New Drivetrain Problems HELP!!!

[gtstang03]

Hey guys,
been putting in long hours for the last month or so on the bronco.
went for its main voyage tonight, which i came back not to happy
I installed the following

Dana 44 swap
Np435 and gear Banger
Twin Stick with Interlock pin removal.
Spool in rear end.

I have 2 main issues i need some guidance
1) transfer case FRONT will not shift into high at all, wont even try to go in. Acts like it is not there. It will go into Low fine. the Rear works perfect.
When the front is neutral it has a lot of play and sloop and is really easy to move, so loose the twin stick boot will move it with the rear shifter.
I did tear down the whole t case to remove the interlock pins. All went well and went back together good, HOPEFULLY CORRECTLY. LOL

2) Gear banger is extremely tough. all the gears work, but holy cow it would take the hulk to shift this thing.
I loosened both bolts on the shifter basically hand tight and it helped some, but still really tough.
It is impossible to shift from second to 3rd. i have to come to almost a complete stop, and that is even if i find the 3rd gear.
3rd - 4th is pretty simple of course, still hard.

I know 1st is a granny low, but is still possible to shift from 1st to 2nd.
I can't pull it out of 1st unless i stop.
Also this is a older gear banger shifter and the collar is about 1.5-2inch up on the np435 stub shifter.

sorry for the rant but the whole project Kicked my A** and just need to vent. LOL

Any suggestion on where to start, hoping to not have to drop the t case.
Thanks ahead of time for any ideas.

 

[Viperwolf1]

Pull the tcase boot and see if the front rail is moving all the way unobstructed. There should be 1.2" of movement between low and high range on the front rail.

 

[gtstang03]

Pull the tcase boot and see if the front rail is moving all the way unobstructed. There should be 1.2" of movement between low and high range on the front rail.

I have pulled the cover and verified it is moving without hitting anything. It looks like it moves about 1/2" - 3/4" from low to it stops before high.
so it seems a little short.
Thanks for your help as well ;D

 

[Viperwolf1]

Sounds like you're just hitting neutral. That's 0.8" from low. Might try loosening the detent plug/spring on the front side and see if that's binding it up.

 

[gtstang03]

Sounds like you're just hitting neutral. That's 0.8" from low. Might try loosening the detent plug/spring on the front side and see if that's binding it up.

great idea. i did add a extra washer in on the spring to hopefully help with the sloop feel in neutral this could be why it is not engaging. I will try this.

 

[Viperwolf1]

Here's a graphic representation of what you're feeling.

 

[DirtDonk]

Since you've driven it, how does the clutch feel? Is it linear and is there some up-travel before it starts to grab?
I'm just thinking that the hard shifting could be a dragging clutch.

Uh, and you did check the "fill with oil" note off your list, right? Just checking.

I'm not intimately familiar with the Gear-Banger, so I can't picture just what might bind up with the linkage that would act like you describe. The only two things that come to mind are: not enough leverage (too short of a stub) or the tranny is too tight. The first one doesn't seem likely, but I'm assuming it's possible.
I've used them and have two friends with them (three, including the designer) and they all shift like buttah, as they say.

For the tests, you're not locked in 4 wheel drive, are you? Hubs unlocked and t-case in 2wd and all that?

Good luck.

Paul

 

[BroncoDawg]

Silly question, but are you sure rear shifter is in neutral or low before trying to hit front low with twin stick? Have you tried it rolling to see if binding?
Good luck.

 

[gtstang03]

Here's a graphic representation of what you're feeling.

Thsi makes perfect since going to my remove my extra washer from the spring to see if this clears it up.

I did try rolling and putting it in front low with no luck.
I also removed the interlock pin between the rails so the neutral should not be a issue, although i did try this as well.

As for the gear banger, thats all i read about how smooth it is.
I have the collor up about 1.5-2 inch. I am going to try and move it up another half inch or so and see if this helps.
It does have fluid and the clutch engages at the middle top where it was prior to trans swap. This is one area i did not touch, bellhousing stayed in place.

