Hey man thanks, I am glad to see that someone read the whole thing. I feel I have done more work to this than I have to my previous 2 vehicles and I have probably invested well over 2k into it. I too have to axle work, as you may have read I have 2 different axle ratios so I have to swap probably the rear gears back to normal. it sucks because I can't use 4wd anymore till it is fixed.

 

Suggestions, pull the front cover and count the ring gear teeth and pinion teeth and divide them to verify the ratio. Same on rear but way more involved as you have to pull the wheels, brakes, and axles loose to get the whole center section of the axle out. It will be worth it to know for sure what ratios you have, and a good reason for a fluid change anyway. Easier to swap the rear gears to match the front, but not sure if 3.55 is where you want to be for performance. You should be able to swap a 9 inch center from a junkyard if you can find one with the proper ratio (3.55) and axle shaft spline count (guessing 28 spline). I would think with a 2.73 in the rear and 35 inch tires that TGM would be a dog that couldn't get out of its own way. You seem very happy with the performance on the highway so that doesn't seem to be the case. You posted a pic of your 4 wheel shift **** a while back and it is from a full time 4x4 NP203. If it is still full time you are already running power to both axles all the time as it is so I don't think the ratios could be that far off or it would handle like crap. If it has a part time conversion then anything is possible but I still think it would be really spooky to drive in 4x4 with ratios that far off. If it is still full time and hasn't been converted to part time then you are running the 4x4 all of the time. Shouldn't be a problem as long as you leave it in Hi or Lo, NOT HI LOCK or LO LOCK!! Leaving it in Hi or Lo keeps the differential action of the transfer case available to let the front and rear driveshafts spin at different speeds. If you put it in LOC then it locks the differential action of the transfer case and forces the driveshafts to turn at the same speed. With ratios that far off and a faster one (numerically smaller) in the rear your rear tires would be pushing the front of the truck around very badly. It would mean the rear tires are turning about 25% faster than the front tires. You said it handle great at 70 mph so I'm guessing (hoping) the gears are closer then you think.
Sorry for the long winded slightly confusing post, the edit button in my brain seems to be broken.

 

Haha thanks for the long post, it make me think more. First off it is a true 203 from the tag on the housing, i don't know about internals so it is any ones guess BUT i only drive it in 2 hi, no lock. I have driven in 2 lo and it is very responsive and torquey. As for the gears, if i am going to open the rear it will be to do the gears, and yeah i have heard that counting the teeth is the only FOR SURE way to know. But considering how much work goes into just getting to said gears, it isn't worth it unless i am doing major work. As for getting out of it's own way, it can't. It dogs bad going up hill and will drop 10 mph quick unless i really go into it. The engine works a lot harder than it should. I do believe the gears are that far apart because of the 4wd, when i go into 4lo the rear wheels spin in dirt while the front dig in and tear up the ground. Which would explain why when i drove it in the snow like that, i was sideways the entire drive unless i was on pavement. As for being full time, the NP203 IS full time BUT unless it is locked in it won't bind. Though there is a difference in gearing the front axle not being locked in will differentiate the turning speed to accommodate the t-case. A for 70 mph, to tell you the truth i don't think i have gotten it to 70, i hit 65 and the whole thing starts to shake. And that is mostly going down hill, i am normally doing 55 to 45 depending on traffic. Here in Washington everyone drives slow, and even at 55 i am passing people. Eventually i WILL get around to checking the axles out but since 2hi and 2lo both work fine it is lower on the list. There isn't many places close by to "legally" offroad and if there is i can easily do it in 2wd hi or lo. Though i do trust that the gear ratios are probably not exactly what i thought, i'm sure they are close to it.

The closest place to off road is a few blocks away and it is a very small patch made of mostly dirt and rocks, the main use of it is to test out suspension and if it is raining and the dirt is muddy, then you can slings some mud around. Unless i really tried i couldn't get TGM stuck there. The axles were a big concern for me for a bit cause i really wanted 4wd for winter time but i figure i lived through last years ice storm with 2wd this year can't be any worse. Don't get me wrong i like to get it muddy and all that good stuff, but considering the factors i would rather be safe and not go offroad till i got working 4wd and no body lift than go out there and get stuck in 2wd. One day it will be fixed, since my brake pedal is currently about an inch from the floor at normal braking, that is my biggest current concern. I need to get those fixed up soon before anything real bad happens.

