Dual stick??

[AcelaTech]

I have been hearing alot about the "dual stick" shifters. Can anybody explain to me what the advantage is to having the dual stick?? I have a T18a and Dana 20 xfer in my 71 Gladiator. Can the dual stick be installed on this truck and if so, can anybody give me any ideas what I need to do this? I will be tearing the truck down this winter and spring to do a frame-off. Will it be easier to do all this while it is tore down??

TIA

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1988 GW mostly stock
1971 J-4000
Rhino Grille
360 CID 8.5/1 ratio 2v
245 HP
365 ft/lb
T-18A
Dana 20
PTO
PLOW
DANA 44 Full (Front)
DANA 44 Semi (Rear)

[scotty]

the twin stick shifter simply lets you engage the front and rear wheels seperately. the dana 20,like all gear driven cases is basically set up with a high,neutral,low for the front output,and seperate high,neutral,low for the rear output. the xfer case can be modified to move the shift rails seperately,letting you have a variety of combos.for example you can put the front in neutral,the rear in low.you might want to do this to pullsomething real heavy on the street without worring obout drivetrain bind in 4lo.if you have a front lcoker you could do this to make steering on easier with the locked front axle,since it isnt recieving power,it will unlock and let you turn. say you get stuck in some sand or poop mud with the front on solid ground.put the front in low and the rear in neutral.now you can spin your front tires and work the wheels back and forth without the rear digging you in further. with some cases it is even possible to put the front in high and the rear in neutral.now you have a big,front wheel drive truck for winter driving.or if youbreak the rear driveshaft,you can limp home in fwd.

i dont know why there is not a kit for the dana 20.it works the same as the 300.i have modified a cj dana 20 by removing the 2 interlock pills between the shift rails,and made the 2 shift levers using parts of the stock shifter. the only bad thing about this is that is now possible to put it in front low,rear high. as you can imagine,this cannot be good if you try and drive it this way.the cj case could be modified by grinding on the shift rails and leaving the interlock pills in.this would let you move the shift rails independently from low to neutral,or high to neutral,but not all the way from low to high.

ok,now the sj 20 is alittle different.this is what ive got on the t18 ill be installing into my grand wag soon.its got the U shifter box.the front part,where the shifter bolts on and the shift rails come thru is different. i have not dissassembled one of these cases yet,but initial experiments with another one with the shifter box removed reveal that the 2 levers allready move independently,so there must not be any interlock pills n there. the case ive got ican move both levers all three clicks seperately,so it looks like no internal mods will be neccessary.all you need to do is remove the goofy shifter box and make a pivot for 2 levers to swing on,and connect them to the 2 shift rails.voila- fwd low range at your disposal.makes for some really cool backwards doughnuts in a muddy field or snowy parking lot http://www.ifsja.org/ubb/smile.gif be aware that the wagoneer case will let you accidentally put the front and rear in high and low at the same time,so always make sure the shifters are where you think they are before you start moving.i dont think that this will bother me a whole lot,but if it does you it shouldnt be hard to find a cj case to modify so that this is not an option.

im gonna have my frined weld me up a little thing to use my currie shifters since i paid $149 for them. the shifters could be very easily made with some flat iron and steel rod.

im sure it would be much easier to do with the xfer out,but it certainly could be done with it still in.at least with the sj case. the cj case will have to be dissassembled,and therefore removed.

hope this helps.let me know if you need any further details.

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scott
85 grand wagoneer
258 with motorcraft 2bbl/904/twin stick dana 300/dana 44/welded amc 20
38x15.5 gumbo mudders
snorkel/dual batteries/onboard air/"custom" convertable
3 inch body lift/mostly stock suspension/"modified" fender openings
custom front/rear bumpers and brushgaurd

T18/dana 20 swap very soon
searching for dana 18 to replace the 20...

[This message has been edited by scotty (edited October 22, 2000).]

[AcelaTech]

Wow! Thanks for the info Scotty. Think I will probably try this while I got the Body off the frame. May have to pick your brain in the future when I actually get to doing this! http://www.ifsja.org/ubb/smile.gif


------------------
1988 GW mostly stock
1971 J-4000
Rhino Grille
360 CID 8.5/1 ratio 2v
245 HP
365 ft/lb
T-18A
Dana 20
PTO
PLOW
DANA 44 Full (Front)
DANA 44 Semi (Rear)

[scotty]

just for s**ts and giggles,i pulled the cotterpins in the little rods that hold the long connecting rails to the U shifter box.if youve got the same dana 20 and U style shifter,then you know wht it looks like.anyway,i put the shifter in neutral,and then removed the rod from the rear shift rail,which is the one closest to the xfer case.i could move the forward rail all thre positions with the stock shifter,and the rear one staing in neutral.since the tranny is attached, i could spin the input shaft and watch the fron yoke spin in high and low,while the rear didnt move.i then put the fornt in neutral,and did the same thing with the rear-used the stock shifter to move in all 3 positions and watch the rear yoke spin in high and low while the front didnt move. no internal mods neccessary on the sj dana 20 with the U shiftbox. pretty cool.all you dana 20 guys need to do is fabrivate the t levers if you want twin sticks.

now if i could just afford the 3.15 to 1 low range gears http://www.ifsja.org/ubb/smile.gif then my twin stick dana 20 will be even better than the stock 2.61 dana 300!



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scott
85 grand wagoneer
258 with motorcraft 2bbl/904/twin stick dana 300/dana 44/welded amc 20
38x15.5 gumbo mudders
snorkel/dual batteries/onboard air/"custom" convertable
3 inch body lift/mostly stock suspension/"modified" fender openings
custom front/rear bumpers and brushgaurd

T18/dana 20 swap very soon
searching for dana 18 to replace the 20...