Hey, might be a dumb question, but I just put my ramcharger body back on, and installed the shifter for the transfer case. It wont engage 2wd because the lever hits the dash. I swapped in a A518 tranny, which made the whole drive line longer... I had to lengthen the shift rod to account for it, but the holes for the shift plate should be in the same location in relation to the engine because the holes for the shift mount are on the transmission itself, and therefore shouldnt impact the shifter location.

Failing all else, I guess I would have to loosen the body mounts and try and shift the whole body forward on the frame, but there really isnt that much play in the mounts. Or I could bend the shift lever to suit.

I just want to make sure I am not missing anything before I get into all that.
Thanks.

 

sounds like the shift rods are still too short if you are having to push the shifter farther forward to get in 2wd.

 

I thought the way I extended it was idiot proof, but please check my logic. First thing I did is cut the shift linkage rod in half. There are distinct notches on the shift plate assembly that bolts to the transmission to distinguish between 2H, 4L etc. So I moved the shift linkage all the way to the 2wd position in the front. Then I shifted the transfer case lever all the way rearward, which I confirmed was indeed the 2wd position, since the front shaft spins freely.
Once I had both the shifter and the transfer case set in 2wd, I welded a new piece of rod in between the cut halves to make it "the perfect length". The shift function appeared to work properly prior to putting the body on. I think as it i now, the shift **** hits the dash as it enters 2wd... so it's close.

looking down the shifter hole in the floor, it looks like the assembly is sitting towards the front of the hole. I am thinking I may need to loosen off the body bolts and slide everything forward an inch. Probably easier said than done.

 

Can you wallow out the holes the shifter mount to, and slide it back a little bit?

 

you should probably put the tranfercase in 4 hi and then move the shifter to 4 high and see how far off it may be. the most important are is the center.

 

I installed the front valance and fenders today, there is no room to bring the body forward. the firewall is very close to the dizzy cap. I also checked underneath with my shift linkage, and there is no way I did it wrong. I disconnected it, and there is no free play to work with in either direction. The only thing I can think of is that the location or design of the shifter plate that mounts to the transmission is a different geometry than what should be there. The guy I bought the trans from said it was out of a ramcharger... it should have fit right up.
For now I just installed the shifter with one bolt, and tightened it down on an angle so that it functions properly. I can just drill a second hole and it will be rigid, no one would know the difference.
Thanks guys.

 

What about heating up the shift lever, and bending it back a bit?

 

what about using the brackets that came off the 727? the 727 and 518 should be close enough to the same that they should work. maybe the bracket that came with the 518 was damaged or bent while sitting. i don't know if these will help you or not but some pics of how the 241 on my 89 is hooked up

 

I considered bending it, chucked it up in the vice an realized how hard that metal is. I think it would make a mess off the chrome to torch it hot enough to bend.

The whole swap is strange to me, I thought it would be easier to do. I removed the original 727 and TC from the truck. I bought an A518 used that was supposed to be out of an RC. I also swapped from the '88 318 to an '82 360.
So now I have 360 engine, with used 518, and original transfer case from the 88. There is a TC support plate that extends from the transmission mount, it no longer fit. I got the plate off my '93 RC, and it was longer but still did not fit.

Unfortunately I only have the one shift plate for the TC, but measuring the holes where it mount should be the only difference. I should measure again from the bellhousing to the holes for the paste and make sure they are identical.

SO much for a quick swap...
Thanks guys.

 

do you know what transfer case you have? i would guess the support plate may not be work because it is meant for the newer transfer case and you are using a older one.

does your shifter bracket look like they ones i posted? i do got another picture of ones from a diesel with 518 but i know it has a different transfer case.