Dana 20 with 2 low???

Hi All,
I have read the threads about some transfer cases having 2low with a single lever. I was working on my 72 tonite and was playing around with the transfer case lever. It appears I have the ability to switch into 2 Low. Right after Neutral the lever clicks into place before 4H. I can feel 5 seperate positions on the lever and turning the output yoke of the t-case it appears as though I have 5 seperate output options. I have the rear driveshaft removed while I am adding 12" to the chassis and if I turn the output yoke by hand I can identify 4H,2H,N, 2L ( only rear driveshaft moves and you can feel the extra gear reduction from 2H) and 4H. Is this simply because the interlock pill is worn? If I leave the Tcase alone will this work off-road or will I have to hold the Tcase lever in place to get it to stay in 2L? Any ideas?

Mike

 

I haven't wheeled it. Bought it 4 months ago and tore it apart as soon as I got it home.

Mike

 

Will it stay in 2 low while wheeling? Or is it going to slip out when power is applied?

Mike

 

Only way to find out is to try. The detent that holds the lever in place is not the same as the pill that controlls the gear combinations. You should be okay.

 

This was discussed a few months back. There were quite a few posts re: this. The concensus being that the Model 20 was not intentionally designed to have 2Lo from the factory, although some appear to have it.

 

this and the other threads have got me to thinking about this. conventional thinking says you have to remove the inter-lock pills to get two low, however we keep hearing from somebody how if thet go slow on their single lever they can get this position. hhhmmmm we all say.......... that shouldnt be, right. but when i put my twin-sticks on my 20, i orginaly intended to remove the pills to get two-low front and rear, but when it came to that point i didnt do it because..........well because i was lazyR) anyway, i build it and install it and try it out. i am going thru the positions and low and below, i get a very definite two-low to the rear. i have used it on the trail and it works fine.

so i guess what i am saying is that the rods must be cut in such a way as to alow this, its just eaiser to use it with twin-sticks.

 

The reason to remove the detent pills on a 20 with a twin stick is to give you front wheel drive only capability. You can always get 2-lo with a twinstick without removing the pills. The problem is that once you remove the pills then it is very possible to put one axle in high and the other in low range. Makes for a really fun ride for about 2 seconds.

Its the shift linkage that does the selection. It is desinged to engage low range in both axles at the same time. I am guessing the linkage is worn and the slop is allowing the 2-lo setting you are getting.

 

You are correct about the sloppy shift linkage allowing for 2L with the Dana 20. My linkage is so sloppy that I ended up sacrificing 4H for 4L since I could not get both. These two are at extreme opposites in the shift pattern. This is a temporary work around for me until I fix the slop or go twin stick when I install the T-18a.

The T-18a came from a J10 and had the D20 mated to it with the J style shifter. I really like the J series shifter design and may fab it to fit the CJ instead of the twin sticks when I do the tranny swap, not sure though.