jeepinmatt
..l.
- Joined
- Mar 24, 2005
- Location
- Stanley, NC
Finally finished the Dana 300 in my TJ (yeah, i know, cliche), but I went about it a little different than most folks. I sealed off the front, made new shifter rods and brought them out the back of the case, and connected it all via linkage to the levers, and into the cab. I still haven't taken pictures of the finished product mounted under the jeep, but pics of the process can be found here:
http://community.webshots.com/album/515077281smZxjI
Step one was making supports for the shift rods in the back of the case, drilling the case, and welding the supports on. Then I made the new shift rods up with spherical rod ends for a little bit of adjustability. I did a bunch of math to calculate the detent positions, and it still didn't work right, so I just used the old rods as a template, and lined it up in the mill. The seals that went into the rear supports are the same used in the front, so I don't have to remember any special part numbers. I capped off the front holes and removed the old lever mount on the front.
Once the internal part was finished, I made a lever pivot on the rear, setup parallel to the t-case. Using 1/2" stock and radiator drop brackets from my body lift, I fabricated some linkage out the back. The two linkages pivot on the same axis, and provide support for each other for strength. When I attempted to fabricate the shifters, it was impossible to make them go through the factory t-case shifter location in the console (I had already trimmed on the body a little) because they moved in a curved pattern relative to the body. I had to rotate the pivot to a lever position to horizontal, upon which the movement was linear, and I was able to make it work. By putting the pivot horizontal, I had to make the front shift linkage a little longer (see last few pictures). Other than fighting for probably 15hrs with the curved shift pattern, this was not too bad of a project.
Cost was as follows:
D300-100
HD output-175
3ft 5/8" tool rod-7
9 3/8-24 heims-17 (ebay)
front CV yoke- from NP231
Linkage and support steel-laying around shop
Levers-99 (mostly scrapped thanks to curve shift)
1/2" tool rod-6
Miscellaneous hardware-15
Miscellaneous seals-20
Oil-3
Driveshaft shorten/lengthen/repair-200
Total Parts 642
Sold NP231 -325
Total cost =$317
It is alot cheaper to get driveshafts simply shortened or lengthened, but I needed a few new u-joints and new splines front and rear, so mine were more. It would be under $100 normally. The heavy duty rear output isn't necessary either,but I needed a new yoke, seal and bearings for the existing one, which was over half the cost of the HD unit, so I decided to upgrade.
Excluding those two things, the final cost would be about $20.
Hope this is helpful to somebody. If there are any other questions ask me on here or at mbkelly0@gmail.com
-Matt
http://community.webshots.com/album/515077281smZxjI
Step one was making supports for the shift rods in the back of the case, drilling the case, and welding the supports on. Then I made the new shift rods up with spherical rod ends for a little bit of adjustability. I did a bunch of math to calculate the detent positions, and it still didn't work right, so I just used the old rods as a template, and lined it up in the mill. The seals that went into the rear supports are the same used in the front, so I don't have to remember any special part numbers. I capped off the front holes and removed the old lever mount on the front.
Once the internal part was finished, I made a lever pivot on the rear, setup parallel to the t-case. Using 1/2" stock and radiator drop brackets from my body lift, I fabricated some linkage out the back. The two linkages pivot on the same axis, and provide support for each other for strength. When I attempted to fabricate the shifters, it was impossible to make them go through the factory t-case shifter location in the console (I had already trimmed on the body a little) because they moved in a curved pattern relative to the body. I had to rotate the pivot to a lever position to horizontal, upon which the movement was linear, and I was able to make it work. By putting the pivot horizontal, I had to make the front shift linkage a little longer (see last few pictures). Other than fighting for probably 15hrs with the curved shift pattern, this was not too bad of a project.
Cost was as follows:
D300-100
HD output-175
3ft 5/8" tool rod-7
9 3/8-24 heims-17 (ebay)
front CV yoke- from NP231
Linkage and support steel-laying around shop
Levers-99 (mostly scrapped thanks to curve shift)
1/2" tool rod-6
Miscellaneous hardware-15
Miscellaneous seals-20
Oil-3
Driveshaft shorten/lengthen/repair-200
Total Parts 642
Sold NP231 -325
Total cost =$317
It is alot cheaper to get driveshafts simply shortened or lengthened, but I needed a few new u-joints and new splines front and rear, so mine were more. It would be under $100 normally. The heavy duty rear output isn't necessary either,but I needed a new yoke, seal and bearings for the existing one, which was over half the cost of the HD unit, so I decided to upgrade.
Excluding those two things, the final cost would be about $20.
Hope this is helpful to somebody. If there are any other questions ask me on here or at mbkelly0@gmail.com
-Matt
) and for those that don't want to (or don't have access to some of the tools) spend tons of time on the fabbing, it can help streamline the process..
I wouldnt worry about breaking those parts. 