Transfer case lever slips out of selection

[AuroraGirl]

Iirc, the gear selector top from bottom is 4h, 4l, N, 2h?

Anyway, the lever doesn't like to stay in what I put it in. I can post a picture of the lever if need be, but I was wondering if anyone knows what causes this?

Like, to stay in 4h, I would have to hold the lever all the way up. 2h and N it doesnt have much trouble with, but the others it does.

 

[dhenderz]

I am sure others with more experience with the transfer cases will respond. But I can add this. The NP203 on my truck has a detent that holds the shifter in position. It is a ball bearing, held in position by a spring. Below is an exploded view of an NP205, but the basics are the same. It is items 6-10.

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[71RAT]

Iirc, the gear selector top from bottom is 4h, 4l, N, 2h?

Anyway, the lever doesn't like to stay in what I put it in. I can post a picture of the lever if need be, but I was wondering if anyone knows what causes this?

Like, to stay in 4h, I would have to hold the lever all the way up. 2h and N it doesnt have much trouble with, but the others it does.

I would check the dent springs, as previously suggest. You also could have worn, shift rails, fork, slide clutch, gear. Bottom line, you're most likely looking at removing the tcase and a rebuild by a competent person. Be sure they understand that it's popping out of 4H!

 

[TubeTruck]

It could be that your shifter is worn/loose and not allowing the shift rails to be pulled into position completely.

 

[Nonstop]

Not to be a smart ass, but on a 205 hour shift pattern from top to bottom is 4lo, N, 2hi, 4hi. If you are shifted all the way up (thinking it is 4hi) and trying to get speed in 4lo, that might explain why it is popping out of gear.

 

[scwaters]

The NP203 shifter mechanism is notorious for not aging well. Search the site and you’ll find a detailed string on how to restore the shift mechanism. I gave up and installed a dual lever shifting device. It works perfectly and is smooth as silk.

 

[Snoots]

If you have an NP203, there is a thread showing how to rebuild the shifter. It's not hard to do, just messy.
When you re-install it you can adjust it properly. Did mine some 30 years ago and haven't had any issues with it since. It was a huge mess to start with, so that explained the problems I had with it.

 

[75Monza]

Also, check motor and trans mounts to see if any broke. Granted, this was on my F250 high boy, but broken motor mount and trans mount caused enough twist that it would pop it out of 4h. Lever slop also was a contributor, but lots of linkage on mine, 205 divorced.

 

[Dooley]

Hey guys,
the original poster's bio states they own a 1980 K2500.
That makes it a 205 transfer case if the truck is stock.

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[AuroraGirl]

So I forgot to reply to this thread earlier. The shifter actually works perfectly fine, it just appeared to "slip out" but I dont think the plastic bezel aligns perfectly. 4lo works fine, 4h works fine. 2h works fine, neutral works fine. I noticed its hard to go from 2h to neutral and over and down for 4lo. And im not sure if this is the original transfer case. The engine is a SBC(unknown displacement) likely out of a mid 1980s passenger car. But the transfer case could has easily been a replacement off another truck at some point. My grandpa has about 300k miles on the truck. 297 to be exact. I will follow up this post with some photos from my phone.

 

[AuroraGirl]

Like, it doesnt appear to fully be in 2h, but it actually is. And 4h and 2h work fine. Im not sure what causes it to not appear to be the right selection, but it turns out it is.

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[Blue Ox]

We had the same problem with ours from the factory. The indicator was misaligned, but you can feel the positions when you move the lever.

It was a long time ago when I fixed it, but you need to pull the whole plastic cover off and there is a way to adjust the indicator.

If nobody else chimes in with specifics I'll dig up the particulars, but it shouldn't require a manual.

 

[AuroraGirl]

I mean, im not *too* worried but it would be nice for it to align properly. Maybe its a spring thing?

 

[71RAT]

That appears to be a NP208, you have to check the adjustment from under the truck. Body, engine, transmissions mounts, etc will change the adjustment. Happens often.