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Tcase dilemma - Dana 20

tribal4krawler

DKA Motorsports
Joined
Jun 1, 2020
Member Number
1745
Messages
484
I’ve got a buggy that’s known as Half Quart, and it’s got a thunderbird supercoupe 3.5 supercharged motor, C4 trans and Dana 20 with 3.15:1 low. I broke something in the low range (it goes into gear but pops out and sounds terrible) but high range is working normally. I’m trying to figure out if I want to just spend $1000 on a new low range (I’ve wheeled this thing a bunch and this is the first time I’ve ever had issues with the tcase) or if I truly need to look at getting something different. I’d love to get an Atlas but I don’t want to wait a year for one to come in. I’m also fairly short wheelbase at 104” so going to a bigger tcase will cause me problems with driveshafts/driveshaft angles. What do y’all think?

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If it works don't fix it...
you sound purty happy as is, however if atlas could keep up with demand and you could get one asap, ? Would You?

sux Atlas is studying marlins business model:laughing:
 
If a 3.8 Atlas was sitting on the shelf somewhere I think it’d be a no brainer. I really haven’t wished for lower range except for on vertical drop off ledges where the gearing pushes through the brakes. Guess I’ll start hunting for a good deal on a new low range gear set.
 
I am not sure what exactly broke in your case, but I do know that the 3.15 TeraLow gears are weaker than the stock gears.

Jack O'Brien at 4 Wheels West makes 3.0, 3.6, 4.1, and 4.86 gear sets for the Dana 20 that are ~50% stronger than the stock gears, but good luck getting ahold of him and actually buying anything. They aren't cheap either, so unless you have space constraints or are really concerned about saving weight over an Atlas, they probably don't make a ton of finacial sense.
 
Atlas. Dana 20 constraint is not being able to upgrade the front output.
 
Atlas. Dana 20 constraint is not being able to upgrade the front output.

This is also true. For some reason everyone sells 32 spline rear outputs for Dana 20s, but no one sells an upgraded front output :confused:

I even asked Jack O'Brien about it and he said the Dana 20 doesn't need an upgraded front output since the rear sees all the stress when climbing stuff :homer: However, I haven't personally seen broken Dana 20 front output, so maybe there is some truth to that...
 
This is also true. For some reason everyone sells 32 spline rear outputs for Dana 20s, but no one sells an upgraded front output :confused:

I even asked Jack O'Brien about it and he said the Dana 20 doesn't need an upgraded front output since the rear sees all the stress when climbing stuff :homer: However, I haven't personally seen broken Dana 20 front output, so maybe there is some truth to that...
I had a friend blow both outputs up at same time. There was a guy years ago on pirate that built 32 spline output for the front. Iirc there was a lot of machine work.
 
One thing to keep in mind is I believe the Dana 20 is a pretty compact unit compared to an atlas. Your buggy may not care but packaging may be a concern and require a bunch of rework. I would rebuild the 20.
 
I contacted the previous owner and he said it’s the idler shaft that broke as he had the same thing happen and rebuilt it before selling to me, I put about 10 pretty hard trips on it before it broke, not sure if thats something that could be upgraded.
 
Obrian gears for the win, as stated good luck he was in Rocklin, CA had a set after breaking 2 Tera low sets 5000# bronco loaded to camp and i only broke front outputs ( had the 32 spline rear) 104 should not be a problem with an atlas would fit. had a 205 in a 92 inch bronco for a while with no problems and it was on 40s so tall compared to your buggy
 
This is also true. For some reason everyone sells 32 spline rear outputs for Dana 20s, but no one sells an upgraded front output :confused:

I even asked Jack O'Brien about it and he said the Dana 20 doesn't need an upgraded front output since the rear sees all the stress when climbing stuff :homer: However, I haven't personally seen broken Dana 20 front output, so maybe there is some truth to that...
I broke a dana 20 front output on my bronco 20.
I ended up using a Jeep 26 spline output, spent a lot of money machining it, then heat treating it.
Had it for about 2 years after that, then sold the case.
 
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