I have a 83 bronco with the c6 transmission and np208 transfer case
the Bronco has started grinding when coming to stops. It starts slowish then ramps up in pace and volume. I slow down put it in park and then turn it off. In this state it’s actually not in park though, it will roll and I hear a clicking. You can force the gears to engage by cycling between park and reverse until it’s not grinding and then it will drive for a little bit more, no problems.
has anyone encountered this? I saw debris in my transfer case and and hoping the transfer case is the problem

 

See how much oil is in the transfer case. They like to leak when they get older. One of the types of transfer cases they used, had some plastic pieces on the shift mechanism inside. If it is run low on oil, it gets hot and melts these pieces and then it tends to slip out of gear. Not sure if it was the np208 or the BW that did this.

 

Thanks for responding, Franklin. In the debris I found in the transfer case was a plastic ring that had broken

 

So how dose this point to the transfer case and not the atuo transmission parking paw?
Because it will not go all the way into park my guess it also is not going in to drive and is between drive & 2nd and making the noise.

What shape is the body in more so the body mounts?
It the body has sagged any it will throw off the shift linkage and cause what you got going on not going into park.
For a quick fix you can adjust the linkage so it goes into park and see if the other noise is still there.
Dave ----

 

The car will not be in park if turned off while grinding, I worded that weird. If you restart the engine and cycle it between park and reverse to get it to engage the gears and then put it in park it will be in park. Idk if that points to the transfer case or not. I figured the pawl working outside of the grinding meant the pawl was fine.
The body itself is aligned well. It has some rust holes in the fenders but that’s the worst of it. I’ve only looked at the transmission mounts on the cross member and they seem good. I haven’t checked the motor mounts, even though it was kicking a little bit when you put it in reverse.
I was thinking transfer case because I took it apart and saw a broken plastic ring anlmost like an race and possibly a broken snap ring inside. The 4 hi or low forks didn’t have the plastic spacer as well, but I didn’t think to check tolerances to see if they were updated forks.
Do you or anyone else here know where to find an exploded parts list for a transfer case? I’m going to take it back off today and fully disassemble it. I’ll check the motor mounts too though

 

Ok so the gear shift lever for the auto trans is on the steering column right?
The transfer case shifter is on the floor right?

So how do you think moving the auto trans lever is moving anything in the transfer case to lock in the gears?
I cant see any way this can happen and a clicking noise when it should be in park but it still rolls / moves is normal of a auto trans parking paw not engauging.

If you hold your foot on the brake to keep the truck from rolling / moving dose the noise stop?
If so the transfer case is still connected to the drive line and to the transmission and you just stopped the drive line / transfer case / auto trans from spinning so the parking paw will stop making noise.

I also have never had or heard of a transfer case doing what you say is happening.
It is either in a gear or out of a gear and no way moving the auto trans shift lever is going to change that.

Block the wheels, set the parking brake, motor off.
Put the lever in park.
Loosen the auto shift linkage and make sure the transmission lever is in park.
Recheck that the shift lever is in park and then tighten up the adjusting bolt for the linkage.
Now test if it goes into park and stays there.
Dave ----

 

I rebuilt the transfer case and the issue went away, the planetary gear ring has a plastic bushing(?) that the 4 lo shift fork sits in and the plastic was broken. That was the plastic ring I saw when I took the transfer case apart

 

Thanks for reporting back what the fix saw as it may help others
Dave ----