4-wheel drive question

I recently looked at a 75 CJ5 to purchase off of a guy and had a couple of questions about the 4-wheel drive. First off, the shifter in the cab (single stick) seems to move around a lot (from front to back) if you grab it. It does shift into different positions if you put it in different settings, but seems to have a lot of play in it. Is this typical?

Also, when I locked the hubs in, they were REALLY easy to turn. This is my first experience with this type of Jeep, but most manual hubs I have had were harder to lock in. Does this sound like a problem?

When the hubs were locked and the shifter was in 4-wheel, it seems to be working (turning sharp it was binding up and skipping), but I would like to hear more experienced people's thoughts on these issues.

 

actually, I found that the old lock-o-matics on my cj were usually very difficult unless the t-case was alredy out of 4wd.

 

The D20 shifter in an intermediate Jeep is not very precise to begin with. Nothing like a transmission shifter. And the mechanics of the shifter are somewhat Rube-Goldberg-ish. The shifter should not flop from side-to-side though, but some front-to-back slop is normal.

As Patrick mentions, they will wear. The original linkage ends are kind of cheesy to begin with, and there are also bushings and links that wear. Replacement parts are available, but it won't ever be precise.

 

I guess I will just have to get the jeep in a bind where the back tires won't pull out to actually make sure the 4-wheel drive is working. As far as the D20 shifter, it sounds like it might be normal, maybe could just use new linkage ends or something.

The easy turning hubs were a concern of mine just because it felt like it couldn't actually be doing anything except turning. I will test the 4-wheel when I get a chance.

 

One of my hubs was really easy to turn also. It so happened that it was stuck in the locked position and the springs broke...therefore making the dial really easy.

You may want to jack up the front, unlock the hubs and see if the axle is moving or not when you spin the tire. You could also visually inspect the hub by removing the cap.

 

if it has old school cutlass hubs and they are actually serviced, they are also fairly easy to engage and disengage. My 74 still wears them, I got a replacement set for 9 bucks on ebay and I serviced them when I did wheel bearings. Very easy to use now.

 

I went to a lot of effort to rebuild my linkage. I welded up the holes and re drilled them and welded up the worn rod ends and ground them to size. It is much better but still not without some play. I got a D20 out of a Scout. I guess it has what they refer to as a J shifter, it seems much more precise.I will probably go with that TC when I install my T18.

 

The Scout linkage has very few moving parts to wear out so is a good upgrade for a Jeep. Down side is you have to use the whole transfer case or change out the front output housing and have all the linkage to switch over which requires transfer case disassembly. Up side is fewer moving parts and a shorter throw for shifting the transfer case through all the gears. It also reverses the shift pattern IIRC as it doesn't use the bellcrank like Jeep uses.
One of the common upgrades for the Jeep linkage is to put a new bushing in the bellcrank and the shifter and use rod ends and threaded rod to make new linkage parts that don't have any slop. Sometimes the hitch pins going through the shift rods will wear and become sloppy also. Any hardware store should have those.

 

I noticed its easier/harder to turn with different grade hubs. Good hubs should be butter. As far as 4 wheel drive...

Put the t-case in neutral with the hubs unlocked...Crawl under, the front driveshaft should spin by hand easily

Put the tranny in gear, t-case in 4wd with the hubs unlocked...The front driveshaft shouldn't spin by hand. That means the t-case indeed is in 4wd and not 2wd.

Put the t-case in Neutral with the hubs locked. The front driveshaft shouldn't turn by hand. This means your hubs indeed do work.


Anytime your 4 wheeld drive dosn't work, always do this to pinpoint what the problem is.

 

I just bought a 74 CJ5, have no idea what position the 4x4 shifter should be in while driving. I have found neutral with 4x4 shifter, and have found other gears it will slip into, just not sure where to put it to drive on freeway/ streets. Seems like 4 lo might be all the way down- not sure Help!?!

 

Thank you for your response. New to this computer stuff, thank you for the heads up and info.

 

I was up under the jeep this past weekend looking for a leak and noticed that the front driveshaft would turn by hand easily. This is with T-case in 2wd and tranny in gear with hubs unlocked. I could see the hubs (looked like a universal joint thing) turning right behind the wheels, as I turned the driveshaft. Once I locked the hubs, the front driveshaft would still turn, but the things behind the wheels were not turning anymore. Does anyone know if this should be so? I still haven't really checked the 4wd out yet.

Also, I only have one leak that I have found on my CJ. Where the front driveshaft enters the front axle, it will drip a softball sized spot from the axle in a week or so. Is this just a seal that can be fixed easily?

 

Lock the hubs, jack one front wheel off the ground and put the transfer case in neutral. Turn the wheel that's off the ground and the front driveshaft should turn. If it does not, you either have a broken locking hub or something broken inside the front axle.

 

The seal is pretty easy. You just need a torque wrench capable of over 200lbs. to tighten the nut back down. Normally you would replace the seal, nut and washer at the same time.

Oh yeah, you also need a 2 jaw puller to get the yolk off the pinion. All in all it took me about 15-20 mins.

 

My lock o matic's turn easy when the transfer case is out. Sometimes turn hard when the transfer case is locked in.....always just figured it was the nature of them.