Twin Stick Shifter
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| by: Jeff Higdon |
| You will need a second factory Dana 300 shifter and shifter knob.
Also, if the second shifter you get is the same length as your original
shifter you may want to consider shortening it a little to make it
somewhat easier to shift the handles when their side by side. I used
the one that came on the D300 I swapped my D20 for and the shift handle
was already shorter than my other shifter. |
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| First, take the shift shaft to a machine shop and have the long
side machined to match the side the shifter bolts to in the stock
location, as in the drawing. I also had a bushing made to go on the
end that the spring washer was on, though I believe the shaft would
work just fine if you had it cut off at the end of the new threads.
I think that’s what I will have to do when I attempt to "clock"
my transfer case to gain a little more ground clearance and get the
t-case more out of harms way. (I did clock my t-case and I had to
cut off the part of the shifter bracket closest to the tranny) The
local shop charged $17 to machine my shaft. |
| Dimension A is determined by the width of the brace the shift shaft
goes thru. Dimension A also needs to be about 1/16" - 1/8"
wider than the brace to compensate for tightening the nuts that hold
the shifters in place. If there is any looseness in the shifter handles
after installation you can always tighten them up by shimming between
the shifters and the shift shaft brace. It’s better to have dimension
A wider than needed than to have it not wide enough. The second shifter
handle has to be chamfered on the opposite side so it will ride on
the new shoulder the machine shop cut into the shift shaft. I did
mine with a 5/8" drill bit in my hand drill. It doesn’t
have to be deep, just similar to the factory chamfer on the other
side of the shifter. You will also have to bend the shifter handles
in order to get them both to bolt up without hitting or rubbing against
each other. (After clocking my t-case I cut out the offset and welded
the shifters back so they were straight. Unless you’re going
to clock your t-case this shouldn’t be necessary).After getting
everything bolted together and working you may want to take it somewhere
you can have them heated and bend them where you want them. |
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| Two new pieces will have to be made that attach to the shift rails
for the bottom of the shifters to fit in. I made mine from 1 1/2"
wide x 1/4" thick flat stock. If you don’t have a 5/8"
drill bit you will have to get a machine shop or some other shop to
drill the holes for the end of the shifters to fit in.I hope this
gives you a better idea in doing this homemade twin stick conversion.
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| Prices are as follows: |
- Currie twin stick shifter boot...$22.75 (4 Wheel Drive Hardware)
- Machine work on shift shaft...$17.00
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| I also had to build a tranny cover. |
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