Can I Drive in ONLY front wheel drive?

I posted before about breaking u-joints and well I am pretty much HOSED. i am in Mexico now and just distroyed my rear output shaft bushing/bearing on my Dana 20. the shop here want 1,000 bucks to repair it. is it OK to drive without the rear driveshaft installed and in 4H just so I can get around? I dont want to totally dystroy things but need the Jeep to get around. Its not easy to drive a 27 foot RV here.
The rear shaft coming out of the TC is VERY wobbly and during the brake lost the nut that hold the yoke on... can't even find one of those here.
HELP!

 

You can drive on the front only but remember,in 4 wheel drive that rear output is still turning....

 

thank you.. yes i know its still turning but nothing is attached to it now.. just a shaft sticking out... Still an issue?

 

Wish you had twin-stick. Then you could run front wheel only. 4H with no rear DS will get you by for a while but eventually you will have to get that output fixed or destroy the t-case. Have you looked for silver flakes in the t-case oil yet? I bet it is full of shavings. If so you need to change the oil periodically until you get it fixed.

I am betting the bearing failed from lack of oiling bing flat towed with the t-case in neutral and the rear DS connected. This caused a major wobble that eventually destroyed the output and caused the driveshaft to break loose. I hate to say it but you are goingto have to rebuild or replace that 20 in the near future. Might as well drive it in 4H until it can't go anymore.

 

WOW.. that hit the spot.. any idea how i can get one down here LOL i found one for 600 bucks and 900 for shipping OUCH!!!

 

What kind of "shaft"? The one coming from inside the case that the driveshaft yoke slides onto? Or the driveshaft yoke itself? If it's just the bare naked splined shaft sticking out of the case, there's probably going to be an oil leakage issue, I'd think.

And WTH are you doing in Mexico? Don't you know what happens to Americans down there? Ain't no way, no how, I'm going down there, uh uh. Nosireebob.

 

ha ha .. FUNNY, I have been here for 5 years.. The shaft coming out of the rear of the transfer case.. the yoke is now off. And from this picture i can see the oil seal not sealing.. cry cry cry cry.. anyone have a business with DHL or UPS shipping?

 

Doesn't the oil seal need to seal against the yoke?

If you think it's the rear bearing, why don't you pull the rear bearing cap and take a look? If it is the bearing, you should be able to get a new bearing down there. I remember most of the larger towns down there ( I'm thinking like Mazatlan) had bearing warehouses that could match up just about anything.

Maybe you can find another mechanic who doesn't treat you like a rich gringo.

 

Yes, Also you can see the rollers are completely missing from the bearings. I would not drive that at all until it gets fixed.

 

Thanks for all your help people.. I guess I am basicly now towing a jeep I can not drive. WOW.. again, thanks for all the input. I guess its time to start looking for a new ride cause i can't get parts for this here.. but I will for sure try fixing this first. just hard when you have to pay 25 bucks a day for a parking lot.

 

In a country where VW Bugs only recently went out of production why is it impossible to get parts for a D20? I don't get it.

If you have the yolk but no nut, and you are desperate, why not get a NUT shipped to you so you can install the yolk and seal your oil leak? I'm sure we can get a nut shipped to you. Maybe not a D20.

Where are you in Mexico?

Chilly

 

hey chilly.. well I'll explain.. VW are cheap.. new in 2001 they were 3,000 USD.. There are many on the road here.. hence parts. A jeep however is not so common. Newer ones dealer can get parts.. A 1978 with a D20 is next to impossible to get parts for. heck i had to use ford f150 brake pads and grind off an edge.. BRAKES!!
The nut is 1.99 in the states.. to get it here would be about 100.00USD. just a flat letter DHL is 50.00USD. things just work the same. I am not upset about this or the way things work, its just hard. I just put in a USED tranny 6 months ago.. had to be shipped in from the border junk yard and not by a company.. by a friend of the machanic.. 700.00 bucks, for used, no guarantee. I just checked price to have a D20 shipped to me.. I can buy one for 100 bucks in the states all day, 1500.00 for shipping. hope this clears up my situation.. Oh and all old vehicles prior to 1985 ish are smashed and taken out of the junk yards. its actually cheaper for me to fly back to get a 1.99 nut in the long run.. CRAZY huh. Oh and yes.. i will pull things apart and see if I can fix this.. i will spend the 200 bucks to get it here and the seal and bearings if that is all i need to do. ( by the way i also have to pay duty of up to 95% on the parts at "their adjusted amount" not the actual price)

 

I guess I'm a bit in the dark on the expensive shipping. UPS will put an 80lb transfer case into Mexico for under $400.* Perhaps you need to find a buddy up here in the state who will get you a used D20 and drop her in UPS for you.

* - Quote on UPS.com from 59701 (Butte, MT) to 22440, Mexico - 80lb - $300 declared value

 

That would be nice.. I guess if that would ends up having to happen.. i'll have to bite the bullet. for now.. i'll see if i can fixer.. if not I will keep trucking down the road ( 1500 more miles to go ) to where i will settle in for 3-4 months and start working on it. thanks for all your help folks...

 

Do you have any friends visiting anytime soon? They should be able to bring nuts and bearings down. Don't you have to come up every 6 months to renew your visa?

 

Just replace the rear output housing on the t-case. Quick, easy, and comes out as an assembly. Cheaper than shipping a whole t-case.

 

Actually all of my friends who come down, are down and I had my "Christmas" already. I Live here full time and have an FM3 Visa which means I dont have to leave. I'll figure something out here... I think i got the advise I needed.. "don't drive it". So maybe I'll get lucky and find a junk yard with a D20 in it. I can tell you that from Mazatlan to where I am now (south of Mexico City) and the entire west coast, no junk yard even has a Jeep in it. I was looking for upper doors at the time. Nadda. Again, may have to bite the bullet and get things shipped in once i get stationary in the Yucatan in a month.

 

hey guys.. OK here is what I found out.. been breaking u-joints for a while.. found the issue. On the rear output shaft I removed the assemblyand found that the rear bearing was GONE and only a few metal shaving.. also NO oil seal. from the looks of it, this bearing has been gone for a while. Not shaving in the oil as I replaced it a month ago. SO!!! i found my problem which was caused by the previous idiot who managed to NOT DO THINGS RIGHT. I only drove for about 10 seconds when the POP happend so where is the rest of the bearings? HA HA I hate people who cant do things right. I just read another article in the forum about someone else who found the same issue. Anyway, Looks like I MIGHT be ok, now its off to the busses to hunt down bearing, oil seal nut and washer. Thanks again folks for all your help.

 

If you got the bearing and seal number you should be able to pick somthing up at a parts store or industial supplier.
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