Shifting into 4wheel drive

[SloppyDawg71]

I am new to this site but not to Early Broncos.Had mine for since I was 14 and I am 22 now. I have a 75' Bronco stock drivetrain with rebuilt dana 20 transfer case that is a J-shift pattern.I have a horrible time getting it to shift into 4wheel drive anytime and on any terrain. It doesn't matter if I am on a hill or a flat area it just will not shift for about 5-10 minutes most times and I can not figure out why. Any help will be greatly appreciated.

 

[ken75ranger]

Sounds like your shifter is worn out. Not that they are much better when new. You can change to a twinstick setup for about the same amount of money as a regular one. Go for it!!! For a short term solution you can hose the heck out of the ball socket on the shifter.

 

[74BroncoCO]

Yeah, they are notorious for shifting hard. What I have found helps, is to move the bronco forward just slightly as I engage it. Seems to allow the gears to lineup and mesh. That's with a manual tranny tho, I see you have an auto. If you can get to it, you might check all the bolts holding the shifters in place. If they get loose, the shifting can get sloppy and not engage as well.

J.D.

PS, you might consider moving the info in your side bar to your signature.

 

[jdrambo]

not to high jack the thread but how hard is it to switch a single stick to a double I have an auto c-4 in mine with a 302

 

[Recko555]

when you ask a question like that..............You ARE high jacking the thread.

 

[SloppyDawg71]

thanks for the help but how exactly does a twin stick setup work and where could I find one??

 

[Cooter_76]

Basically the twin stick allows you to control engagement and range of the front and rear axles independently. There are loads of threads on the subject: Linky

I think all of the Bronco vendors sell twin stick setups. I bought mine on eBay from JB Fab and will install it when I reinstall my t-case.

 

[jdrambo]

when you ask a question like that..............You ARE high jacking the thread.

Smartass comments are not needed especially since my question pertained to the advice that was given to SloppyDawg71 on how to fix his hard shifting problem.

so how about offering some technical knowledge? just a thought

 

[Kaw-Liga]

With a twin stick, one stick is devoted stricktly to the front shift rail, and the other to the rear rail...shifting one rail at a time is much easier than both rails at the same time. JB Fab, Tom's, JBG, WH all sell them. Great product.

Rob

 

[ddm156]

my j shifter was a bear to shift as well. cut the shift rails on the transfer case and install a twin stick and never look back

 

[Kaw-Liga]

Cooter_76 beat me to the punch! I do like the SS JB Fab sticks.

Rob

 

[Gummi Bear]

Before I twin sticked, I had difficulties shifting into and out of 4wd. I have a 76 with 302 C4 and J shift D20.

What I did to make it as easy as possible was to find a clear area, and put it in drive, while keeping some pressure on the t-case shifter, then shift to neutral, then shift to reverse. After doing this once or twice, it'd shift with no struggle. You just have to be patient and let things line up on their own.

Don't do like I did shortly after buying my Bronco, I got it into 4, and broke the stinkin shifter trying to get it out! It left me stranded, in neutral, and I didn't know what I had done. I had to get a tow back to the house, then I found out that I broke the 'finger' off of the bottom of the shifter. I had to buy another one for a few bucks from a local fella, and put that in. That was an embarassing lesson.

Save up your money, and do the twinstick upgrade. It'll make life so much easier.

Keep your rig clean, and stay out of the mud, and it'll work for a good long time to come.

 

[jdkin01]

Got mine from Tom's, same as JB I think. The easy way is to cut the floor and make a panel to cover it. Here's some pictures how I did mine. You won't regret going to twin sticks.

 

[Landshark]

I am new to this site but not to Early Broncos.Had mine for since I was 14 and I am 22 now. I have a 75' Bronco stock drivetrain with rebuilt dana 20 transfer case that is a J-shift pattern.I have a horrible time getting it to shift into 4wheel drive anytime and on any terrain. It doesn't matter if I am on a hill or a flat area it just will not shift for about 5-10 minutes most times and I can not figure out why. Any help will be greatly appreciated.

Is it an Auto or stick? If stick you can engage & disengage the tranny while shifting the transfer. If auto, well I've found it's much easier to engage the transfer with the motor off and the trans in neutral.

 

[SloppyDawg71]

well I appreciate all the help I am going to order a twin stick setup in a about 2weeks after I get paid again...I will try to post some photos of the install and my Bronco after that time.

 

[ugly74]

everybody has great things to say about the twin sticks, but from James Duff I got a single J shifter, that is an improved design, and works flawlessly, just like Ford shoulda made the stock one. I like that it looks stock, but works better. and myself, I see no need to ever use only front wheel drive, or whatever. if I need two low, I just don't lock in the hubs. There's a pic of it in my gallery (though not a real good close up)

 

[74BroncoCO]

Ugly74 - I am glad it works for you, but the benefit of a twin stick is so that you don't have to get out to disenagage the front. Picture this - you're on a tight trail and you come up to a switch back. If you're like most of us, you don't have an e-brake, so if you wanted to make the turn, you'd have to shut the rig off in gear, jump out, unlock, jump back in, make the corner, shut the rig of again, engage the hubs and back in again. Or simply pull one lever just before you enter the corner and then re-engage that lever once you're past the corner.

If I had a j-shift and was dropping the t-case for ANY reason, I'd give up my morning mocha for a few months to afford the Twin Stick if I had to.

I actually have a T-shift, so I have 2-low already. I would like to have independent control front to rear, but I'll wait until I can afford the STaK box.

J.D.

 

[ugly74]

that's great to have if you need it...but for me it'd be kinda redundant. The times I've had to deal with tight corners like that, were easily solved with liberal application of the skinny pedal. Lead foot rear steer;D
I was just throwin in my opinion on the subject. I need 4x4 just to get home even in the summer, but I don't go out on real hardcore stuff where that might come in handy. Plus, if the little lady wants to drive it, it's one less control she has to worry about.