NP208 no high range

[FrankenCub]

I had a reoccurring problem again tonight that I thought was a tranny issue. Had no forward or reverse and all sorts of noise. T-case shifter was firmly in 2H, tried 4H with same results. After sitting on the side of the road getting more po'd by the moment something told me to try 4L. Bingo...I have movement. I was closer to my mother's house than mine so that's where I headed. As soon as I got there I tried 2H and 4H again, started getting some movement but that was short lived and right back to the same. As soon as I put it in 4L all is well.
So now I know for sure there is some shifter wear in there. Question is, can I pull the input side of the T-case to inspect it without going through a complete disassembly?
It would be great if I could fix this without a thousand parts all over a bench.

 

[Bighorn]

When I rebuilt the NP208 on my 1984 civilian K5 it was pretty basic.
The T-case is very light and I recommend you pull it out and do a complete rebuild.
So long as you are sure it IS NOT A LINKAGE ISSUE first;
Your shift fork inserts (plastic) are most likely worn away.
But that alone probably is not all that is wrong.
Mine were pretty bad but my case still stayed in Hi and Low.
You might start by draining the case and sticking a finger inside through the drain hole to see if you can pickup any metal shavings.
Inspect the ATF that comes out for metal as well.
A lot will be on the magnet inside of course but to get to that you'll need to split the case and to do that properly means pulling it.
I didn't have a transmission jack so i cut some blocks of wood and used ratchet straps to secure it to the jack to get it out.
A transmission jack would have been way easier.

EDIT:
Just remembered something about my NP208 before rebuild.
If you grab the t-case shift lever and try and move it, How does it feel in general?
Mine was very loose and sloppy between ranges. Side to side was tight but actually shifting forward and back was indistinct.
After i rebuilt it and replaced the worn shift fork inserts everything was tight.
You could really feel that you had selected Hi or Low with almost no slop at all.
Hope that helps.

Check the ATF in that T-case first though;
If you find a lot of metal in the oil or chunk in the drain hole I would not hesitate to order a rebuild kit that includes a chain and shift fork inserts and rebuild that puppy.
It is a job that can be done in a day easy.

 

[FrankenCub]

It kinda burns me because I just put this t-case in a few months ago, the last one burned up when it dumped it's fluid on a trip back out of Pa. It was used and got a steel on it but I do remember checking everything that I could before I payed for it and it shifted nice and tight, no slop. It was drained for storage before I bought it so it got fresh fluid when I put it in. I'll be looking at it again tomorrow after I fix my brother in law's brakes on his truck.
The shift fork is what I was kinda concerned with, thinking maybe the plastic inserts broke or something. It's been flawless till last week or so when I thought I had a tranny problem.
I had to use 4wd today to get back up to the road off property I was brush hogging, rain came in buckets. Made it about 4 miles before high range went out.
I guess if I need to go the route of a complete rebuild I might as well by a reman for $650. I don't really have an acceptable place to rebuild one, be just as well doing it in my yard lol.

 

[cucvrus]

You are in luck. I had 2 transfer cases rebuilt in New York. They did a fantastic job. I sent the case out UPS and received it back in 1 week as good as new.
http://4xheaven.com/

 

[FrankenCub]

I crawled under the truck today to check out how well the t-case shifted and it definitely wasn't like it was before I installed it, very stiff in spots, gritty, and sloppy in others. It surely had problems before I bought it but had no way of knowing. I drained the fluids, if you've had any experience spraying automotive paints, namely pearls? Yeah, that's what it looked like. I stuck a magnetic stick in the drain hole and immediately heard all sorts of chunks jumping to the magnet. Not good. I can hear the cost of a rebuild climbing pretty fast. I'm sure this is going to need much more than the normal rebuild kit and chain.

You are in luck. I had 2 transfer cases rebuilt in New York. They did a fantastic job. I sent the case out UPS and received it back in 1 week as good as new.
http://4xheaven.com/

Mind if I ask what they charged you to have them rebuilt? I considered buying a kit and doing it myself but after today's findings I don't want to mess with it. I need to either hand it off to someone better suited for the job or buy a reman from Transfer Case Express.

 

[FrankenCub]

I happened across a shop advertising on CL that is a bit over an hour away from me. The shop owner worked for NP in Syracuse fro 28 years as an engineer and know the NP product line inside and out. He has a couple used t-cases that he'd guarantee for 3 months but the more I thought about it I decided a total reman'd case would be better in the long run. I'll be picking it up Wednesday.

 

[BradL84D30M1008]

How did this out for you?

My NP208 is leaking, think it has a hairline crack in the case.....so I will go through same process.

I happened across a shop advertising on CL that is a bit over an hour away from me. The shop owner worked for NP in Syracuse fro 28 years as an engineer and know the NP product line inside and out. He has a couple used t-cases that he'd guarantee for 3 months but the more I thought about it I decided a total reman'd case would be better in the long run. I'll be picking it up Wednesday.

 

[cucvrus]

Brad let me know which part of the case is cracked. I think I have a few cases for parts.

 

[BradL84D30M1008]

Will do Rick, I'll take some pics this evening.

 

[BradL84D30M1008]

See what looks like a hairline crack on back half (?) of transfer case......ATF seems to leak from there, not tail housing......

 

[cucvrus]

I think I got you covered. It is the front half that breaks most times. Send me an address again. I have your address in my CUCV make a wish book but you can help me out by sending it via PM. Thank you. That is an easy fix.

 

[FrankenCub]

How did this out for you?

My NP208 is leaking, think it has a hairline crack in the case.....so I will go through same process.

So far so good. It's guaranteed for a year anyway, but I haven't a lick of trouble with it. If Rick has a case part for you it would be a whole lot cheaper though. I don't remember right off but I think I have about $700 in this reman.