D20 jumps out of 4WD

Went out today for a little ride and the Jeep kept jumping out of 4WD high under load. No problem with 2WD. I did a search and seems the first thing to check is the poppet balls and springs. I started scraping grease in the top of the transfer case and found an orange plastic cap over one of the shift rods. Is this all that keeps the spring and ball on place. I expected to find a screw or something a little more permanent. I only found one on one side the other is missing.

 

The plastic caps only plug the holes. The holes are for inserting the balls and springs, they are underneath the shift shafts. The springs and ball have to be depressed (a small punch works in a pinch) while sliding the shafts in. It is kind of hard to explain how to replace them here, you probably need to get a service manual. (hint) If you can gey a photocopy of the dana 20 section from an IH Scout service manual, they are much more detailed than a Jeep manual. There is a slight difference on the Scout vs Jeep external shift mechanism, but theyu are the same internally and 99% of their parts interchange.

 

I have the techinal service manual and i't isnt clear. I says on assembly to insert the shaft and turn it a 1/4 turn to lock into place. So are you saying the transfer case needs to come out of the CJ to service the balls and spring?

 

yeah, you have to pull the t-case and disasemble it to get the shift rails out. Good time to replace bearings and other wear items since you are already doing the work.

 

First check that the lever is able to fully move into position. With worn out body and tranny mounts it is possible that the lever is hitting the body before it gets fully engaged.

 

I have addressed the shift lever. When I first got the jeep the shift lever was so sloppy it bounced and banged around and was jumping out of gear. I have removed most of the play in the linkage but even trying to hold it in gear it would jump out of 4WD.