Official Crawlbox BS thread!

My NWF Triple Shifters have FINALLY shipped!!
(#12 on the pre-order list BTW)

 

Just arrived!

 

Doing some work on skid plates for my crawlboxes and transfer case.
Moved the cross brace 2" so it clears the transfer case, adding another cross brace right under the support for the old carrier bearing and another plate.

 

Bit fancier than what I'm running

 

Got the NWF Triple shifters installed. To be honest it was a bit of a chore (it didn't have to be, I just didn't know what I was doing).

Before the triple shifters can be installed, there are two things that need to be addressed.

First, the high/low shift rail has a guard that needs to be ground down:


Second, there is a pin between the two shift forks near the rear output that needs to be removed.

The transfer case needs to be separated to remove the pin and to get good access to the shift rail guard to grind down.



Remove the detent ball/spring/plug from both shift rails:



Then the high/low shift rail can be removed. This is where I ran into my first issue. When I removed the high/low rail/fork/gear, there are 3 shift keys inside the clutch sleeve that shot out across the garage. After finding the keys, they are pretty difficult to re-install, they just want to shoot out and gravity was working against me. I eventually found that wrapping a rubber band around the high/low clutch hub could just barely hold the keys into place while I slipped the clutch sleeve back over them. This took a few hours to figure out and get right. Apparently these shift keys are only found in the M/T transfer case...not sure why they are even there.



Before the high/low rail is re-installed though, the pin between the rails can be taken out through the hole the detent spring/ball are:



Once I ground down the shift rail guard and removed the pin, the transfer case can be put back together.




This is when I ran into my second major issue - when I put the case back together, the transfer case would seize when shifting into low range. For two days I could not figure out what the issue was, and I tore the transfer case apart five or six times tearing my hair out trying to understand what was going wrong. I thought it had something to do with the shift fork and keys I messed with earlier, but I eventually found the issue - my high/low synchronizer was sticking inside the planetary gear. I had to remove the oil filter/pump and one of the planetary gears (held in by snap ring that was very difficult to remove) and pry the syntonizer out. After putting it together for the sixth or seventh time, it finally worked! I then sealed the cases with RTV and finally started putting together the triple shifters.

This was the easy part, it took maybe 30 minutes to assemble and adjust everything the way I think it worked best without any interference:



I hope to install everything this weekend. I still need to get my driveshafts modified so it may take a few days until it's drivable.

 

@Team_Jake Thank you so much for documenting your install! This is very helpful for me as I wait for my Crawler and triples. I have a MT t case as well and now thanks to you, I'm thinking about getting a couple of AT donor T cases to get the build started and finished on the bench before installing. I look forward to seeing the rest of your install and hope it goes smoothly boss!

 

I'm curious if you recall whether your case in 2wd or 4wd when you split it? IIRC, those keys aren't supposed fall out if you leave the case in 2wd. I've split 2 auto FJ cases, and a MT tacoma case and never saw those keys...pretty sure I had it in 2wd when I did it. Maybe I was just lucky.

 

The case was in 2WD. The keys were the ones surrounding the high/low clutch hub. When I pulled out the high/low rail, the high/low clutch sleeve moved with the rail (because of the fork) which exposed the keys and they went flying.



I don't know if, in my situation, there is any way to remove the high/low rail without removing the high/low clutch sleeve (maybe if I removed the pin holding the rail to the fork, but that seems more difficult). If I were to do it again, I'd just remove the clutch sleeve slowly and grab the shift keys before they spring out. It wasn't too bad re-assembling once I wrapped a rubber band around the clutch hub to hold the keys while I slid the clutch sleeve back in place.

 

you want to split the case in 4wd. that will retain those keys in.

 

also unless you are just wanting to have one hole for all the sticks in the console, having a crawl box and twin sticking is kinda pointless. The only reason to twin stick an fj case is to get 2 lo. well with the crawl box it accomplishes that. put the crawl box in low and now you have 2lo.

 

I have definitely read it both ways on this forum. I would venture a guess to say you are right and I am not remembering correctly. I have two FJ cases to split when I do this so I will try it both ways for fun times and learning.

 

But you don't get double low 2wd

 

Actually a useful feature for a manual! Used that two times now backing a trailer in a tight spot up a small hill. Befor the crawl box I wouldn't have even attempted in it my truck.

 

true, but hell, I hardly use double 4lo. mostly just use the 4.7. if I had the NWFab box, id probably would use double lo more

 

I am a manual too. and yeah i mean if i didnt have a crawl box, go to town and twin stick, but with a crawl box its kinda redundant. i actually went from a twin stick setup to a j-shift setup. my old twin stick case cracked around the top and was leaking so when i went to a new case i just left it j-shift

 

Those shift keys are for on the fly 4x4. Without them you have to stop to shift into 4H. I bought a used case so I could build and bench test everything. Once everything was together and tested I finally threw away the box the used case came in. Guess what was in the bottom of that box. lol

 

Got my old multi-mode case removed, pretty easy to remove with a transmission jack, hardest part was accessing some of the harder to reach bolts holding it in place.



Installing the new cases was a different story though. By far this has been the most difficult part of this whole process. Clearances are really tight, and getting it angled just right is pretty difficult. Granted I have a really cheap transmission jack so I'm sure a better quality one would help rather than using wood blocks and shims to get it positioned correctly. The bolts between the transmission and transfer case need to be installed before hand (well, at least the ones that thread into the transmission) which I realized after getting it seated properly, so I had to take it back out and re-do it all after I thought I was in the clear. Also, I cannot (for now) get the two top bolts tight. With the triple shifters and the shape of the eco box, there is no way to access them, and I don't see an easy way of removing the shifter base in getting better access. Currently my plan to cut a slightly larger opening in my interior with a cutoff wheel (keep in mind my 4Runner was originally an automatic), to get enough room to remove the two front shifter bases, then I can tighten those two top bolts and get everything put back together. I think I'll give NWF a call, they may have another method that isn't as extensive.

But, it is in. Need to get those bolts tight, get my wires re-connected, install my driveshafts, fill with fluid, and it'll be driving ...err ...crawling!

 

You did the removal and install with the trans cross member in place? Removing that allows everything to sag down and it helps a lot.

 

Yes, my transmission cross member was still in place. Good to know! I wish I had thought of doing that!