are not difficult.

cgrand · Apr 9, 2012

it doesn't do anything in 2H...as though it were in neutral
not drive the truck in either 1st or reverse

what can i do to visually confirm that it's a shifter issue vs a tcase issue?

i spent the weekend installing the floor shifter (which has a mounting bracket that bolts to the transfer case)...selfishly it sure would be nice if i didnt have to pull all that off to diagnose the tcase!

thanks so much for the reply

Viperwolf1 · Apr 9, 2012

Pull the boot off the tcase shifter so you can see the two shift rails coming out the front of the tcase. As you move the shifter through the gears note how it moves the shift rails. The driver side rail goes to the front drive half of the tcase. The passenger side rail goes to the rear drive half. Rail all the way in is low range. All the way out is high range. Neutral is in the middle.

If the rails are moving to the correct positions the shifter is doing it's job.

dave67fd · Apr 9, 2012

Stupid question. Is the rear driveshaft in?

cgrand · Apr 9, 2012

viperwolf thanks so much for that
i'll print the pix and check it out tonite and report back
may i assume that it if the shifter is operating properly that i'll have to pull the transfer case to find the problem?

cgrand · Apr 9, 2012

dave67fd said:
Stupid question. Is the rear driveshaft in?

there are no questions stupider than the ones i'll be asking!
i will double check but i believe so

Viperwolf1 · Apr 9, 2012

cgrand said:
may i assume that it if the shifter is operating properly that i'll have to pull the transfer case to find the problem?

You'll have to pull it out to fix it. There are only a couple possible problems inside the tcase that can cause this. The finding part won't be hard once the shifter is ruled out.

cgrand · Apr 9, 2012

Viperwolf1 said:
You'll have to pull it out to fix it. There are only a couple possible problems inside the tcase that can cause this. The finding part won't be hard once the shifter is ruled out.

thanks again
at what point (re: potential problems) will i be better off just buying a rebuilt tcase and swapping it out?

Viperwolf1 · Apr 9, 2012

I'm the wrong person to answer that. I've rebuilt dozens of them. They can all be fixed.

dave67fd · Apr 9, 2012

If you wind-up having to pull it to replace/fix it at least pull it and investigate or inquire with a tranny shop. Probably won't cost you near what a fully rebuilt one will cost.

WSM29 · Apr 9, 2012

dave67fd said:
If you wind-up having to pull it to replace/fix it at least pull it and investigate or inquire with a tranny shop. Probably won't cost you near what a fully rebuilt one will cost.

Just had my Dana 20 rebuilt with a 6 month warranty for $100 at my local shop... Couldn't beat that, since I am not experienced with rebuilding tcases and didn't have the time to mess with it.

cgrand · Apr 9, 2012

WSM29 said:
Just had my Dana 20 rebuilt with a 6 month warranty for $100 at my local shop... Couldn't beat that, since I am not experienced with rebuilding tcases and didn't have the time to mess with it.

i would take that in a heartbeat
thanks!

Viperwolf1 · Apr 9, 2012

WSM29 said:
Just had my Dana 20 rebuilt with a 6 month warranty for $100 at my local shop... Couldn't beat that, since I am not experienced with rebuilding tcases and didn't have the time to mess with it.

You can't even buy a rebuild kit for that. They must have only replaced gaskets and seals.

cgrand · Apr 9, 2012

here's a (bad) pic of the shifter assembly...it bolts to a bracket which bolts to the top of the t case

232901d1334005796-dana-20-transfer-case-issues-photo2-29-medium-.jpg

WSM29 · Apr 9, 2012

I had bought the wild horses basic rebuild kit and gave it to them for the rebuild so I knew all the right parts were there. I should have clarified. $100 was the labor charge.

cgrand · Apr 10, 2012

WSM29 said:
I had bought the wild horses basic rebuild kit and gave it to them for the rebuild so I knew all the right parts were there. I should have clarified. $100 was the labor charge.

thanks

is this it?

http://www.wildhorses4x4.com/product/dana20_Transfer_Case_Rebuild_Kit/Bronco_Dana20_Transfer_Case

Viperwolf1 · Apr 10, 2012

If your going to get a kit get one that has a new cluster gear shaft. The shafts wear and allow the cluster gear to rock on the shaft which may contribute to popping out of gear.

WSM29 · Apr 10, 2012

Yep thats it. So total I was a little over $200 for the rebuild.

cgrand · Apr 11, 2012

thanks again guys for the help
i've been getting home after dark this week and the mosquitos are brutal so i haven't been able to check the linkage against those pictures yet

will do so this weekend and will post some pix looking down on the tcase

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