I'll try and keep this as short as possible. My NP205 was worn and I had a shop swap in another NP205. They forgot to tighten the CV Joint bolts at the T-Case and it came adrift coming down a really steep incline. Terrible crunching and grinding noise in the middle of the night. Unlocked the hubs, put it in 2 High, took a deep breath and put it in drive and it worked.

When I put it in 4 high or low now, I get a clunk, clunk, clunk that seems to coincide with revolutions of the front drive shaft. I'm going to take the diff covers off and do a visual this wekend or early next week. Have no idea of what it is at this point. Front drive shaft received a new universal at the CV Joint and 4 new bolts at the Yoke. (There goes the money I spent for high speed balancing when I had it totally rebuilt) Seems to be OK, turns freely and all that. Might even be the T-Case but I've got my doubts. Maybe spider gears? Don't know.

Will keep ya' posted.
Pat

 

From your description of what happened, it sounds like the driveshaft may have been damaged when it came apart. I don't see a reason to suspect anything wrong in the front axle. I would start by taking the shaft back in and have the balance checked, then go from there.

 

Thanks for the suggestion. I've got a spare that I'll put in and see whether that does the trick. Will keep ya' posted.
Pat

 

check your wheel joints. i blew a u-joint, two or five, in the wheel area, and i clunks if you drive when one of the caps is snapped off or whatnot. check that out once.

 

Right you are SoCalDesertRider,
Put it up on the hoist, spun all four wheels and it turns out that the CV Joint on the front shaft was damaged when it came adrift from the T-Case.

Good call,
Pat

 

Should have mentioned that the problem was with the ball in the center of the joint. Spun alright when in neutral, no noticeable play but when you put power to it...Clunk, clunk. When we took it apart there was a spot in the movement of the front universal that just wouldn't work.
Just that problem shook the whole truck on the lift and yet would spin freely when in neutral.

Thanks again,
Pat

 

Just got the drive shaft back in with the new piece that houses a new ball in place and it works just fine. Next step is to put the 2" lift blocks under the rear springs to decrease the angle at the T-case as the truck is slightly tail dragging when empty. 2" Should be perfect and won't hurt the engagement angles either.

Thanks again,
Pat Patrick

 

Glad you got it fixed! I had a similar problem with the CV joint on the rear shaft of my Bronco a few years ago. Sounds like a good plan with the 2" blocks. I did that on an old Chevy that was sittin down in the back after lifting the front. Ended up a bit higher in the back, just the way a 3/4-ton should set empty. Good luck with the truck!