Thanks for all the help.

 

[Dave]

That sounds like my 435 when the synchros went bad.

 

[gtstang03]

wow guys, well i took out my extra washer and went right into 4 low. and the twin stick works as it should.

I then moved the shift collar up on the gear banger all the way up as far as i can about 2.25 inches this helped a lot shifting gears. Well actually made it possible. still a little hard, just seem hard to find 3rd a little. Hoping it will break in or i will learn it some more.

i did have a new issue pop up though. it kept popping out of 2wd high. Like every time i stepped on the brakes hard or sometimes shifting. My twin stick boot is really hard and might be the issue.
Any recommendations for this, maybe a set of new detent springs?

thanks again for your help.

 

[Viperwolf1]

wow guys, well i took out my extra washer and went right into 4 low. and the twin stick works as it should.

I then moved the shift collar up on the gear banger all the way up as far as i can about 2.25 inches this helped a lot shifting gears. Well actually made it possible. still a little hard, just seem hard to find 3rd a little. Hoping it will break in or i will learn it some more.

i did have a new issue pop up though. it kept popping out of 2wd high. Like every time i stepped on the brakes hard or sometimes shifting. My twin stick boot is really hard and might be the issue.
Any recommendations for this, maybe a set of new detent springs?

thanks again for your help.

Maybe put the washer on the rear side. That's a cheap fix for a worn out spring as long as it compresses enough still. Lots of other possibilities too. I assume everything is good or new inside since you had it apart. Did you check the endplay/preload on the rear output?

 

[gtstang03]

Maybe put the washer on the rear side. That's a cheap fix for a worn out spring as long as it compresses enough still. Lots of other possibilities too. I assume everything is good or new inside since you had it apart. Did you check the endplay/preload on the rear output?

Put a few washers on the driver side and fixed the issue. thanks again.

Now that i was able to drive it for a more then a mile today.
The newest issue is good amount of noise comeing fron the trans when i push the clutch in while it is in gear and coast. Good amount of clinking or clunking.
If i pull it out of gear it makes no noise.
Is this clutch Related?

Also anymore suggestions to easy the gear banger shifting, when it finds the gear it is nice but still tough.
Thanks

 

[DirtDonk]

While the noise could very well be an issue with the transmission itself, I believe that it could also be a dragging clutch. Which would do double-duty as a culprit in your hard shifting issue too.
Then again... An internal problem with something in the tranny could cause hard shifting too, so I guess someone with more trans-issue experience will have to weigh in.

Paul

 

[gtstang03]

Well guys,
it appears to be a dragging clutch.
I let roll slowly down the drive way and you can hear it dragging a little bit when clutch is pushed in. If i pull it out gear the bronco will suddenly start rolling faster and the noise goes away.
I adjusted teh clutch rod tighter so basically the clutch will engage some more. seem to help a little but not much.
Is it possible i need a new clutch?

 

[broncnaz]

While you can shift a NP435 from 1st to 2nd you really cant be going very fast when you do it. Its kind of a learned shift. 1st gear is not snyconized so basically you cant really shift normally like the other gears. Plus its a really big gearing drop from fist to 2nd that doesnt help either.

 

[gtstang03]

While you can shift a NP435 from 1st to 2nd you really cant be going very fast when you do it. Its kind of a learned shift. 1st gear is not snyconized so basically you cant really shift normally like the other gears. Plus its a really big gearing drop from fist to 2nd that doesnt help either.

Well guys, all is solved and working great.
The clutch warped bad, and pressure plate was in bad shape. The clutch it self had lots of material. It appears the last person who did the clutch swap must have broken a clutch bolt off in the flywheel and left it. Most likely the cause of warped clutch.
So after extracting the broken bolt and buying a new clutch kit, installed it all and upon startup, experinced a nice knock/bang from bellhousing.
Make a long story short, the clutch lever mounting bolt ont he side of the bellhousing was hitting the rivots on the new clutch.
Had to take everything back out to figure this..
After this fix all is good.

The shifting is fantastic with the gear banger now!!!!!