Anywho on another note, TGM is helping me and my coworker at work in multiple ways. Once i get my video edited and uploaded i will explain

 

Alright so following that ending, when i go to work i have to stock shelves with drinks and snacks and all the goodies people waste their money on at a gas station. Well we get these 1 gallon jugs of water that come in a box of 6, then we get 3 liter stackable bottles that come in a box of 6. After i get done putting everything away i have to crush all the boxes from everything and compact them down so they can be thrown away easier and quicker. These boxes in particular are not easy to crush because they usually can support up to 100lbs if they are sitting a certain way. One night me and my co worker were really tired and thought it would be funny to crush these big thick boxes with ol' TGM. It turned out really well and saved us a lot of time and energy, so last wednesday we had about 6 of these boxes and i figured "Heck why not make it easy" And used my truck. This time i got a recording of it. Yeah yeah i know its kinda lame but hey, it's 2 in the morning and after heavy lifting and running around the store for 4 hours plus being up all day earlier, your kind of tired.

Anyways enough blabbering.
<iframe width="640" height="480" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/-ttO0mL9nco" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

The sound isn't the best but i was surprised it came out as good as it did.


In other news, for a day job i put in an application at the new Autozone that just opened a few miles away from me so hopefully that turns into something better. though i have never ran a register i think i could probably pick it up, and if not then they have other jobs. Once i am 21 i want to apply for the driver job there where you run parts back and forth to other stores.

Also, TGM will be making another appearance at a car show that a mustang club holds every year at a Sears store parking lot. They have a pre- 1980 Ford truck class that i am going to enter in. I hope to win something and if not then oh well, that will be 2 shows under TGM's belt.

 

hey have you priced a junkyard third member to match your front gears cause last time i priced them(maybe 10-12 yrs) they weren't that bad 100-200 bucks depending on the ratio you wanted and from what i know the 3.50's are pretty common in trucks from that era, they may even work a trade for your gears to save even more $$$.

 

No I have not, I haven't been to the JY in a while and the workers there wouldn't know the ratio unless they too it apart for me. they aren't the most helpful people around.

 

if they're og then there should be a tag on the third member that gives the ratio. worst case you have to jack up the rear and spin a tire. the number of turns the tire makes to one spin of the yoke is your ratio. it gets you pretty close.

 

Yeah, I might also sweep over my axles one more time looking for the tag. who knows maybe i issued them. I got my ratios by rotating the tire, I think the tire was rotated 20 times or so, I was counting the drive line and the other guy was counting the tire rotations.

 

i hope your joking 'bout the 20 turns, that would be a crazy low ratio. when i did my 79 f150 i got just over 3 1/2 turns and then i found the tag and it said 3.54 so the tire turning gets you pretty close. if you have to do it be sure to mark the tire even with the bottom of the fender or something easy to clock off of. makes for a much more accurate reading

 

I'm not joking, the driveline turned multiple times as well, i don't remember exactly. So you just do 1 rotation of the tire and count how many times the drive line rotates? I don't know why we didn't do it that way then. Well when i pull my wheels off i can re-check.

 

just the opposite mark the yoke then count the number of rotations of the tire make one rotation of the driveline. i have a set of running gear in my back yard maybe i could just throw up on a stand and try to make a little vid to show you how it works

 

Yes please. I would like to see that.

 

ok shouldn't type before my coffee, you were right first. it is number of yoke spins to one spin of wheel sorry i had just woke up. i'll still try to get a vid today though if i can get a chance.

 

Alright. I think I get it. my issue is I have never done this on my own and last time I didn't really know what we were doing so I figured that was how everyone did it instead of counting teeth directly.

 

WAAAAAYYYY easier to count rotations, there is NO reason to do all that work to find ratios.
I'm the "other guy"
Nope not joking at all about the 20 turns. It's the best way to get an accurate ratio with an open differental. One turn on both wheels is a pain and inaccurate. And "just over 3 1/2" is not an accurate count, could be 3.73

What you need is 10 turns of the ring gear, to get that you block one wheel and turn the other 20 times. This many turns gives you a real accurate reliable number. Getting 35 and half turns is 3.55, 37 and a thrid turns is 3.73 super easy and super accurate. And no BS taking it apart to count teath, which is silly even if you do take it apart, the ratio is stamped on the ring gear.
See above
No it's how those like myself who know what they're doing do it.