rod end tcase linkcage

I've seen a couple guys rebuild their tcase linkage with 3/8" or 7/16" female rod ends and allthread, but I for the life of me cannot find any female rod ends. Anyone help me out here?

Mcmastercarr.com

Many 4x4 venders sell rod ends, like Poly Performance or Spidertrax. Locally, look for a good nut and bolt store, they should have them. A local place would also have the 7/16" all thread. You'll probably need a washer/spacer behind a couple of the rod ends for clearance.

BTW, this is a very nice, easy, and cheap modification.

alright, should have searched better, found 5-90 throwing a couple places out there. Now, I'm a little hoped up on bendryl, so I'm not thinking all that clearly here, so help me out. I plan on changing my tcase linkage to eliminate the bellcrank. I believe CRASH and a couple others did this, but I can't seem to find any pics or parts list. I'll be changing the lever off the tcase to point up instead of down, and will be runing a right hand thread 3/8th female rod end from the tcase shifter lever to some allthread to a left hand 3/8" rod end to the newly flipped tcase lever off the case itself. Does that sound right?

you guys are faster typers than I am. . . can't find any locally and can't find any female rod ends from my usual online 4x4 vendors.

I got mine at OSH. Summit carries them and so does Grainger and McMaster Carr.
Billy

whitneyj said:

alright, should have searched better, found 5-90 throwing a couple places out there. Now, I'm a little hoped up on bendryl, so I'm not thinking all that clearly here, so help me out. I plan on changing my tcase linkage to eliminate the bellcrank. I believe CRASH and a couple others did this, but I can't seem to find any pics or parts list. I'll be changing the lever off the tcase to point up instead of down, and will be runing a right hand thread 3/8th female rod end from the tcase shifter lever to some allthread to a left hand 3/8" rod end to the newly flipped tcase lever off the case itself. Does that sound right?

Click to expand...

Sounds right
Billy

BTW, simply replacing both shift rods with heim joints and all thread is very simple and works very well, and you don't have to change anything. And, the shift lever uses the stock positions. However, what you want to do also works well.

I had looked into that a while ago and put that on the back burner. But when I clocked my tcase I didn't re-drill the tcase mounting plate that bolts between the tcase and tranny so it sits funny and the tcase linkage doesn't like it. I thought instead of pulling everything to fix a funky stock setup I'd rather jump on this. I'm not to concerned about keeping the shifter in the stock location, after I get my gears, traction bar, and high steer all done I'll be on the lookout for a d300 for a doubler. So I'll be messing all that up in a while anyhow

if you look at the link in jeepfreak21's sig, you will find his linkage design in there.

i just recently clocked my case and brought my crossmember a couple inches higher.

I took the stock shift lever on the t-case. notched it, bent it and filled in the gap with my mig. i mounted it to the case with it pointed up so it sits flush against the case in 2 hi.

from there i got some 7/16" female heims that fit just about perfect in the factory linkage holes. took a long 7/16" bolt and some jam nuts and threaded them into the heims, adjusted it while everything was in 2 hi. i needed just a little more throw to fully engage into 4 lo.

This either meant i needed to lengthen the shift lever under the floor, or do it my way and just trim the bracket inside the jeep that the lever stops against. took about 1/4" of trimming with the dremel.



The best $15 mod i have ever done

whitneyj said:

I had looked into that a while ago and put that on the back burner. But when I clocked my tcase I didn't re-drill the tcase mounting plate that bolts between the tcase and tranny so it sits funny and the tcase linkage doesn't like it. I thought instead of pulling everything to fix a funky stock setup I'd rather jump on this. I'm not to concerned about keeping the shifter in the stock location, after I get my gears, traction bar, and high steer all done I'll be on the lookout for a d300 for a doubler. So I'll be messing all that up in a while anyhow

Click to expand...

Jeepfreak did this awhile back, he gave me some advice when I recently did it. I run a 242, and on mine I lengthened both the lower arm on the shifter lever and the ticase tab. Get a t-case tab off of a mid 90's S-10 or Jimmy, install it pointing up. I lengthened the t-case tab 2", the shift lever tab 3" and added an aft-pointing offset of 1.5" to improve the rod angle at full throw. For whatever reason my angles sucked when I tried to use the tab and lever at stock lengths, I'm guessing either the 242 shift tab pivot point is lower on the t-case or the factory lever tab is shorter, maybe both. Take some measurements and play with it a little bit, you'll figure it out.

I got my 3/8" heim-joint female rod ends at NAPA for about $15 each, a length of matching 24 thread pitch all-thread and jam nuts at Tacoma Screw, but any decent specialty fastener store should have it. I didn't take pics, but it ended up looking just as I described it. Jeepfreak had a thread on this mod for a 231 not long ago, a search should find it quickly using "rod end linkage" or a similar phrase.

Goatman said:

BTW, simply replacing both shift rods with heim joints and all thread is very simple and works very well, and you don't have to change anything. And, the shift lever uses the stock positions. However, what you want to do also works well.

Click to expand...

Are you talking about the stock shift pattern when you say 'positions'? Removing the bell crank would reverse the pattern, but flipping the t-case shift arm upside-down also reverses the pattern. Doing both puts it back to stock. My shift pattern is factory.
Billy