After much anticipation and waiting the Crawl box showed up this week (part number MC07) and in the kit was a shifter with turtle knob, 2 gaskets, and a bag of stud bolts and nuts/washers. Missing were the instructions

Vince and I tackled it last night and after 5 hours it's in. We had to remove the Xmember, driveshafts and then dropped the transfer case and attached it to the crawlbox on the bench.

Having a transmission jack is very helpful in this install and saves time. With the new unit bolted to the TCASE we set it on the jack and lifted it into place and bolted it up.

I had to do some interior trimming around the shifters but nothing that wasn't very helpful in the install and can't be fixed. The tighter of space you work with the longer and harder the install will be.

Driveshafts will be lengthened 6.5 inches in the front and shortened the same for the rear. Since the rear is going to be shorter, I opted for a CV style at the top by the case to handle the angle. Marlin's front driveshaft kit has a 8 inch slip spline and just handed that to the driveshaft shop to build the front shaft. Both shafts will be sleeved for extra strength. Picking them up today around 3

Overall, the install was easy compared to the dual case adapter outfit that AA does. Vince has that one in his truggy and said he would have done the Marlin deal for shear simplicity.

One observation right off the bat was the location of the shifters compared to Vince's. With the AA the shifters a farther apart and almost halfway up the tunnel by the seats! With the Marlin, they are tight and look like they belong there.

Pics and driving review coming tonight.

 

So where are the pics you slacker? It IS tonight!

And I'm modding and need some inspiration!

 

it is tonight now, but not when he posted that 12 hours ago.....

 

That is because your forward case is a top shift like the rear. The AA adapter adds the exact same 6.5" of length to the drivetrain that the marlin one does, same with the inchworm adapter. But, if you have a forward shift case in front with the top shift rear, the two t-case shifters will be much further appart than two top shift cases, almost 6" further appart.

 

what he said, my front case is a forward shift in the runner, and there is a lot of space between them

 

Okay, cool, that makes sense now.

I got so ticked about Tellico I just took a hiatus from the build and went fishing for a couple days.

I had a couple unexpected issues with this. 1st was the skid I bought was for a runner and didn't fit right. Marlin didn't send a Xmember Bushing for the crawl box, and the long spline driveshaft kit didn't mate to my flange at the pinion being for a 85 and up My bad on all too.

Well, I got everything sorted out by Friday and immediately bolted town for a local trail to test it all out. Just one thing to say about a crawl box

HOLY $$$$ is it the way to go! Sooooo sloooowwwwwww you just idle along and if you bump into a tree, no worries, motor won't stall.

Found the regular climbs that require a bit of pedal I just creep up barely giving it any gas compared to before the install it was just a dream. The variety of gear options made for an enjoyable day and so did having a winch as I got the thing stuck 2wice pretty good.

One other issue that is getting on my nerves is the shifter, like Joez said, because they are both top shifters I need a short throw shifter for the crawl box. The trans shifter will occasionally bump it out of gear from Low to Neutral but not a major deal right now.

Here's a picture gallary of our local trail we run, it's about 13 miles out and 13 miles back with a little of everything. My camera became usesless with the tube doors and mud.



http://www.jonnyquestoffroad.com/runs/StoneQuarry.htm

 

dual cases are the ticket, just did em on IFS taco, best 2K i ever spent, BTW nice rig

turner

 

What do you want me to do w/ the t-shirts?

Rig looks good...makes me want to do the crawler, but I gotta wait, other stuff to do first...more important...but I'll get there next year.

 

Ahh man, I forgot about those. Send me a quote for shipping plus something for your time and I'll paypal ya' the jack.

Thanks for the props man, I wanna see your rig as well. We'll have to hook up on a fall run or later this summer for sure.

 

Thank you, I agree of all the mods this is my favororite of favorites. Having the Hi-Lo option makes it nice for the flatland stuff. Happier than a puppy with 2-peters on this one.

 

I'll check it out this week and shoot ya a PM or just hit ya up here...

Fall Colors Run - Sept 2005 - be there!

 

Cool! When in September, I'm going to Cali for the Marlin Roundup on the Rubicon from the 8th-21st driving the Trekker out and back

I'll make it if it doesnt' conflict. I'll even drive straight there from Tahoe.

Seriously. Vince is doing the same.

 

did you twin-stick the rear case? i was gonna do it but it wasnt in the budget, just wondering if you did it and if you think it was worthit?

 

www.4crawler.com has short shifters, other places do too, would these work for you application?

 

I was in the same boat with this. I'm probably not going to twin stick just because I'm working on line locks right now and plan to use a ARB up front so I can only see the need for it for tight turns?

Hopin' I won't need it, really crowded down there right now with all the shifters.

 

Roger is amazing, simply one of the best resources I've seen for a wheeler in a long, long time.

I'll poke around over there and if he has them and they work, he has my business.

Thanks for the heads up!

 

my thoughts exactly, i dont see how another shifter wouldnt just be in the way, plus, with 4.7's in the front, i can just switch between 2wd & 4wd leaving the front case in low and be plenty low enough, had i done 2.28's in both cases i would've def done the twin sticks, and w/ the $399 i wouldve saved on the gears, the twins would've been back in the budget