208 transfer case rebuild

[Brban88]

It has become time to tear down and rebuild the NP208 transfer case in my 88 brban. Are there any pitfalls or traps I should be aware of prior to starting this project? Any recommendations as to upgrades, etc? Preferred vendors for parts and rebuild kits? Any and all information that may be of value would be greatly appreciated.

Ya'all have a great day.

 

[Mr_Ryumaru]

https://www.midwesttrans.com/np208.html

This is the site my buddy used. Don't know much more besides he got the parts he needed his rig has been on the road for a couple years since. Have you considered picking up an np205 instead? Usually pretty easy and cheap to find.

 

[CSFJ]

Except that the 205 needed to bolt in place of the 208, would need to be one with a round pattern adapter from an '85 or newer square. If those are both inexpensive and readily available in your part of the world, kuddos to you. After obtaining one, if you are not running a th400 or m465 trans, yyou would need to change out the original 32 spline input for one that matches the trans in the truck it's going into.

 

[Mr_Ryumaru]

Except that the 205 needed to bolt in place of the 208, would need to be one with a round pattern adapter from an '85 or newer square. If those are both inexpensive and readily available in your part of the world, kuddos to you. After obtaining one, if you are not running a th400 or m465 trans, yyou would need to change out the original 32 spline input for one that matches the trans in the truck it's going into.

Fair enough. Don't know his setup, that's why I asked He might be able to, or he may not. Its worth considering. That said, I think the np208s get a bad rep. A lot of people assume because the np205 is so damn tough, that the chain driven np208 isn't, which is hardly fair to the case. There's a whole lot of em under rigs that are still on the road today, many of which have probably been abused.....a lot.

 

[Old77]

FYI....i moved this thread out of the Intro subforum and into a more appropriate subforum

 

[Blue Ox]

The 208's only significant weakness is the stamped planetary carrier. Check it carefully at the ends of the welds for cracks. I don't know if there's an upgrade but it would pay to look around. I had the carrier TIG'd to extend the welds to cover the joints completely. I don't know if that's the recommended procedure, but far so good.

And my other bit of wisdom is that it's easy to lose the needle bearings. So have some means of securing them.

 

[rpcraft]

The NP208 was plenty strong to be used in 3/4 and 1 ton trucks so no reason to doubt it's strength. Everything has a breaking point and when you consider the transfer case is the most often ignored item on the truck I don't think you can really consider them the weak link on the vehicle. Good advice though on inspecting the planetary and it might be worth getting some transmission assembly grease to help control the needle bearings.

It sounds like he is simply rebuilding his original unit so no reason to complicate things by discussing swapping out what simply needs a rebuild.