Freqent Shift of Transfer Case - OK or BAD?

[houdel]

How durable is the Deuce transfer case if shifted "on the go" frequently? My Deuce seems a little cranky starting out in 1st or reverse, it seems to want a little more throttle and clutch slip to get underway than I like. Not a big problem most of the time, except when I'm in a close-in maneuvering situation when I'd like to concentrate more on the steering wheel and less on the clutch and throttle.

What I'd like to do in those situations is start out in low-1st, then go high range while I'm still moving, or do as Bjorn does with a heavy load, and shift low 1st-5th, then high 4th-5th. My question then becomes is frequent shifting of the transfer case on the go or under load OK, or is this a bad thing to do? Is it better to shift the transfer case while stationary? Or is the transfer case as durable as the transmission and is perfectly happy to be shifted while moving on a regular basis?

 

[rmgill]

They're designed for it. When on touch and go terrain, you can start out in low second and be quite speedy on the uptake, then get to 5th low, reach down, push in the clutch, then pull the low range lever up and then throw it into 3rd or 4th fairly easily and go from there.

 

[mangus580]

cranky about 1st or reverse?? and actually have to use low range 1st or reverse? You might want to look for problems.... It annoys me to use 1st high range to start out empty with mine!

 

[rice]

Both of mine start out fine empty in 2nd high unless I'm on a hill.

 

[Katch1]

yeah second high range empty for sure empty, loaded up I split the 4-5 gearshift

 

[davemccoull]

frequent transfer shift.

As Ryan Gill says they are meant to be shifted on the move, they even have a syncromesh hub fitted.

 

[houdel]

Mike, Rick, Katch1 - I agree, in the early 70s when I drove Deuces for the ARNG, most of the time we started in 2nd gear, but in this truck starting in 1st gear feels like starting in 2nd gear on the old days. Starting this truck moving in 2nd would take WAY too much clutch slip for me to be comfortable doing it. Note I said I only use low range for tight maneuvering when I need to be cautious, most of the time high range is fine for starting from a stop.

It almost seems like my truck is higher geared than it should be. When I drove it home from the DRMO, the best I could do on a level section of Interstate highway was 53-54 MPH @ a tad shy of 2500 RPM. I could never get it up to 2600 RPM on level roadway! Yet my wife was following me in our '05 Chevrolet Venture and she said her speedo was reading 58-60 MPH all the way! By the way, I did check her odometer reading vs. the truck's odometer reading for the 200+ mile trip, also checked the truck's odo vs. the milemarkers on a 10 mile stretch if Interstate. By my calculations, both the odometer and speedometer are reading about 9-10% lower than actual.

 

[Westech]

same kind of thing with me. When im running down the road at 2600 rpm and 56 mph my buddy can come right up next to me and he says im doing close to 60. i dont get it i can keep right up hwy trafic. but on the hills..... the big one kill me right to 35 mph

 

[Recovry4x4]

I can bolt from an intersection in 2nd with the little tractor. The M108 is a different story. It labors to take off in second, no doubt a consequence of the 20,000#+ weight.

 

[ida34]

Yet my wife was following me in our '05 Chevrolet Venture and she said her speedo was reading 58-60 MPH all the way!

You got your wife to help you pick up your duece? What a woman. She must be a keeper. I thought I hit the jackpot when I did not get in trouble for getting the Cucv after getting the duece so I guess mine is OK. She did ask me if I was done after I got the Cucv. I just told her that there is alot of cool stuff on the drmo yard a Selfridge.

 

[Katch1]

houdel, are you running 11.00 20's, I'm just wondering if theres a tire circumfrence changing you're gearing as I'm running 9.00 20's, don't even know how much of a difference that would make in the bottom end

 

[houdel]

Chuck - The wife didn't have much choice. I had no one else to go with me to pick the truck up, if she didn't go I would have had to leave her car there! SANG is neat, when I picked my Deuce up it was parked next to a M819 (?) wrecker, couple of dump trucks & lots of Deuces there. Don't know if they will be auctioned though, might just be there temporarily awaiting reissue.

Katch1 - Nope, I'm running stock 9:00-20s. No idea why my Deuce runs so fast, at the expense of top end punch. Once I get my fuel filters replaced (and my historical plate) I'll get it out on the road again, do a few tests, and write a new posting about the whole speed, power, RPM thing.

 

[ida34]

I saw the wrecker. It looked very sweet. I am sure if it is auctioned it will go for more than my price range. I always wait for my price on stuff and if it does not happen so be it.

 

[JDToumanian]

Have those with fast deuces checked to see if their tranny is a (rare) 3053B, as opposed to the standard 3053A?

The 3053B, I've learned from this group, has a slightly higher overdrive and 1st is not as low either. I'd like to know if there are actually any 3053Bs out there, and how rare they are. I always crawl under trucks in boneyards and look at tranny data plates now.

Jon

 

[ironhorsethegeneral]

We use 1100x20 tires it does raise the top end up.