Dana 20 T/C pops out of 4 LOW

[blake5179]

So I have had my transfer case pop out of 4 Low a couple times on the trail now. It only seems to happen under a good load going up hill. Which is the worst time for the t/c to pop into neutral. I checked the body mounts like someone suggested, they are all old but don't seem to be to worn out or flexing a ton.
Last year or so I found a deal for a used twin stick shifter so I bought that and put it on and now when it wants to pop out of gear only the rear axle shifter pops out and the front stays in place.
Now that I know what it is, I can listen for it and hold the shifter and it will stay in gear fine. But that isn't a very good or safe solution.

I could really use lower gearing so I have been looking into the tera low kit for the Dana 20. I was hoping that might kill two birds with one stone and fix the popping problem and give me lower gears. Its pretty expensive though and I'm not sure that the part that is worn would be replaced in the tera low kit.
I could buy a used 20 and hope it is in good shape. (still have the same gearing though)
I could buy the tera low kit and hope it replaces the part that is causing the problem. (expensive but might be doable)
I could try the D18/bronco D20 gear swap thing. (only read a little about this so far and don't know all the details yet)
I could buy an Atlas (and my wife would kill me)

Any thoughts?

[cmelo]

So you had a single shifter and it popped out of gear before? Usually I only here of it with twin sticks. Worn out gears and improper bearing preload can cause it to pop out. Taking out the interlock pill only makes it worse. Usually the rear rail binds on the pill when it's trying to pop out of gear and prevents it from happening. You can put the pill back in and grind the rails to still have twin stick ability but this requires pulling the whole case apart.

I have D18/bronco gears and it pops out of rear low. Honestly, I plan on making a removable pin to just hold the shifter itself in place.

[blake5179]

Yes it did it with the original stock single shifter and also did it with the twin sticks.
Tell me more about this pin you plan to make, would it just be something up on the shifter inside the cab to hold the shifter in place?

On one trip I put a bungee on the shifter to hold it and it kind of worked. Maybe a better locking pin of some sort would be a cheap and dependable fix.

[Blake]

well I like the idea of the Atlas and have 'em in both my 'wheeling FSJ's.

If you go that route I definitely recommend the 4spd (like I have in the Honcho). They are only a few hundred more and give you that extra set of gears to play with. Plus the forward hi/low shifter assembly is super, super easy to shift and very handy. If you go with a 2spd (like I did on the waggy) you will still need to get new driveshafts and won't have all the toys. You will end up wishing you had the 4spd.

[cmelo]

Yes it did it with the original stock single shifter and also did it with the twin sticks.
Tell me more about this pin you plan to make, would it just be something up on the shifter inside the cab to hold the shifter in place?

On one trip I put a bungee on the shifter to hold it and it kind of worked. Maybe a better locking pin of some sort would be a cheap and dependable fix.

There's not really anything to tell. It's exactly how you described it. Just something simple, quick, and easy to remove. I'll probably add a tab to the bottom of my shifter, and a tab on the floor that lines up when it's in low and have some sort of quick remove pin, or even a bolt. I never really need to shift out of rear low on the fly so having have to take an extra second to shift it doesn't bother me.

Down the road I may put the pills back in and grind the rails.

http://offcamber4wd.org/forum/index.php?topic=743.0

[joe]

Check the condition of the trans/tcase mounts. If they're shot, under load the cases will twist and pop out of gear. Check the condition of your motor mounts too.

[68glad]

Mine used to pop out of 4low also w/ twin sticks. After tearing it down the intermediate gear thrust washers were toast & in turn wrecked the case.

[Stuka]

D20's popping out of low is a very common sign of a worn intermediate shaft or bad thrust washers (As 68Glad mentioned).

The case needs to be rebuilt.

[blake5179]

Thanks for the input guys.

Looks like there is a master overhaul kit for $130ish.
And the Tera Low kit for $900ish.
Sure would be cool if the tera low kit came with the small rebuild parts too for that price.

[cmelo]

Thanks for the input guys.

Looks like there is a master overhaul kit for $130ish.
And the Tera Low kit for $900ish.
Sure would be cool if the tera low kit came with the small rebuild parts too for that price.

For $1000 I think I'd save a little longer and get an atlas. Figure with those gears maybe there's a chance for the front output to go. That's, what, maybe $500 more. I believe an atlas starts at $2000 and you can certainly find one used. Putting in new gears and a rebuild also doesn't guarantee it won't pop out gear. A lot of D300s still pop out of low under load after tera low gears. Not sure about D20s.

With that said is it really that bad having it pop out? My intermediate shaft and thrust washers are fine and it still pops out. Same thing happen to a buddy with a rebuilt dana 20. To me, either the grinding the rails and reinstalling the pills, or a "stick lock" would be all I'd want to do. If I wanted the super low gearing I'd save my pennies for an atlas.

[KJ Ryu]

I had problems with mine popping out. Discovered bad motor and trans mounts. Got those replaced but, used to just have a buddy with, to hold the shifter with his foot.

[blake5179]

haha, yes that has been my Dad or brother or buddies job riding in the passenger seat, I always tell them to put their foot on the shifter. But when they get out to take a picture I have to drive and reach over and hold it.
As cheap as the replacement mounts are, I need to get some of those and give them a try first. Can't hurt.
thanks everyone for the input.

[KJ Ryu]

Absolutely! Do the cheap stuff first. The mounts are cheap but make sure you have plenty of ratchet straps handy to pull everything into place when you change them. I've swapped them all, 4 times now, on 2 different FSJs, so I kinda figured out a thing or two. Cherry picker, trans jack or something to support the trans (I use an ATV jack!), appropriate wrenches, and 3 ratchet straps... I can swap all four mounts in less than 2 hours if I have all those things, now. First time took about 6 hours.

[Red20]

I guess I cheated when I replaced my mounts. I had a lift and a tranny jack. Did tranny mount first, then kept the bolts loose and did the two motor mounts. Then just lined up and tightened it all down. Only took an hour.

One thing about motor mounts is that you can't always tell that they're bad by just looking at them. Mine looked fine until we jacked up the motor and it just came right up and the mounts were in two neatly split pieces, one on the motor and one on the frame. I had some interesting transmission issues until I replaced them.

Good luck. I have the same problem with the twin stick Dana 300 in my Scrambler.

[Phillips889]

I use the old bungee trick on my wheeler with the twin stick never let me down haha.